Coventry City 1 - 2 Worcester City

Sky Blues humbled by minnows



Coventry City crashed to one of the most humiliating FA Cup defeats in their history when they were beaten 2-1 at the Ricoh Arena by Conference North side Worcester.

They fell behind to a first-half penalty after goalkeeper Lee Burge had been ordered off for taking a kick at Daniel Nti and suffered anothger hammer-blow when skipper Reda Johnson’s spot-kick was saged on the stroke of half-time.

Sean Geddes notched his second goal before Johnson pulled one back and although Coventry threw the kitchen sink at the visitors in the closing stages they couldn’t stave off their first Cup exit against non-League opposition since Sutton in 1989 – and the first time at home since King’s Lynn in 1961.

Coventry City fan banned from matches after trouble following Worcester City defeat in FA Cup

A Sky Blues fan has been banned from matches for three years after an incident on the day of the side’s FA Cup defeat to Worcester City.

Craig Sharma, aged 25, was arrested on November 9 last year.

At Coventry Magistrates Court last Friday Sharma, of Rosemary Close, Tile Hill, appeared to face a charge of using insulting words or behaviour towards members of the public and police.

At a previous hearing Sharma had denied the charge but during this appearance he changed his plea to guilty.

Magistrates handed him a 12 month community order and ordered Sharma to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

He also had to pay costs of £110 and a £60 victim surcharge.

The football banning order will run until 2018.

Sharma is the second Sky Blues fan to be hit with a banning order following the embarrassing defeat to the minnows in the first round of the cup.

William Stawiarskia, aged 29, was arrested on November 9 at the Ricoh Arena on suspicion of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. On May 20 Stawiarskia, of Catesby Road, Radford, was handed a five year ban.

Coventry City fan who fought with Millwall supporters banned from matches for four years

A Coventry City fan who fought with Millwall supporters has been banned from attending matches for four years.

The 26-year-old was part of a group of around 12 men who were seen throwing punches and kicks at each other following the Sky Blues’ League One tie with Millwall at the Ricoh Arena on April 16.

Craig Sharma, of Henley Road, Bell Green, had also been a spectator at the match despite already being subject to a three-year football banning order (FBO).

That order had been in place since 2015 after Sharma had admitted using insulting words or behaviour towards members of the public and police at the Sky Blues’ FA Cup defeat to Worcester City the previous year.

That order was revoked at Coventry Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and replaced by a new four-year FBO which will run until June 2020.