Coventry City 2 - 1 Morecambe

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Sky Blues progress to the second round of FA Cup



The night wasn’t totally devoid of magic – a Superish Moon pierced the cloud cover and a DJ with a sense of decorum added Leonard Cohen’s Take This Waltz to the half-time playlist – but in football terms the atmosphere was distinctly low-key.

With the bulk of City’s fans unaccountably opting for the televisual feast of England v Spain the crowd was originally announced as 1963 (a very good year, a record Ricoh low) but after a recount that was adjusted to 2,175 which just about beat the Checkatrade Trophy attendances racked up against West Ham youth and Northampton Town earlier this season.

The home contingent were dotted around the West Stand while a busload of Morecambe supporters were tucked behind one goal. And the mini Shrimps Army (or should that be Navy) made their presence noisily apparent in the opening minutes as a City side showing five changes, two of them enforced, and a fresh formation started sluggishly. The Sky Blues nearly suffered a self-inflicted calamity in the fourth minute when Harries’s inexcusably casual pass on the half-way line launched a Morecambe break and although Burge parried Ellison’s stinging 20-yarder the ball spun back over his shoulder.

Morecambe claimed it had crossed the line before the keeper scooped it away at the second attempt but the referee was spared a contentious decision when his assistant ruled that one of Ellison’s team-mates had strayed offside in the process. If that was a wake-up call it fell on deaf ears because six minutes later the Shrimps were in front. City might well complain that Rose won a decidedly soft free-kick from Sterry but Morecambe made the most of Mr Haywood’s generosity as Jennings clipped it waist-high into the box and Winnard – who scored the opener in the original tie at The Globe Arena – turned it home from six yards.

The setback produced the required reaction and City began to rack up scoring opportunities – Roche blocking Reid with his feet after splendid work by Bigirimana who was in turn denied by a flying save when he tried his luck from 20 yards.

Although Jones was then a fraction wide from 20 yards City continued to live dangerously as a series of miscued passes gave Morecambe far too much counter-attacking scope for comfort. Ironically, however, it was the Sky Blues who produced a text-book break to level in the 38th minute as Burge half-punched clear from a corner and Reid collected the ball in the D and sprinted 70 yards before switching to Sordell who picked his bottom-corner spot to perfection.

Jones should have made it 2-1 in the second minute of overtime, side-footing wide from just behind the penalty spot after brilliant work by Sordell. Mark Venus revamped his line-up for the second half, switching to a flat four and pitching Andy Rose into his midfield. And after an early scare, Burge dashing out of his box to crash-tackle Fleming, they took control with another dash from their own area, this time straight down the middle of the pitch as Sordell swapped passes with Gadzhev before slotting home another precise finish. For a while City began to swagger, queuing up to take shots (or, all often, overcook promising moves with one pass too many) and it took another sharp Roche save to deny Sordell his hat-trick when the striker let fly from 30-odd yards.

But they remained a heartbeat away from extra-time and there was no mistaking the nerves as the fourth official confirmed an additional six minutes. The ignominy of a hat-trick of first-round exits against lower-league opposition safely avoided, City’s scouts will head to the Crabble Athletic Ground tomorrow to see if they’ll face Dover or Cambridge United in next month’s second round. It doesn’t sound like a Cup classic in the making – but either way the Sky Blues faithful will follow in force and in expectation.

Attendance: 2,175 (126 away) third lowest gate ever at the Ricoh after earlier rounds in the Checkatrade Trophy this season.