Coventry City 0 - 2 Bradford City

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Mark Robins' return ends in defeat



Promotion chasing Bradford City spoiled Mark Robins’ Ricoh return, inflicting the Sky Blues’ 20th League One defeat of the season.

The newly-installed manager declared this week that he was going all out for survival but despite a valiant first half effort by his inherited side, an early second half collapse saw in-form Bantams – who have lost just two games in their last 17 – score two goals in the space of four minutes to put Coventry to the sword. Substitute Alex Jones grabbed the first after slack defending allowed him a free hit from a corner before Jordy Hiwula was played clean through to beat the keeper to complete a mad five minutes that killed any hopes of a Robins’ revival.

City certainly started brightly enough in the manager’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation that looked lively and fluid going forward with Derby County loan man Charles Vernam involved in the thick of the action and providing the corner kick from which Coventry enjoyed their first real chance of the game in the ninth minute when the ball fell loose to the excellent Ben Stevenson who fired hard and low, just wide of the right-hand post.

Stevenson displayed an impressive range of passing from his holding midfield role alongside Callum Reilly, spaying neat diagonals to George Thomas and his namesake Kwame in the wide positions.

And it was the latter who combined well with Stuart Beavon minutes later for City’s second effort – a perfectly executed overhead kick from the striker that, again, went inches wide of the upright. However, Bradford went closest to scoring on 18 minutes when nippy winger and former Sky Blue Mark Marshall raced down the right and hit a teasing cross for big centre-forward Charlie Wyke whose close-range header was hooked away by Jordan Turnbull on the line just as the away fans erupted, thinking their side had scored.

It was an entertaining game with end to end action, not least from a series of corners midway through the half that sparked lightening quick counter attacks for both sides, the best of which saw the effervescent George Thomas control the ball and turn his man in his own half and then race 40 yards upfield to slip in Vernam who couldn’t quite get his shot off at the last second as he ran out of turf. Robins’ was forced to make a change just short of the half hour mark when right-back Kevin Foley pulled up injured with what looked like a recurring hamstring problem, and he was replaced by Dion Kelly-Evans who got straight into the pace of the game and offered an added dimension to City’s attack on the overlap on the right.

It was a performance full of energy and enterprise, guts and determination with crunching tackles flying in from the likes of Reilly as every player gave the prerequisite 100 per cent for the new manager, earning deserved applause as they walked to the tunnel at the break. They looked set to continue where they had left off in the second half when Nathan Clarke went close with a far post header that was fumbled and cleared by the keeper from a City corner. But Coventry’s excellent start to the game was undone in the space of four devastating minutes, starting in the 51st when Bradford’s fourth corner of the game fell straight to the disappointingly unmarked substitute Jones who volleyed in a first time shot inside the six-yard box.

Jones almost grabbed another minutes later when he cut in and hit a shot that keeper Lee Burge tipped over before more poor defending allowed the returning Romain Vincelot to head onto the bar as Coventry had a major wobble. And that turned into a second half collapse when Jordy Hiwula was sprung free with just the keeper to beat, and he duly picked his spot with clinical precision to double the lead. Robins’ men dusted themselves and regained their composure as they set about climbing the proverbial mountain, George Thomas going close on the angle at the near post while Jodi Jones provided an added spark when he was thrown on for Vernam.

But it was simply too hard a task against a buoyant Bradford side who saw out their victory pretty comfortably in the end, having mastered the art of consistency this season under Stuart McCall whose kept them in the top six for the last seven months and looking perfectly poised to go for the automatic promotion spots. The defeat leaves the Sky Blues rooted to the foot of the table on 26 points, 14 off Oldham in the safety cut-off place with ten games to go.

Attendance: 9,150