Coventry City 0 - 0 Birmingham City

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Coventry City 0 - 0 Birmingham City

Postby dutchman » Sat Nov 21, 2020 3:38 am

The Sky Blues earned a valuable point against their landlords at St Andrew's

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Coventry City earned their third Championship draw in a poor game against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

The big positive for the Sky Blues, however, was keeping a rare clean sheet to stem the flow of 23 goals against them so far this season.

Coventry started on the front foot in the tenants versus landlords clash where Birmingham looked very much the away side at their home ground until late on in the game.

Mark Robins’s men had the better of the possession as they looked determined to put right the wrongs of their previous two performances when they had thrown away valuable points.

But it was Blues who went closest to breaking the deadlock as the visitors grew into the game with a couple of free-kicks testing City’s resolve before Mikel San Jose sent in a deep delivery to the far post where former Sky Blue Lukas Jutkiewicz stretched, worrying unmarked, and headed wide, unable to get a firm connection.

The Sky Blues’ first real opportunity came in the 23rd minute when Liam Kelly played a ball over the top to Tyler Walker who raced into the box as the ball dropped; the striker improvising with a cheeky header as it bounced up, almost catching the keeper out but Neil Etheridge managing to make the block.

But that was City’s only real effort in a tight first half with chances few and far between as the two sides pretty much cancelled each other out.

That theme continued after the break when Walker cut inside and hit a rare shot at goal for the hosts, his effort deflected into the path of Callum O’Hare who was unable to direct the ball on target from a tight angle.

Blues, meanwhile, enjoyed a decent spell of possession around the hour mark as they began to find more space in and around the opposition box with Ivan Sunjic wasting a half decent chance when he screwed a shot across the face of goal.

Robins made a tactical change on 68 minutes when he reverted to a back three with wing-backs, sending on Leo Ostigard as the third centre-half in place of Ben Sheaf, while striker Max Biamou replaced Jordan Shipley, to add an extra threat up top.

Jutkiewicz almost snatched the points when his header was pushed onto the underside of the crossbar eight minutes from time as the game suddenly livened up as the clock ticked down, and the landlords looking the more likely to prosper.

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Re: Coventry City 0 - 0 Birmingham City

Postby dutchman » Sat Nov 21, 2020 3:41 am

Coventry City and Birmingham City were kept goalless at St Andrew's as the tenants v landlords derby ended in a 0-0 draw for the second time in 2020

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Just as when the two sides met in the FA Cup fourth round in January, once again chances were few and far between.

Birmingham striker Lukas Jutkiewicz came closest for the 'visitors' but a combination of goalkeeper Marko Marosi and the crossbar kept out his header.

Aitor Karanka's side climb three places to 14th, while the Sky Blues stay 21st.

This was actually the third draw between the two sides over 90 minutes this year, Blues having been held 2-2 by Coventry in the FA Cup replay in January, before winning on penalties.

But, in the end, the biggest cause of celebration from a well-contested but unexciting game was Coventry earning a first home clean sheet this season.

It was only the second clean sheet in total for Mark Robins' side since returning to English football's second tier for the first time in eight years as League One champions in June.

But, having conceded a league-high 23 goals in the Sky Blues' previous 11 games, this deserved draw halted a sequence of two successive defeats for each side prior to the international break.

Birmingham are back in action on Tuesday with a trip to Luton, while Coventry play the following night, a home game against Cardiff City.

Coventry boss Mark Robins told BBC CWR:

"It was difficult, but we have to take the positives. And we got a clean sheet. Only our second this season and our first at home.

"It was a scrappy second half. We made some changes. And we've got to take the point, it's a building block.

"Marko made a brilliant save to get us a point and obviously we're missing Matty Godden, who is talismanic for us, but their keeper has made a couple of saves too."

Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka told BBC WM:

"We are not disappointed. We are not upset. But we have a bad taste in the mouth as we had two or three chances to win this game.

"At least we have that point and we have not conceded goals.

"Most of the teams who have played against us have changed their shape which means that they respect us. It is all part of the onward journey."

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