Coventry City 0 - 0 Stoke City

[dutchman]

The Sky Blues earned a point from an entertaining Boxing Day match at St Andrew's



Coventry City earned a hard-fought point in their eighth Championship draw in a highly competitive match with Stoke City.

Both sides had chances in an entertaining Boxing Day clash at St Andrew’s where the Sky Blues kept their third clean sheet in their last five games.

Coventry started positively, playing some decent football on the deck to work their way into the Stoke box but it was the visitors whose more direct approach almost paid dividends in the third minute when a long diagonal was controlled by centre-forward Steven Fletcher who wasted a gilt-edged chance by firing over the bar.

City had the ball in the back of net with five minutes on the clock after Callum O’Hare played a lovely ball through to Matty Godden, only for the returning striker to be flagged for off-side.

And minutes later City had an appeal for a penalty for handball in the box by centre-back Nathan Collins turned down, the referee judging it to be a case of ball to hand.

The game was wide open in an entertaining first half, City going close again on 24 minutes when O’Hare nipped in on a Stoke backpass before his shot was blocked by the advancing keeper Josef Bursik.

City keeper Ben Wilson, meanwhile, was called into action at the other end to deny a powerful left foot half volley from striker Jacob Brown which was pushed wide at the near post.

Poor finishing was to blame for denying the Potters from breaking the deadlock four minutes from the break when Jordan Thompson hit a square ball wide with all the goal to aim at after City’s defence had been opened up.

Thompson failed to hit the target again after the break when teed up by Brown, sending his effort onto the crossbar as the game continued to be end to end, O’Hare hitting a powerful shot that was deflected wide for the fifth of six Coventry corners before the hour.

Jamie Allen had a low shot deflected narrowly wide before Stoke threatened with two corners and a free-kick in quick succession when Fletcher headed wide from close range as the game looked like it could go either way.

Mark Robins made a double substitution and went with two up top when Max Biamou and Amadou Bakayoko went on for Ben Sheaf and Matty Godden 17 minutes from time, just before Powell headed wide at the far post for the Potters.

[dutchman]

The author has a strange definition of 'entertaining'?

[dutchman]

Coventry and Stoke play out stalemate



Coventry City suffered their third straight 0-0 home draw at St Andrew's as they took a point off promotion-chasing Stoke City.

In a game of few on-target efforts, it was a third successive away goalless draw for Michael O'Neill's Potters.

Stoke midfielder Jordan Thompson went close either side of the break, hitting the bar with the second of his two attempts.

Striker Steven Fletcher could have earned the visitors all three points but was twice wide with good headed chances, first when Nathan Collins headed a deep free-kick across goal and then from Tommy Smith's cross.

Coventry striker Matty Godden, last season's top scorer, was making his first start for almost two months after a foot injury, but he fired the hosts' best chance straight at Joe Bursik.

The behind-closed-doors fixture ended with both sides racking up their fifth 0-0 draw in 21 Championship games this season.

Stoke, who stay seventh, are now unbeaten in their last five away league games against Coventry, having now kept a clean sheet in 11 of 13 away trips this season.

While, after shipping 12 goals in their first five home league matches this season, Mark Robins' men, who remain 18th, have now let in just one in their last five at their rented Birmingham home.

Coventry City manager Mark Robins told BBC CWR:

"It's a good point against a really strong opposition. You look at their bench and it's frightening. They've got some really good talent.

"They didn't really create too much against us but they kept things really tight at the back. They make it difficult for you to create chances, never mind score goals.

"So from our point of view we created quite a bit. I think up until the first hour we had the better opportunities between the two teams. I think at some points we passed a bit too much and should've taken the shot earlier.

"It was probably a fair result at the end of it. A clean sheet and a point. A really good point."