Coventry City 1 - 2 Blackpool
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 6:25 pm
Blackpool put an end to Mark Robins' unbeaten run
The player ratings are in following Coventry City's 2-1 loss to Blackpool at the CBS Arena this afternoon.
Mark Robins made four changes to the starting line-up which drew 2-2 with Rotherham United on Tuesday as both injuries and illness spread throughout the Sky Blues squad.
Kasey Palmer, Todd Kane, Callum O'Hare and Jonathan Panzo all came in to the starting XI with Fankaty Dabo and Martyn Waghorn missing out through injury, whilst Michael Rose and Viktor Gyokeres dropped to the bench due to the bug within the squad.
The game marked a return to a Championship starting line-up for the first time since May for O'Hare after the former Aston Villa man picked up an injury in pre-season, which had kept him out for over four months.
The hosts posed an early threat on the counterattack with O'Hare in behind, but he failed to find the killer final ball. Wilson was called into some early action at the other end of the pitch after blocking Gary Madine's goal bound shot.
Ten uneventful minutes later, Madine was again involved in one of the brighter moments of the half for the visitors, but he spooned his chance at the back post over the bar. It was a slap on the wrists for Coventry, who looked to respond instantly with a well worked move on the right wing involving Todd Kane and O'Hare, which was eventually cleared for a corner.
The game sparked briefly into life when a Blackpool attack ended with a Sonny Carey shot striking a City post with a low driven effort. Robins' men were caught on the counter on Tuesday and it looked to be a weakness once again here.
As the half edged towards the break it was a moment of magic from O'Hare which opened the scoring, his flicked pass playing Palmer in on goal before he slotted home. Blackpool thought they had equalised shortly after through Madine, only to see the effort ruled out for offside.
It took just eight minutes of the second half before Blackpool pulled themselves back into the game through a guided Madine header which looped over Wilson in the City goal. Callum Doyle's sloppy back pass was picked off by the Blackpool forwards who pressed forward to score. Coventry's lackadaisical play in possession once again cost them, as it did for the opener against Rotherham.
The hosts had little in the way of a response after conceding, with Kane's long-range effort the only highlight of the opening stages of the second half. Their play looked absent of ideas in the second 45, with the lack of a focal point clear to see. That issue was swiftly addressed after Gyokeres was introduced in the 72nd minute.
And it seemed like the switch had done the trick minutes later when Kane set up the Swedish striker, but his shot was well-collected by Chris Maxwell in the Blackpool goal. And that missed opportunity was rued even more shortly after when a Yates' header at the back post trickled home to give Appleton's side the lead.
Blackpool dominated the air in this fixture and Coventry were made to pay for their shortcomings in this department, with both goals and a disallowed effort stemming from these areas.
Robins went in search of an equaliser in the dying embers of the game with a flurry of substitutions which saw Tyler Walker and Jack Burroughs make an appearance. But the game ultimately escaped them, putting an end to the four game unbeaten run.