Sunday, November 20

The ball came over and Fred fell over...

Coventry City 1 West Ham 2

Her Indoors has left me with the kids and I’m in a heaving Westfield exploring Chip and Fish and the Build-a-Bear shop as Matt’s texts come through from Coventry, somewhere by a car park and roundabout in the Midlands. Matt is on a hot date with WAG Lisa in his version of Sugar Hut, the Ricoh Stadium (not to mention previous romantic weekends at Doncaster, Wigan and Bolton).

We’re a goal down at half-time and Matt’s verdict is: “Worst 45 minutes I have seen this this season. Surely we must improve. Lucky Dukla Praha away shirt facing retirement.”

When we turn it round to win 2-1, my text back reads “Best second half of the season?”

He responds: “Luckiest. Piq’s goal was just bizarre and after taking lead we let them back into it.”

Mike texts similar sentiments: “Worrying game yesterday, but a couple of deflections and some reasonable defending saved the day.”

Still, it’s another good result, even if Coventry are second from bottom It could be worse than supporting the second-placed team. My pal Martin, a Coventry supporter texts, “Every bloody time.”

ALWAYS BELIEVE IN...
The Football League Show reveals that our admirable 6,500 away crew shame the sparse home crowd. We go a goal down as Collison lets a weak cross come in that rolls gently across our area before Platt turns sharply to score.

In the second half Big Sam brings on Carlton for Carew and Piquionne for Diop. It works with two goals in six minutes. From Green’s goal kick Cole wins the ball and the Coventry defence parts as if they're St Paul’s clergy confronted by a difficult decision. Carlton blasts home his fifth goal of the season via a deflection.

Then Gustave Faubert lobs over a high ball that a City defender bizarrely heads at Freddie Piquionne’s knee and the ball somehow deflects over the line. It’s the luckiest WHU goal since David Kelly scored against Derby when Peter Shilton punched the ball on to the back of his head. After a sending off and a red card for fly tipping in Essex, maybe this goal will turn the season round for Freddie.

We should make it three when Noble finds Freddie Piq, he plays in Noble who scuffs it to Collison who blazes high and wide from six yards out.

A scrappy win but some bold substitutions by Sam and part of the art of promotion is winning when you play badly. One away defeat all season is some record so far.

2 comments:

matt said...

I did think Coventry played quite well, certainly in the first half and then the last 20 minutes, but as we know from last season, when you are struggling you tend to have bad luck, such as conceding a fluke winning goal.

The really disappointing thing was that in the week Sepp Blatter made such an idiot of himself, some of our lot thought it a good idea to sing the racist Spurs song at the station.

Pete May said...

Yes, that song can't be put down to "banter" I'm afraid, time it stopped...