Match Report: City achieve new level of ineptness by being overrun by ten men

[Olé]

Chaotic City's ability to implode achieved a fresh level of ineptness as they conceded 3 goals and 2 leads to ten men in a 45 minute spell where unbelievably the side that was a man short had the time and space to play it around with ease, dominate possession and turn the match on its head - aided by what is a poorly coached, disorganised mess of an away side that makes far too many errors.

The out of form visitors actually got to half time with the advantage, beginning to find some much needed confidence and edge an end to end game: rightly awarded a penalty when for the second time O'Dowda was cut down in the box, Martin converting against the reduced home side. But despite getting a second lead against the run of play via an Andi Weimann tap in, it was really all Coventry.

With manager Nigel Pearson absent due to illness and assistant Curtis Fleming back in charge, the near capacity 3000 travelling fans had been promised a reaction by their side after successive batterings away from home, but despite matching the Sky Blues in the first half, an abject display in a second period that became far far too easy for their hosts, has sunk woeful City further into crisis. 

Arguably the away team should have had a penalty after just five minutes when keeper Moore miscontrolled a long ball while being chased down by O'Dowda, it spun loose to the winger who was then hacked down by the stopper, only for the ref to wave away raucous demands for what looked a clear penalty. Then inside ten Weimann volleyed straight at the keeper from an acute angle.

Coventry were starting to open up City with their wide players and on 20 Michael Rose saw his free header from a left wing corner parried by Bentley and O'Dowda did well to block O'Hare's follow up. Minutes later Alex Scott, already on a booking, did brilliantly to track back and shield the ball to safety after Coventry threatened to get in behind again from their right - a source of problems all day. 

But after the half hour and attacking toward their own fans, City actually started to grow in some long missed belief. First Bakinson's recovery tackle won back possession and Massengo's deep ball saw O'Dowda peel off the shoulder of the last man in the box to collect and square - Bakinson's long range shot easily held. Then Scott's free kick was also in behind and O'Dowda forced a save. 

City were taking control and a minute later Bakinson strode out of midfield and fed the ball wide to O'Dowda on the left whose first time cross had Coventry stretching as Alex Scott hooked just high and wide on the run. No surprise then that with minutes left in the half and passing crisply, Chris Martin fed a perfect weighted ball through the line and O'Dowda was cut down with keeper to beat.

A red card and a penalty - that Martin then despatched in front of the bumper following to ignite some much needed excitement and celebration between players and fans. And a minute later it was almost two as Coventry missed a long ball following the kick off that left Weimann and Martin clear on goal from our right, Weimann slipping it inside for Martin who saw his close range shot beaten away.

A 1-0 lead, growing confidence passing the ball and getting O'Dowda into space and all against ten men - this should have been the perfect platform for a good result but after the break the opposite was true as Coventry played not just like a resolute ten man side - but expansive football as if it was them with the extra man, passing and moving at pace and with purpose, City chasing shadows.

Inevitable then that the equaliser followed - but as always one which should never had happened. Far too easy for Coventry to get clear on their right and Zak Vyner, relatively good most of the day, drifted the wrong side of Gyökeres who got inside him and into the box before then tumbling under the slightest touch. Odd for the ref to even up as we only got one of two clear shouts - Godden converted. 

Coventry were now running rings around us. An O'Dowda slip allowed a short cross from the right of the box by Godden after far too much space for the Sky Blues to build - they had 2 players queueing up for a free header at the back post, Gyökeres forcing the save. At the other end Scott put a deep free kick just past the angle after Weimann was body checked - the youngster replaced by DaSilva.

Another free kick, this time Tanner from the right, almost caught the keeper out after a flick on was bundled goalward, tipped wide. But then Bakinson created City's second. A deep lob over the top collected by O'Dowda and exchanged with Tanner before returning to Tyreeq whose low outswinging shot was headed bottom corner - Moore parried and Martin hooked inside for Weimann to tap in. 

It was a brief respite as a ten man Coventry side absolutely dominated possession and with less than 20 left they were all over City again: a cross from the left was desperately bundled out for a corner, from which a half clearance found dangerman O'Hare outside the box who smashed it back past players and into the bottom corner. He celebrated by offering out City fans for no obvious reason.  

Wells belatedly added some forward quality  for Pring with ten left but by now City were clearly hanging on grimly - despite a brief moment where Martin robbed a dawdling centre back and crashed a low drive just past the post. Before the end hard working but erratic Massengo was bundled off the ball from a throw in on halfway and a 3 on 2 let Tyler Walker fire past Bentley but just wide. 

The crowning humiliation was still to come as wretched City, comfortably out played, out passed, our run and out worked by ten man Coventry, capped a one sided finish by handing out an injury time winner. Weimann lost the ball, ex City man Liam Kelly played it in, our players continued slowly watching as Godden had all the time in the world to hold off a defender, turn and fire home in the box.

It feels like City have been awful forever. We would have been relegated last season had it been a few games longer and despite all the talk this year we seem utterly committed to collapsing to even earlier and even more spectacularly. I have always liked the idea of Pearson teaching this club to grow a pair but I see no evidence that he is having any positive effect in fact we are worse than ever.

Bentley 4 **** off

Tanner 4 **** off

Pring 4 **** off 

Kalas 4 **** off 

Vyner 4 **** off 

Bakinson 5 hmmm 

Massengo 5 hmmm

Scott 6 hmmm

O'Dowda 6 hmmm 

Weimann 4 **** off

Martin 4 **** off 

 

DaSilva 4 **** off

This looks weird to me too as our midfield was awful so sparing them the **** off is undeserved, however - it's a collection of individual paradoxes. Massengo was the only one who looked like it meant anything to him (and I mean literally the only one) yet positioning and shape non existent. Scott was the only quality but taken off early. And while everyone waits to moan at Bakinson I thought he was the only person who had the balls to try and play the ball forward, while also sticking fairly rigidly to shielding the defence. And O'Dowda is probably the only one who comes away without having done anything wrong, I don't rate the guy but he gave us someone who got behind them and fair play to him for coming over to clap at the end knowing he earned the right.

[Shuffle]

Agree with that but actually thought Pring was our best player.  An all round depressing day out & we keep getting new levels of low every week!  We play at such a slow pace and sideways that there was no way we can take advantage of a team going down to 10.  

[WolfOfWestStreet]

Nice write up albeit a depressing read.

This is the most unlikeable collection of wastemen to pull on the the red shirt for quite some time. There's not a single player in the squad I'd care if they never played for city again. 

[Davefevs]

29 minutes ago, Shuffle said:

Agree with that but actually thought Pring was our best player.  An all round depressing day out & we keep getting new levels of low every week!  We play at such a slow pace and sideways that there was no way we can take advantage of a team going down to 10.  

Thought he had a good first half (as did O’Dowda), but he looked knackered second half, like he didn’t have a run in him.

[Shuffle]

43 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Thought he had a good first half (as did O’Dowda), but he looked knackered second half, like he didn’t have a run in him.

Not sure what happened to our new superior fitness levels as there seemed to be a few blowing.  JD was poor and no doubt Pring is our best LB.

Pass the ball quicker & make pitch bigger but we didn’t  & Cov could go to 9 and still been more threatening than us. We are just pedestrian and gutless and like everyone fed up with it.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Shuffle

[Davefevs]

17 minutes ago, Shuffle said:

Not sure what happened to our new superior fitness levels as there seemed to be a few blowing.  JD was poor and no doubt Pring is our best LB.

Pass the ball quicker & make pitch bigger but we didn’t  & Cov could go to 9 and still been more threatening than us. We are just pedestrian and gutless and like everyone fed up with it.

First half there was a great example of tactical discipline.  Ball got headed clear to 10 yards inside their half in LCB area.  Massengo looks like he’s about to go chasing, then stops, just gets himself into shape.  Second half should’ve been no different.  I can only imagine our running numbers are good, but we are running as individuals.

[brady bunch]

Agree with op, but it was largely our inexperienced and headless chickens in midfield that allowed 10 Coventry to dominate in second half, so they can **** off as well. They may as well of not been on the pitch for all they did to help our over worked defence 

[Pippintogg]

2 hours ago, Olé said:

Chaotic City's ability to implode achieved a fresh level of ineptness as they conceded 3 goals and 2 leads to ten men in a 45 minute spell where unbelievably the side that was a man short had the time and space to play it around with ease, dominate possession and turn the match on its head - aided by what is a poorly coached, disorganised mess of an away side that makes far too many errors.

The out of form visitors actually got to half time with the advantage, beginning to find some much needed confidence and edge an end to end game: rightly awarded a penalty when for the second time O'Dowda was cut down in the box, Martin converting against the reduced home side. But despite getting a second lead against the run of play via an Andi Weimann tap in, it was really all Coventry.

With manager Nigel Pearson absent due to illness and assistant Curtis Fleming back in charge, the near capacity 3000 travelling fans had been promised a reaction by their side after successive batterings away from home, but despite matching the Sky Blues in the first half, an abject display in a second period that became far far too easy for their hosts, has sunk woeful City further into crisis. 

Arguably the away team should have had a penalty after just five minutes when keeper Moore miscontrolled a long ball while being chased down by O'Dowda, it spun loose to the winger who was then hacked down by the stopper, only for the ref to wave away raucous demands for what looked a clear penalty. Then inside ten Weimann volleyed straight at the keeper from an acute angle.

Coventry were starting to open up City with their wide players and on 20 Michael Rose saw his free header from a left wing corner parried by Bentley and O'Dowda did well to block O'Hare's follow up. Minutes later Alex Scott, already on a booking, did brilliantly to track back and shield the ball to safety after Coventry threatened to get in behind again from their right - a source of problems all day. 

But after the half hour and attacking toward their own fans, City actually started to grow in some long missed belief. First Bakinson's recovery tackle won back possession and Massengo's deep ball saw O'Dowda peel off the shoulder of the last man in the box to collect and square - Bakinson's long range shot easily held. Then Scott's free kick was also in behind and O'Dowda forced a save. 

City were taking control and a minute later Bakinson strode out of midfield and fed the ball wide to O'Dowda on the left whose first time cross had Coventry stretching as Alex Scott hooked just high and wide on the run. No surprise then that with minutes left in the half and passing crisply, Chris Martin fed a perfect weighted ball through the line and O'Dowda was cut down with keeper to beat.

A red card and a penalty - that Martin then despatched in front of the bumper following to ignite some much needed excitement and celebration between players and fans. And a minute later it was almost two as Coventry missed a long ball following the kick off that left Weimann and Martin clear on goal from our right, Weimann slipping it inside for Martin who saw his close range shot beaten away.

A 1-0 lead, growing confidence passing the ball and getting O'Dowda into space and all against ten men - this should have been the perfect platform for a good result but after the break the opposite was true as Coventry played not just like a resolute ten man side - but expansive football as if it was them with the extra man, passing and moving at pace and with purpose, City chasing shadows.

Inevitable then that the equaliser followed - but as always one which should never had happened. Far too easy for Coventry to get clear on their right and Zak Vyner, relatively good most of the day, drifted the wrong side of Gyökeres who got inside him and into the box before then tumbling under the slightest touch. Odd for the ref to even up as we only got one of two clear shouts - Godden converted. 

Coventry were now running rings around us. An O'Dowda slip allowed a short cross from the right of the box by Godden after far too much space for the Sky Blues to build - they had 2 players queueing up for a free header at the back post, Gyökeres forcing the save. At the other end Scott put a deep free kick just past the angle after Weimann was body checked - the youngster replaced by DaSilva.

Another free kick, this time Tanner from the right, almost caught the keeper out after a flick on was bundled goalward, tipped wide. But then Bakinson created City's second. A deep lob over the top collected by O'Dowda and exchanged with Tanner before returning to Tyreeq whose low outswinging shot was headed bottom corner - Moore parried and Martin hooked inside for Weimann to tap in. 

It was a brief respite as a ten man Coventry side absolutely dominated possession and with less than 20 left they were all over City again: a cross from the left was desperately bundled out for a corner, from which a half clearance found dangerman O'Hare outside the box who smashed it back past players and into the bottom corner. He celebrated by offering out City fans for no obvious reason.  

Wells belatedly added some forward quality  for Pring with ten left but by now City were clearly hanging on grimly - despite a brief moment where Martin robbed a dawdling centre back and crashed a low drive just past the post. Before the end hard working but erratic Massengo was bundled off the ball from a throw in on halfway and a 3 on 2 let Tyler Walker fire past Bentley but just wide. 

The crowning humiliation was still to come as wretched City, comfortably out played, out passed, our run and out worked by ten man Coventry, capped a one sided finish by handing out an injury time winner. Weimann lost the ball, ex City man Liam Kelly played it in, our players continued slowly watching as Godden had all the time in the world to hold off a defender, turn and fire home in the box.

It feels like City have been awful forever. We would have been relegated last season had it been a few games longer and despite all the talk this year we seem utterly committed to collapsing to even earlier and even more spectacularly. I have always liked the idea of Pearson teaching this club to grow a pair but I see no evidence that he is having any positive effect in fact we are worse than ever.

Bentley 4 **** off

Tanner 4 **** off

Pring 4 **** off 

Kalas 4 **** off 

Vyner 4 **** off 

Bakinson 5 hmmm 

Massengo 5 hmmm

Scott 6 hmmm

O'Dowda 6 hmmm 

Weimann 4 **** off

Martin 4 **** off 

 

DaSilva 4 **** off

This looks weird to me too as our midfield was awful so sparing them the **** off is undeserved, however - it's a collection of individual paradoxes. Massengo was the only one who looked like it meant anything to him (and I mean literally the only one) yet positioning and shape non existent. Scott was the only quality but taken off early. And while everyone waits to moan at Bakinson I thought he was the only person who had the balls to try and play the ball forward, while also sticking fairly rigidly to shielding the defence. And O'Dowda is probably the only one who comes away without having done anything wrong, I don't rate the guy but he gave us someone who got behind them and fair play to him for coming over to clap at the end knowing he earned the right.

 

[SydneyCity]

Kick-off is 2am over here but I always stay up and watch the game. Last night my toddler woke up around midnight with a fever and a tummy bug. He proceeded to wet two beds and shit all down my arm. I missed the game and spent the night sleeping on the wooden floor. It sounds like I still had a more enjoyable time

[Pippintogg]

Totally honest assessment of where we are. It was painful to watch. We can never rely on others being worse than us but it will be a close run thing. The mental strength of the team is non-existent. I have no idea what the sports psychology department is doing. 

[Mr Chappers]

Painful, but just far too many inexperienced players, and horribly unbalanced. Thought we kept our shape well first half and frustrated Cov, second half they had worked us out. We have a number of players, both young and old, who need a rest, but the cupboard is bare. 

[Red-Robbo]

47 minutes ago, SydneyCity said:

Kick-off is 2am over here but I always stay up and watch the game. Last night my toddler woke up around midnight with a fever and a tummy bug. He proceeded to wet two beds and shit all down my arm. I missed the game and spent the night sleeping on the wooden floor. It sounds like I still had a more enjoyable time

 

In a metaphorical way the team shat all over all of us.