COVENTRY UNITED 6-0 SUTTON UNITED: light-hearted match report by THE MOWDOG...

Coventry See End Of President’s Cup Rainbow…

Coventry United 6-0 Sutton United

(President’s Cup Semi-final)

6-0 sounds like a total thrashing, yet Sutton played some very smart passing football on the smooth surface at the Alan Higgs Leisure Centre, competing well throughout, but even so, four goal-line clearances, a couple of fine saves by ‘keeper Matt Gough and several other melees in the visitors’ goalmouth could have mounted up to a double-figure thrashing for the plucky guests. Offensively, despite the wily John Hartson lookalike Sam Hulme’s two close range efforts and a Coventry clearance late on, Sutton failed to disturb even a whisker or two of home ‘keeper Jason Fox’s beard. I was really impressed by their playmaker Ryan Simmonds, however, for his skills on the ball, link-play and all-round effort stood out for the visitors, along with defender and skipper Phil Taylor. Coventry’s team ethic shone through though and with Gift Mussa marauding about the midfield area like Attila the Hun on dope, many chances were created and it was only a shame that Josh O’Grady’s contribution wasn’t capped by a deserved goal. Credit to both teams for passing the ball at will, presenting a most watchable match and helping me to put the opening half-hour of the poor Nuneaton v Kidderminster game, watched on BT Sport before I left the house, completely out of my mind.

Sutton kick off...

Both teams opened the game with real creative intent but the first goal stemmed from a corner won by the irrepressible Rob Prinzel, who had rattled bones with two fine tackles early on. A rotund linesman had already dropped his flag from his baton, like he’d dropped his hanky whilst jogging for a bus, but O’Grady’s corner from the left was cleared back out to him and this time his delivery was met by a downward header by the wily Jamie Coleman and the ball bounced up into the net past the helpless Gough at the far upright. 1-0, and soon, Cox released the astute and confident Ben Vallance on the left flank and his low delivery beat Gough but rolled past the far post.

Coventry lead 1-0...

More offense by Coventry led to Blake being unable to connect with a chipped pass and with the galloping Pierre Moudime caught forward, the guests broke away but an offside-flag, now successfully re-attached to the linesman’s baton foiled Hulme, who had found the net with a low shot. Prinzel confirmed my view that despite some good attacking on the Coventry right, the ball was being given away cheaply too on that flank and Prinzel’s furrowed brow, gesticulating finger and solemn voice underlined my thoughts, as a rainbow hovered over the stadium. O’Grady’s right-side corner was met by Coleman at the far stick but his downward header was cleared from the goal-line by Charley Shipp, shaping his body well. From the second phase of attack, Coleman, who had sprinted out to the wing to retrieve the ball, like he was threatening Mo Farrah’s new World Record for 2 miles, achieved on the same afternoon, crossed towards the ebullient Josh Blake, who beat Taylor aerially but nodded the ball over the goal-frame. 

Rainbow 1...

Rainbow 2...

Sutton’s determined passing led to possession by Hulme again, at the right corner of the 6 yard box but his turn, using powerful buttocks to hold off his marker, Coleman, was more successful than his angled shot, which struck the side-netting. O’Grady then curled in another right-side corner and this time it was skipper Chris Cox who rose at the far post but his downward header was also hacked from the goal-line, again by Shipp, again abandoned at his post by the crew. Coleman almost got in a shot following another left-side corner but some fine and incisive Sutton passing led to a drive by Michael Williams but the ball flew wide from 25 yards. Cox, typically, intercepted a lax Sutton pass and suddenly unleashed a powerful and rising 22 yarder, which Gough leapt for and did so well to get a touch to onto the top of the crossbar and concede yet another corner. O’Grady’s deft near post flag-kick was met by Blake but his glancing header was cleared from the goal-line by a diving defender and I reckon it was Shipp again. Coventry had seen three Shipps, kind of, for three times the covering defender in his colourful chess-board boots had rescued Sutton and yet their performance hadn’t really seemed like one of being outgunned by a terrifying opponent.

Coleman rose at the right stick to head yet another O’Grady left-wing corner wide, before, bizarrely, Sutton might have equalised when Hulme, in possession, 10 yards out, inside-left channel, poked a low shot but it took a deflection off the defensive boot of Coleman, and Fox, rather like he had stumbled outside Sainsbury’s and dropped his shopping, nursed the effort wide, off either his throat or upper chest, as he sprawled among his sprouts and Maris Pipers. The resulting corner was cleared by the enigmatic Gift Mussa but when he was fouled further up the pitch, Coventry took the free-kick short with the increasingly dangerous Moudime and Prinzel looking lively but the latter’s snatched shot was well wide of the right post. A Sutton header was deflected past the right post, in a brief period of pressure by the visitors but then Matt Lewis, the Sutton left-back was cautioned for a foul, just 19 yards from goal, inside-right channel and Prinzel and O’Grady stood over the ball. O’Grady clipped a smart shot over the defensive wall but the ball slapped against the crossbar and Sutton survived. Another Coventry corner led to a right-side centre by Prinzel, which Gough leapt for to palm down with Sean Kavanagh lurking but finally, Coventry deservedly increased their lead, helped partly by some panicky and crazy Sutton defending. One header, from Cox’s right-wing centre was headed upwards, one kick by Williams was sliced towards his own goal but Gift Mussa had spotted his chance, like it was the best cake in Bragg’s window and he threw himself forward to head the loose ball into the net from a yard or two.

O'Grady prepares to take a free-kick...

Guess who made it 2-0..?

The interval was reached, the swirling wintry showers began to fall, the wind became colder and I huddled in the home dugout, despite its partially-open roof but incredibly, as the second-half started, the sky began to clear and Josh O’Grady’s hairstyle and cool whiskery chin were spared the ignominy of becoming damp and lank… He had been the Provider, the Creator, the dead-ball Manoeuvrer and his deliveries had coshed Sutton, especially from corners.

Strangely, it was an early second period corner for Sutton, which offered Coventry a chance to increase their lead, but the opportunity was squandered carelessly. Four home players broke, after a fine tackle by Gift Mussa but with two colleagues on the right, Prinzel delayed his pass to Moudime, then over-hit it, allowing Gough to collect. Frustration obviously affected Prinzel, who was immediately cautioned for a reckless foul. Moudime set off on another jolly along the right-flank but when he passed to O’Grady, Taylor flattened the Coventry man to earn a caution. The ensuing free-kick from the right was passed sideways for Prinzel to run onto but his side-foot shot from 19 yards was blocked by the hard-worked Sutton defence. Blake couldn’t quite leap high enough to convert a fine cross by the running Moudime from the right, then Cox cut in from the left flank confidently but drove the ball beyond team-mates and wide of the far upright. 

Taylor was hopping mad...

Great sky...

Shipp plotted a course inside and fired a warning shot to Fox, before Sutton really did themselves no favours at all. Williams was replaced by Greg Walker, but almost immediately, before his team could settle, Lewis fouled O’Grady, his last chance with the referee’s patience probably and O’Grady’s near post free-kick from the right was neatly glanced into the far bottom corner of the net by the head of Prinzel, who had made a positive run towards the near upright. More substitutions followed: Lewis, already on that yellow card, was replaced by Adam Watson and for Coventry, Brian Ndlovu was welcomed back (“Hello Brian…”) in place of Kavanagh. Suddenly, Coventry had an aerial threat and a direct runner in attack, something lacking since Ndlovu’s injury and the facial damage to the big, absent Leon Kelly and of course also the recently hurt Dan Stokes.

Prinzel has made it 4-0...

Ryan Simmonds, for I think it was he, wasted a 26 yard free-kick opportunity, lifting it too high for Sutton, O’Grady then had a shot blocked, but Prinzel won back the ball and following another sumptuous overlap by Moudime on the right, Shipp cleared the ball to O’Grady, who turned onto his left foot and his low shot took just enough of a deflection off a Sutton boot to steer it centimetres wide of the left post. O’Grady then made ground on the left but his attempted feed for Blake in the middle was brilliantly cut out by Taylor, a rock in the Sutton defence. Prinzel then launched into the tackle of the match, a real thumper and suddenly, Coventry were attacking, again on the right with Moudime and after getting to the byeline, the right-back crossed low, Blake was unable to cope with the pass but there was Ndlovu, beyond the far post, who slotted a 10 yard shot just inside the left upright. 4-0 and really, by the expression on Taylor’s face, the game was lost. He looked totally shattered.

Hello, Brian...

Mussa Gifts Brian a chuck onto the ground...

Brian applauds himself, as O'Grady's beard remains dry...

Courtney Gordon replaced Hulme for Sutton and Martin Hutchcox replaced the hard-working Prinzel for Coventry but soon, Blake hooked a clever pass to Ndlovu on the right, he passed inside for O’Grady, whose near post touch beat Gough but was smuggled wide by the covering Shipp, who had made his fourth goal-line clearance in those amazing boots, with the chef-like pattern on the insteps. Bet O’Grady wished he’d go walk the plank… Cox’s angled pass was finished clinically by O’Grady but he had been adjudged offside, before the home skipper made way for Patrick Suffo, he of the tricky knees, and he was to cause more misery for the guests. O’Grady slipped a pass left for Blake to swipe an athletic volley at but he miscued slightly and Gough palmed the ball out, leaving Taylor’s lunge on the recovering Blake to result in a penalty, which was taken, surprisingly, by Hutchcox, even though O’Grady’s dead-ball deliveries had been so effective thus far. Hutchcox though, was calmness personified, as he shot low into the left corner of the net and his team led by five.

Suffo replaces Cox...

5-0...

Sutton, with the energy of Ryan Simmonds unabated, managed a couple of shots at goal, which were blocked by Coleman and Kobe ‘Killer’ Ntim, the defence’s minder, but soon Vallance grabbed possession from Ndlovu on the left flank and crossed beautifully for the crouching, leaning Blake to glance a header into the far right corner of the net from 6 yards and Sutton, amazingly, had been hit for six.

Blake celebrates his goal by head-butting a team-mate...

Sutton’s Sam Simmonds was cautioned for a foul from behind, but after Coleman did a Shipp impression and cleared the ball from his own goalmouth, following Fox’s indiscretion, Suffo found himself in the penalty-box onto Ndlovu’s fine pass, but he was unable to set up another goal, winning a corner instead. Suffo provided a brilliant climax for the Reds, when he turned on the ball from deep, nutmegged an opponent and threaded a superb pass through inside-right for the rampaging Moudime, whose 16 yard drive was really well kept out by the diving Gough.

Taylor and Ryan Simmonds battled on for Sutton until the bitterly cold end, Shipp had paddled on too, but to be fair, both Jack Skinner and Jared McGivern had also looked neat on the ball at times. A heavy loss though, was tinged with some pride for the guests, whose approach had been laudable. Coventry were unstoppable on the day however, with Moudime powering down his flank, Vallance attacking on his wing intelligently but with Cox and the avid Gift Mussa prowling and devastating in midfield, the hosts could free O’Grady and Blake at will to cause damage on offense. Ntim frowned for 90 minutes, Suffo smiled for 15… 

Kobe frowns...

The end and as Suffo shakes hands, O'Grady looks relieved that his beard has remained totally dry...

It’s what he does…