COVENTRY UNITED 5-1 BRINKLOW: light-hearted match report by THE MOWDOG...

Dreadlockless Moyo Breaks Deadlock…

Coventry United 5-1 Brinklow

(Brinklow won a penalty-shootout 5-4…)

A really strong first period showing by Brinklow against some good, fit and slick Coventry United players saw them hold their hosts at Henley College’s sports ground to parity at the interval. The visitors had been gifted an own goal and due to some profligate finishing, mostly by the rather unfortunate Josh Blake, only managed a penalty equaliser. After the break, however, replacements for both teams emerged, as did Leon Kelly to watch, looking like Mr Beefy from a TV advert, along with Brian ‘I’m on my way to the beach’ Ndlovu, looking like he’d misplaced his surfboard. The scoreline quickly changed to 4-1 to the hosts but Wendel Moyo’s stunning goal and the irrepressible Jean Dakouri’s strike to make it 5-1, were worthy finishes. Little was seen of the guests bar a few wayward efforts from distance and a good opportunity pulled wide by hard-working midfielder 8. Fine performances for Coventry were recorded by Ben Vallance at left centre-back, Dakouri and Gift Mussa in midfield, occasionally O’Grady on the flanks, plus a good first-half at left-back for ex-Southam player Ben Tennant. The Brinklow goalie, ‘Mally’ made some really good saves and had to return in goals quickly after the interval, due to an immediate injury to replacement ‘Martin’.

Muzzi hails a taxi...

Josh Blake, left: was penalised for dubious fouls and dubious hand-balls, but he also displayed some dubious finishing on the day...

Blake was doing well in the air against taller defenders but few early chances came the way of The Cagemen, bar a Dan Stokes shot, after Blake had drawn the ‘keeper out wide. Blake was soon scythed to the ground but with O’Grady hovering to take the ensuing 22 yard free-kick, Rob Prinzel struck his shot against a wall-defender’s leg. O’Grady benefitted from some of the smart, short United passing and struck a long, low drive, which was scrambled wide by ‘Mally’ but Blake nodded O’Grady’s corner way too high. Brilliant ball control was then shown by Muzzi Nduna, lying prone, for he trapped it on his buttocks; this was unusual… Soon though, a Brinklow right-sided defender smacked a clearance long and towards the middle and Prinzel, having previously looked solid in centre-defence, jumped to head the ball back towards goalie Tommy Hindmarsh, who wasn’t there, for he had raced from his goal as if the ice-cream man had arrived and the harmless header rolled unbelievably just inside the left upright. Oops.

Prinzel prepares to mess up a free-kick...

...but looks mightily shocked about his headed own-goal...

Several moves, pleasing on the eye, usually involving Dakouri, Mussa, Nduna, Stokes, or Blake nearly brought joy but Brinklow’s 5 (Burrin?) and 6 (Jake C?) held on well, conceding corners when necessary but although O’Grady had been instructed to try out a pre-planned flag-kick twice, neither time did the hoped-for outcome appear… Finally, the power of Mussa’s running drew a challenge and a penalty award, so that Stokes fired a successful kick low into the left corner of goal. Prinzel, twice, and then Tennant drove shots from distance but well off target, ‘Jake C’ defended the hard-done-by Blake superbly, following Nduna’s cross, then with ‘Burrin' off the field hurt, Blake suddenly raged into action but he raged even more when he squandered three fine chances to score. After tricking the ‘keeper, he saw ‘Jake C’ block his shot, he was foiled by the ‘keeper superbly on a rebound, after ‘Mally’ had saved one-on-one with O’Grady, then after being teed up for the simplest finish from a few yards, a badger suddenly reared its head from a sett in the ground, deflected the ball slightly with a deft header and Blake ballooned his shot. No wonder he won’t have his photo taken with The Bodging…

Dan Stokes: absolutely buried under team-mates, following his goal.
Not...

In his annoyance, Blake took another feed from Dakouri but drove his effort too hurriedly off target. It was half-time, the sun shone, the breeze shuffled, Cage-manager Edwin Greaves sported his beachwear and nobody seemed to know who Coventry’s number 16 was, for the braided hair was missing from Moyo’s neck…

Uncaged @ half-time...

On the Brink(low) of a good result...

The replacement Brinklow goalie lasted just moments, as he suffered injury when the skilful Hosein Khorrami set up Sean Kavanagh to chip in but an offside flag spoiled Kavanagh’s joy, which normally amounts to a shuffling jog and a meagre smile. The goalkeeper was replaced. Kavanagh nodded too high, before a penalty appeal was ignored by the replacement, glabrous referee, although the ball was moved left to Jayden Rickhuss, whose low shot was turned away for a corner by ‘Mally'. Following the flag-kick, the shorn Moyo cut into the penalty-box from the left and although he appeared to lose control of the ball, a defender dallied, the ball sat up and Moyo launched himself like a Kung-Fu actor and smashed a spectacular flying hitch-kick searing into the net via the underside of the crossbar. Did we not like that?

Dreadlockless... 2-1 now...

Almost immediately, Khorrami’s low drive was parried by the ‘keeper but only into the path of Rickhuss, who buried the rebound against his old team. He’d been sent on the field to distract his ex-colleagues by doing what he does well: chattering at people. Hence two quick Coventry goals and enormous relief for the ears of everybody on the Coventry sidelines…

Jean 'The Tank' Dakouri in possession...

OMG... Jayden Rickhuss, left, has scored and has shut up...
Maybe score more regularly, mate? Yeah?

3-1 became 4-1 with a strange goal, scored from one inch by Kavanagh, following a positive run on the left by Rickhuss, then a stubbed Moyo effort, which rolled goalwards and finally a linesman who had spotted that Kavanagh was indeed not offside. 

Sean Kavanagh: ecstatic...

‘Foxy’, Brinklow’s 9, who would later win the penalty shootout for his team, after Kavanagh chose to ‘rabona' his spot-kick, shot wildly off target after Hindmarsh had raced from goal and collided with a substitute, before O’Grady smacked a 35 yard free-kick wide for the hosts. Hindmarsh, whose first-half rush of blood had been costly, then kicked the ball at Brinklow’s ’Fordy’ and got away with it but Dakouri crowned a powerful and creative performance for The Cagemen by bursting past Brinklow defenders at inside-right like they were hanging punchbags, before unleashing a ferocious angled drive into the roof of the net. Emphatic, or what?

Hosein Khorrami (17): neat touches...

Jayden tells everyone his life story...

Tank Dakouri, second left, has scored a good goal...

A couple of skied Brinklow shots by ‘Foxy’ and the number 12 came between a drop by their goalie, which Kavanagh almost benefitted from and a cross from the right by Pierre Moudime, picking up steam, which Rickhuss unsuccessfully challenged ‘Mally’ for at the near stick. Again the goalie erred though, first by kicking the ball straight to Kavanagh, then from Kavanagh’s right-side centre he fumbled the ball but again Rickhuss was foiled. Rickhuss ended the game a little wastefully, in truth, losing his way following a brilliant switch-pass by Blake, then after Mussa played a clever one-two with Blake, the ‘keeper saved Mussa’s low drive, only for Rickhuss to lift the rebound too high. Moudime then turned dangerous with a couple of shots, the first being tipped away from his left angle of bar and post by ‘Mally’ and the second was driven across the face of goal and off the far vertical pole. It remained only for Brinklow’s 8 to make a firm run at inside-left but pull his shot disappointingly wide, Khorrami to fire straight at the Brinklow goalie, who then went down again to save from the galloping Mussa, only for Kavanagh to sky the rebound on the final whistle. 

Josh Blake prays for a penalty shootout, so that he can perhaps find the net...

Mussa had deserved a goal. Blake had deserved a goal and so HE took the first penalty in the shootout and although Club Secretary Graham Wood stood in the long grass, 50 metres away to retrieve the ball, Blake finally, but only just, beat the ‘keeper. The first eight penalties were successful, then came the sniggering Kavanagh’s ‘rabona’ which was easily caught. ‘Foxy’ shot home and everyone else went home…

The shootout begins...

Josh Blake has promised the 'keeper a couple of pints later if he'll help his penalty into the net...

...he did...

Foxy 9, the shootout winner...

Brinklow’s 4 and 8 worked tirelessly in midfield against the likes of Dakouri, Mussa and Khorrami and stuck to their tasks, both netting in the shootout. The ‘keeper really did do well too but how on earth Coventry failed to cash in on some thoughtful, often clever approach play during the opening half, it’s tough to know.

Coventry United squad:

Tommy Hindmarsh, Callum Burgess, Rob Prinzel, Ben Vallance, Ben Tennant, Gift Mussa, Jean Dakouri, Muzzi Nduna, Josh O’Grady, Dan Stokes, Josh Blake, Hosein Khorrami, Wendel Moyo, Nkosi Mzugwana, Jayden Rickhuss, Pierre Moudime, Sean Kavanagh.

As far as I could make out from a quickly scribbled list, the Brinklow squad might have been:

Mally, Luke R, Rory T, Ryan W, Burrin, Jake C, Fordy, A Gordon, Goxy, Sean, Louis, Mike?, Martin (gk), Brodze?, Marvin…

Hmm…

Apologies for the inaccuracies…