COVENTRIANS 6-1 AFC COVENTRY RANGERS: THE INDEPENDENT MATCH REPORT...

 Rangers Punished By Clinical Coventrians…

Coventrians 6-1 AFC Coventry Rangers

This game was like watching a cartoon boxing match between one contestant who continually harassed and landed the occasional useful blow upon his opponent and another fighter who simply released several lethal blows and reduced its scrapping opponent to a tired, defeated and somewhat embarrassed adversary. The six goals landed by Coventrians in a game of only occasional opportunities must have frustrated visiting goalie Ross Davis and he might have wondered whether it would have been better to have stayed at home and watched a re-run of Line Of Duty…

He was beaten by two powerful shots from Joel Heeley and Luke Wilson, and then in the last minute, by a breathtaking volley from home replacement Josh Dixon, but the lack of communication displayed throughout by his defensive unit was certainly one of the main causes of such a heavy defeat. 2-0 behind early on and 4-0 in arrears at the interval, AFC never really recovered, despite Fola Fagbemi’s early second period consolation header. 

THE REF WONDERS WHETHER Liam Connolly HAS BEEN WATCHING EASTENDERS RECENTLY...

The weather was awful from around the half-time mark, for low, ugly, slate coloured clouds had gathered which then crept across the Coventry sky until, wind aided, they released some 40 minutes or so of rain, leaving the pitch sodden. By the end of the match the ball rolled poorly, often stopping on the surface. The breeze, rain and slope were all in Rangers’ favour after the recess but apart from the Fagbemi goal, home ‘keeper James Connolly wasn’t really troubled. My new umbrella performed admirably but again my jeans were stuck to the backs of my legs, as I attempted to juggle camera, brolly, dictaphone and cloth to wipe the raindrops from the lens, as I filmed and commentated… 

ATTRACTIVE BUT NOT CONDUCIVE FOR FILMING...

Physicality was evident from the start by the competitive Coventrians and that advantage would serve them well during this must-win encounter. Skipper Aaron Donaldson was again harsh in the tackle, Kieron Butler and Dan Hume were as solid as WW2 pillboxes in centre defence and Liam Connolly prowled about in midfield like he hadn’t eaten for three days. However, much of the lively creativity by Coventrians came from the boots of Ben Newport, who had also impressed in the reverse fixture seven days earlier. The pace of Jeremie Agholor, Nathan Cadby and Heeley was always going to trouble the visitors and both Liam Connolly and Wilson were not averse to supplying long passes for the attackers to hunt, but in truth Rangers too often failed to come to terms with a psyched up opposition.

LOOKING AT FARRELL'S EYES, RANGERS ARE CLEARLY USING A CLEVER SIGNALLING SYSTEM FOR TACTICAL MOVES...

Before the recess, Heeley’s low shot was stopped by Davis’ legs, a Butler header skidded well wide and shots by both Agholor and Newport were well blocked by the bravery of Rangers’ Phil Chesters. The only other goal attempts by the hosts were a long shot wide by Liam Connelly, a Cadby header wide with Davis stranded and the AFC defence in disarray, plus a goal ruled out for Cadby due to an offside flag. Oh, yes, plus the four goals which counted…

The first came from Coventrians’ first attack, after the opening moments had been dominated by AFC. Liam Connolly released Heeley at inside left and although the striker’s low shot wasn’t a hard one, somehow it bounced past Davis into the far corner of the net.

1-0...

An awful defensive mix-up allowed Aglohor to steer in goal two, for he, Ranger Dan Povey and Davis all converged on the ball at around the 18 yard line, following Newport’s pass. Naturally, the ‘keeper was thus stranded as the ball squirmed away from the three-man coming-together for Agholor to gain possession and score inside the near post from an angle on the right into an unguarded net.

2-0...

Goal three stemmed from right-defenseman Ryan Conneely’s deep free-kick, Cadby rose just beyond the left edge of the 6 yard box, his looped header beat the stretching Davis, came down off the crossbar and the only player to anticipate the possibility of a rebound was Liam Connolly, who calmly nodded the ball into goal from a couple of yards.

Liam Connelly (7), NETTED GOAL 3...

The fourth goal offered Liam Connolly his second assist, for his pass to Heeley was contested by Chesters but the ball appeared not to bounce and thus skidded past him, allowing Heeley to turn and lift a shot from downtown goalwards. Davis stretched and reached, but the ball dropped over him and under the crossbar for a spectacular goal…

4-0...

Rangers? An attempted chip by hard-working forward Connoll Farrell which lacked the height to trouble James Connolly, an assist by Farrell for Ryan Alexander, right edge of the 6 yard box which led to a low shot and a block by the goalie’s legs and a low shot by Povey from 18 yards which rolled through a crowd of players but wide of the right post. Fagbemi had set up the chance but he was then unable to keep his feet on another occasion inside the 18 yard box and Farrell didn’t shoot from a promising free-kick situation, instead clipping in a service-cross for his team-mates who failed to benefit from it.

SURPRISED THAT FARRELL DIDN'T SHOOT FROM THE FREE-KICK...

The interval arrived, the weather had worsened, AFC trailed 4-0 and one wondered how the Rangers team-talk would be approached…

2ND PERIOD TO START...

Possibly due to the worsening conditions, fewer chances were created after the break but at least Rangers began the second 45 with aplomb, scoring when Fagbemi rose well to nod in Farrell’s right-side corner but subsequently, all Rangers could manage was a badly sliced shot by Alexander and an angled drive by Fagbemi which deflected for a corner off Butler. Joe Gardner was cautioned for an over-eager tackle but he never stopped working for AFC, whilst Alexander was innovative at times and looked a mild threat on occasions.

FAGBEMI (7): SCORED WITH A SMART HEADER...

Good play on the Coventrians’ left by Cadby saw a pass to Heeley who must have thought a hat-trick would be achieved but Davis made a fine save, tipping the ball away to safety. Only three more chances came the way of the hosts and they scored from two of them…

A left-wing corner caused a messy scrum in the penalty-box and the ball dropped, uncontrolled towards the right, from where Wilson lashed an unstoppable rising drive into the top left corner of the net. 5-1 nearly became 6-1 when replacement Ebenezer Fasoranti chased clear at inside-right and although Davis had advanced to kick clear, the ball stopped in surface water, leaving him stranded but Fasoranti shot into the right side-netting anyway…

Goal six came as the final seconds ticked away and Fasoranti’s nudged pass was controlled on Dixon’s chest at inside-right, then as it dropped, he volleyed it high from 30 yards and the ball dropped like a stone into the far corner of goal, leaving Davis looking shocked and disbelieving… A fantastic strike, worth getting wet for… 

JOSH DIXON (17): SUPERB GOAL...

Liked Newport, Agholor and Liam Connolly for the hosts, as their strong defence held the rather lightweight AFC forwards at bay. Replacement Lee Kelly received a caution… George Swain and Chesters did their best for Rangers in the rearguard and at times, left-back Toby Curran combined quite well with the very lively and involved Alexander. Farrell and Fagbemi were too often isolated in attack, despite the efforts of Gardner and the all-round involvement of skipper Jordan Powell in midfield. Rangers though, were well beaten…

Rangers’ players were debriefed in the rain on the pitch afterwards and now they have to fight to be runners-up in the group. All is not lost, clearly, but that defeat would hurt… 

One thing… Why do some players from a trailing team which has just scored suddenly rush into the net to retrieve the ball, snatch it up, rush to the centre-spot and place it there? Why does the opposition try to stop them doing it? The restart is never, ever quickened up by this ludicrous action and the team scored against will take its own time anyway… In this match, trouble ensued after Fagbemi’s goal, as the ball was hunted by AFC’s players and one of them was fortunate to escape punishment for his pigeon impression, a forward movement of his neck… Enough said.

Well done to Coventrians and thanks to the AFC secretary (?) who managed to get both teamsheets to me before the match began…

TEAMS:

COVENTRIANS:

JAMES CONNOLLY, RYAN CONNEELY, AARON DONALDSON (CAPT), LUKE WILSON, KIERON BUTLER, DAN HUME, LIAM CONNOLLY, BEN NEWPORT, JOEL HEELEY, JEREMIE AGHOLOR, NATHAN CADBY.

SUBS:

JORDAN BRANDISH, EBENEZER FASORANTI, HARVEY MIDDLETON, LEE KELLY, JOSH DIXON.

AFC COVENTRY RANGERS:

ROSS DAVIS, SEB HARTWELL, TOBY CURRAN, DAN POVEY, GEORGE SWAIN, PHIL CHESTERS, FOLA FAGBEMI, JOE GARDNER, CONNOLL FARRELL, JORDAN POWELL (CAPT), RYAN ALEXANDER.

SUBS:

ADAM FINCH, ANT GLENN, KIERAN HEAD, JAMES CHAPPELL, LUKE COMASKY.