An Amazing Finale At Leicester Road…
Leicester Road 1-2 Coventry United
(2015…)
The TV series Silent Witness has always irritated me because although the plots have sometimes been intriguing, the final fifteen minutes of each story have usually been so remarkably conveniently staged, that I became totally pigged off by its ridiculous simplicity.
I don’t watch it at all these days…
This game in rainy Hinckley was panning out to be the achingly typical football story: a fortunate free-kick for the hosts, a subsequent goal scored, then their opponents being unable to finish promising attacks. Coventry’s goalie even saved a penalty and it seemed that that would change the game, ‘the turning point’ and all that…
1-0 to LR...
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| MORRIS SAVES HICKS' SPOT-KICK... |
It didn’t though and the United offense continued to flatter to deceive, before the home defence was gradually overrun, as if a herd of wildebeest was on the rampage. But the story STILL didn’t pan out.
Coventry failed to score a goal and the final minutes arrived with frustration all around, with melees in the Leicester goalmouth and disappointment for the travelling supporters. And then, spookily, fate took a hand: replacement Charlie Cook’s free-kick skipped off other players’ legs like it was on a pinball machine and Coventry were level, then they were awarded a corner in the final minute of added time.
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| COOK'S FREE-KICK FINDS ITS WAY INTO THE NET... |
Another substitute, Connoll Farrell, United’s recent signing from Coventry Copsewood benefited from the Leicester goalie’s second punch in a terrible goalmouth scramble, like it was a skirmish outside a night club in Broad Street in Birmingham. The wide-player duly slammed the ball deep into the Leicester net to demonstrate just how those Silent Witness episodes should REALLY have ended: in thrills and unexpectedness…
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| FARRELL TAKES AIM... |
...& WINS THE MATCH FOR THE SPOOKS...
Victory, amazement, joy and disbelief for Coventry; defeat, shock, distress and disbelief for Leicester Road…
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| GOAL CELEBRATION... |
A great win by the visitors on the day but a terribly upsetting defeat for Leicester Road. The effort by Coventry to steal the points was exemplary, even if sometimes the offense was cloaked in inaccuracy. The team didn’t stop believing however and Leicester finally suffered such dismay.
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| COVENTRY APPLAUD THEIR APPLAUDING FANS... |
Smith, Highland and Sandhu did well for the hosts but I was well impressed by their lone-forward Hicks, despite his penalty-miss, for his work-rate was unfailing. The Spooks (Coventry's nickname from me at the time) were again fairly solid in defence, where skipper Burgess was unflappable and the mean-eyed Coleman had hit a real vein of strong form. No way to fault Mussa and Dakouri either, for they didn’t stop but Vallance was stylish in defence.
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| I MANAGED TO INTERVIEW UNITED BOSS EDWIN GREAVES AFTER THE GAME... |
Farrell and Cook finally scored the goals of course and Nduna’s brief appearance added something a little different…
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| THE MATCH WINNERS: CONNOLL FARRELL & CHARLIE COOK... |
In comparison to the Coventry fans’ raucous response to the victory and Leicester Road’s noisy fan-duo, I was left to take in this unlikely ending and I became, on the drive back to Solihull, the real silent witness…
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