Coventry City U23 2 v Sheffield United U23 1
U23 Professional Development League, North
Monday 11 September 2017
SUFC 2017/18 Game 21
Twitter @ball_sup
That was a top of the North versus top of the South shootout. The format is you play everyone in your region home & away. And then every team in the other region just once. A very disappointing result for United. Along with other results. Sees Forest & Wednesday both leapfrog above us. Leaving us in third place. With the possibility of falling even further once later games have finished. Coventry (South Division) now have 13 points from 5 games.
A BLINDING performance by one of the older Coventry Carrier Baggers. Silly Old Goat has only gone & asked me "not been to Sheffield for a long time, have you still got that cricket pitch there?" Classic Bagging.
I won't take anything away from Coventry. But, the Young Blades were superb at times in the first half. Winning first, second, third balls. Sharper & more committed. Wing backs & centre backs getting forward. Slater & Gilmour controlling midfield. Not one player seemed to put a foot wrong or drift out of it.
Different story in the second. Coventry upped the tempo. United tired a bit. And, then self inflicted downfall as defender/goalie kerfuffles and general keeper stranding & flapping fiascos have cost us. But, Coventry really battled their way back into it. I'm pissed off. But, I don't begrudge 'em that win in the end.
Back to the conventional U23 Development team today. Jake Eastwood still on higher duty. Jake Wright Jnr out on loan with some Mesters. Callum Semple (presumably) still on the injury comeback trail. Ditto Stephen Mallon. But, no first team needing a run drop downs. No transfer window newbies needing to get used to the colour of the shirts. Ty Smith out there. Regan Slater out there (armband).
The Young Blades were pretty fluid. Dewhurst betwixt sticks. Bennett & Norrington-Davies as wing backs. Back three of Ferguson, Graham & Cantrill. We were so dominant initially, that Cantrill was popping up in midfield. And the wing backs in their box. The all-over-the-shops Gilmour & Slater bossing everything in midfield. Hallam linking up. Parkhouse conventional elbows up front. Smith roving at pace.
Greaves & Doherty eventually got second half runs off the bench. Nice goal early on from Hallam. Cottoned on to a ball over the top. Took it on & a good finish from about 15 yards. Some well worked free kicks and other crosses provided another set of chances. Hindsight. Needed to make more of those count. Because, as said, Coventry were really in it from Half Time. Really got to point the finger. Marcus Dewhurst looked at fault for both goals. Although his defenders helped him out with the first one. I can’t really do the analysis. First one, they just got in a back pass yours/mine mess. Dewhurst ended up getting robbed & the Sky Bluer has just had to roll it in. Second one came from our left. Cross came in to a crowded six yard area. No one dealt with it. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. FFS deal with it. Marcus ends up scrambling across his line. As. The. Ball. Just. Keeps. On. Going. Time for a bit of collapse & flap. And the Coventry kid just knocks it in at the very far of the far post. With the ball having gone all the way across undealt with. Both goals just looked UGLY.
Plenty of positives. Including fine saves from Marcus. But, having been so dominant. To lose it is a kick in the goolies.
Abbeydale, Contemplation on Cask at 4.7%. Excellent. Very pale in the glass. Fresh smell. All that belies its bitterness I feel. Maybe merest hint of Turkish Delight. The bitterness is neither intense nor rich. But, man, it's a stayer. Comes swirling in & picks the taste up. Lovely
529/1119
21
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