Coventry City - 2 (Delorge 62. Mills 78.)
Crystal Palace - 0
Lee Mills took the first free kick of the match, but it was just a little too strong for the attackers making their way into our danger zone. Hayden Mullins then did well to clear the danger for Palace, the ball making its' way rapidly to the advancing Dougie Freedman. Magnus Hedman did well to send the shot safely away for a corner, and the defence was able to clear the danger from this particular set piece.
Matt Clarke then did well to spot the danger following a throw from ex-Palace player Marc Edworthy, and he was able to clear the ball upfield. Julian Gray then made a good move up the left side of the pitch, and Clinton Morrison almost grabbed the opener.
Mills then nearly got in on goal, but his shot was easily dealt with by Matt; the ball finally ending up in the side netting. A good through ball from Simon Rodger very nearly found Clinton, but it was becoming obvious that we would need a little bit of magic from someone if we were going to find that opening goal. Matt then needed to come out quickly to force Youssef Chippo to send his shot wide, but the deflection off Matt forced us into protecting a corner.
A free kick to Palace was taken by Hayden, but Coventry were able to deal easily with the danger. Julian then got a good cross in to Dougie, but he was once again robbed by the defence; which was certainly looking as though it was very well organized. Lee Hughes then attempted a long-range effort, but Matt was able to save the shot with a diving effort that was certainly close to being the save of the match so far.
A free kick to Coventry on the edge of the area gave us a moment of panic, but Christian Edwards headed away David Thompson's effort. Mills then sent in a shot that was deflected behind for another corner, but the effort for the home side was once again dealt with by the Palace defence. Hughes then sent in a shot that looked as though it was destined for the back of the net, but Matt tipped it over the bar at the last moment to save the day once again for Palace.
Finally a corner to the visitors gave the home defence little to worry about, Clinton totally messing up any chance of a shot on goal. The next time the ball came his way he was marginally offside, and that was about the sum total of his day, luck was certainly not with him this time round.
A good cross by Julian found an empty penalty area, at least as far as the Palace attacking force was concerned, and then Dougie was pulled down by a frustrated Coventry defence. The resultant free kick was hit first time by Dean Austin, but his shot went well clear of the crossbar, and the chance was wasted.
A shot from Mills went wide of the mark, and then Chippo repeated the effort. Palace will certainly need to be careful if they are not going to concede a goal soon. A corner to Palace was taken by Simon, and his cross found Aki Riihilahti, though his shot was nowhere near where the Palace faithful wanted it, and once again the chance went begging.
A couple of chances to the home side came to naught, and then Clinton chipped one simply into the keepers' arms at the other end. A cross from David Hopkin found Dougie lurking in the area, but his header went wide of the post before Jovan Kirovski won a throw on the right side of the pitch. Of course, the chance was cleared by the Coventry defence and they immediately swept down the other end where Matt had to be alert to once again clear the danger for the visitors.
Dougie almost got free in the area, after beating a number of defenders single handedly, but as usual he took on one too many and the danger was averted. A final free kick to Palace was wasted, and the whistle went for half time, and the honours were even. Steve Kember would have been reasonably pleased with the first half display, but he would surely be urging the players on to greater things in the second half.
Coventry got the second stanza of play underway, the first opportunity going to Mills, his shot being dealt with at the last moment by the Palace defence. A corner to Palace found Aki at the back post, but his attempt went easily into the waiting Hedman. He got his chance once again a few minutes later, but this time the shot went straight into the side netting.
A bit of end-to-end play followed, with neither side seeming to make any headway, then suddenly, from nowhere the ball was in the back of the net following a cross in by Thompson, which Mills flicked on and Laurent Delorge was faced with the simple task of putting the ball into the net to open the scoring for the night.
Palace were now forced to open up the play a little more, and though a promising move saw Clinton upended in the area the referee was not close enough to make a decision, and play went on regardless. As it happened it would appear that Clinton was injured in this move, and it remains to be seen if he is fit enough to play come Saturday. A great save by Matt kept us in the game, and he was called on to make a few more of these in the next few minutes.
Jovan played Clinton in well, but he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity, and the keeper saved well. Steve Kabba was brought on for the now obviously injured Clinton, and then Dougie won a corner when he got through on goal once more. Lee Mills then finally scored for the home side, as he had been threatening to do all evening. Matt had just saved the ball, but the resulting bounce eluded him, and the fine attacking forward stole in for Coventry and finally settled the match for the night. There was going to be no coming back from this point for Palace.
Tommy Black came on for David Hopkin, so at least Kember was not about to give up the ghost, putting forward as good an attacking side as we could muster with Clinton off the field. Of course, this can always go against a side, and the possibility of conceding yet another goal loomed large for the visiting fans.
Fortunately there was but a few minutes remaining on the clock. Steve managed a shot on goal, but merely managed to win a corner, which of course we once again wasted, and then Matt kept Hughes out at the other end. Hayden hit a long-range shot that went straight to the keeper once more, and somehow Aki managed to get himself booked right at the death.
Ah well, it is back to Selhurst Park on Saturday, and a date with Burnley. Perhaps our luck will change there?
Colin Pryce
Coventry City: Magnus Hedman, Marc Edworthy, Marcus Hall (Tomas Antonelius 75), Muhamed Konjic, Lee Carsley, Laurent Delorge, Youssef Chippo (Lee Fowler 88), David Thompson, Youssef Safri, Lee Hughes, Lee Mills (Julian Joachim 84).
Substitutes not used: Barry Quinn, Andy Goram.
Crystal Palace: Matt Clarke, Hayden Mullins, Christian Edwards, Dean Austin, David Hopkin (Tommy Black 83), Julian Gray, Simon Rodger, Aki Riihilahti, Dougie Freedman, Jovan Kirovski, Clinton Morrison (Steve Kabba 72).
Substitutes not used: Alex Kolinko, Gregg Berhalter, Steve Thomson.
Attendance: 13,695
Referee: Mr P Walton (Northants)