Jim's column 18.1.2020

Coventry City overcame Bristol Rovers comfortably in their FA Cup Third round replay at St Andrew’s on Tuesday evening. Their 3-0 victory was the clubs biggest FA Cup replay win since 2003 when Cardiff City were despatched by the same score at Highfield Road.

The victory sets up an enthralling Fourth round tie with the club’s landlords Birmingham City with the Sky Blues the ‘home’ side at St Andrew’s. It will be the fourth FA Cup meeting between the clubs and Blues have the edge having won two to City’s one. The first meeting was in the Third round at St Andrew’s in 1935 when Blues were a First Division club and Coventry were in Division Three South. Blues’ pedigree prevailed with a 5-1 victory thanks to a Fred Harris hat-trick and City’s consolation coming via a Les Jones penalty. A crowd of over 40,000 watched the tie.

The next meeting was at Highfield Road in 1981 in front of 29,000, when both sides were in Division One. In a close game Gerry Daly and Andy Blair gave the home side a 2-0 half-time lead before Frank Worthington, with a penalty, and Alan Ainscow levelled things. Daly won the tie from the penalty spot to send the Sky Blues to a Fifth round tie at Tottenham.

The most recent meeting was in 2011 in the Fourth round at St Andrew’s. Blues were in the Premier League with City in the Championship but the game didn’t excite the fans and only 16,000 were present. The Sky Blues took a 2-0 lead through Richard Wood and Marlon King before David Bentley pulled one back with a screamer from 25 yards. After half-time the home side’s quality began to tell and they sealed the tie with goals from Stuart Parnaby and Kevin Phillips. The Blues went on to reach the quarterfinals before losing to Bolton.

Josh Pask made an impressive senior debut for the club on Tuesday night and capped it with a stunning goal. Fellow historian Paul O’Connor pointed out that Pask is the first player to score for the club on his debut in an FA Cup game since City joined the league in 1919. That’s not strictly true - Coventry-born winger Dennis Simpson scored in the home FA Cup game with Aston Villa in January 1946 which City won 2-1. Whilst it was Simpson’s first ‘official’ competitive game for the club, he had played numerous times for the club in wartime games. Dennis went to play 69 games for City before joining Reading where he played almost 200 games.

The Sky Blues’ home form continues to be good with only one defeat in 18 games in all competitions. MK Dons however did become the first side not to lose at St Andrew’s after going behind. Ironically it was Coventry’s fastest goal of the season that put the ahead with Sam McCallum’s strike timed at 50 seconds.

Jim's column 11.1.2020

The Sky Blues have their first FA Cup replay on Tuesday night when they entertain Bristol Rovers for a place in the Fourth round and a home tie with Birmingham City. The intriguing prospect of a game against our landlords makes the replay even more interesting. 

Last week's draw at Bristol stopped City winning their third successive away FA Cup tie of the season, something they have not done since 1987 when, of course, they went on to lift the trophy. In fact it would have been only the third time ever – the other occasion being in 1909-10 when City, as a non-league club, won away at Kettering, First Division Preston and Portsmouth, on their way to a quarter final tie with Everton.

I've been looking at City's record in home FA Cup replays and it is very interesting. Since World War Two City have had 14 home replays in the competition and have lost only three. Two of those defeats have been at the Ricoh (v Bristol City in 2007 and v Portsmouth in 2010), the other way back in 1955 against First Division Huddersfield and two of the three defeats came after extra time. Therefore in fourteen home replays the team has lost only once inside ninety minutes. Highfield Road was undoubtedly a fortress when it came to Cup replays but only two of the four staged at the Ricoh have been won. The full list is as follows:

1951-52 v Leicester City won 4-1

1954-55 v Huddersfield lost 2-3 (after extra time)

1962-63 v Millwall won 2-1

1962-63 v Portsmouth drew 2-2 (won 2nd replay)

1965-66 v Crewe won 4-1

1973-74 v Sheffield Wed. won 3-1

1980-81 v Leeds United won 1-0

1983-84 v Wolves won 3-0 (2nd replay)

2002-03 v Cardiff won 3-0

2006-07 v Bristol City lost 0-2

2008-09 v Blackburn won 1-0

2009-10 v Portsmouth lost 1-2 (after extra time)

2013-14 v Hartlepool won 2-1

2016-17 v Morecambe won 2-1

It's sad to report the death of former City youth player John Matthews at the age of 73. Coventry-born John was the son of ex-City player Horace Matthews and joined City after being spotted playing for GEC. John was a winger and played in the same youth team as Mick Coop and Pat Morrissey but his first team chances were non-existent due to the form of Ronnie Rees and John Mitten. In 1966 Jimmy Hill was approached by Mick Lynch, the manager of Waterford, seeking a young player on loan. JH agreed for young John, who would have probably been released that summer, to go over for six weeks to gain some experience and in his first seven games he helped them clinch their first ever League of Ireland championship. John signed permanently for the club soon afterwards and the club won five more titles over the next six seasons and played in the European Cup against such sides as Manchester United and Celtic. He also played for Cork United, Newcastlewest and Longford Town during a 22-year career. His 156 goals make him the ninth highest goal scorer in the history of the League of Ireland.

After retiring Johnny, as he became known in Ireland, managed Limerick & Waterford United as well as becoming a referee & TV pundit. Thanks to City fan Jim Douglas for the sad news. John can be found on the unique photograph taken of the whole club staff taken in 1966. He is on the far right in the group under number 11 with Dave Clements.

Another who passed away over the Christmas period was Gordon Dougall. Gordon was one of six sons of 1920’s Coventry City star Jimmy Dougall and played for several local clubs including Rugby Town and Lockheed Leamington in the fifties. One of his brothers was Tommy who played four games for City during the Second World War.

Jim's column 4.1.2020

Coventry City fans have been discussing their favourite game of the last decade on social media over the last week or so and the game most mentioned was the thrilling 4-1 win at Notts County to secure a playoff final place in 2018. Coincidentally the Sky Blues ended the decade with another 4-1 victory, at League One leaders Wycombe last Sunday. They then followed it up with another 4-1 win, at Tranmere on New Year’s Day, in the first game of the new decade. After failing to win an away league game since Sunderland in April they were two remarkable results. Several fans wanted to know when the team had last won successive away games by a three goal margin. The answer was, in 2018, the 6-1 win at Cheltenham followed by the famous victory at Meadow Lane.

The results were remarkable enough but not the most remarkable statistic from the games. That honour goes to the hat trick king Matty Godden who scored hat tricks in both games. He’s the first City player to score successive three-goal hauls since Darren Huckerby who achieved the feat in January 1999 against Nottingham Forest in the league and Macclesfield in the FA Cup. You have to go back to November 1952 to find that Don Dorman scored successive hat tricks in league games (Crystal Palace and Torquay). Dorman, a veteran of the Battle of Arnhem, was actually a midfield player only playing in attack because of injuries to other players. 

In 1963 the legendary George Hudson netted three in successive away games, at Trowbridge in the FA Cup and in a league game at QPR. Other players to score consecutive hat tricks are George Lowrie in 1948, Clarrie Bourton in 1932 and Billy Smith in 1908 but the most prolific short-term scorer was Arthur ‘Rasher’ Bacon who, at Christmas 1933, standing in for the injured Bourton, netted five in a 7-3 win at Gillingham and four in a 5-1 home victory over Crystal Palace seven days later.

I believe Godden is in exalted company with his ‘double’ hat trick, the last player to achieve that fact in English football was Tottenham’s Harry Kane in December 2017 who scored threes against Burnley & Southampton.

The Wycombe victory was notable for defeating the league leaders on their own patch and was also the eighth consecutive victory over the Chairboys in all competitions. They must be fed up with the Sky Blues! The Tranmere result was notable for breaking the hoodoo that Rovers have had over City who had only ever won once at Prenton Park, back in a Second Division game in April 1939. In seven subsequent visits City had lost six and drawn once. Two of those defeats came in Cup games when City were a top flight side. In 1968 Third Division Rovers pulled off a FA cup giant killing by drawing at Highfield Road and winning the replay 2-0, then, in 1999 City suffered an embarrassing 5-1 League Cup defeat at Prenton when Italian goalkeeper Rafaele Nuzzo made his one and only first team appearance. This time out City mastered the notorious ‘dodgy’ pitch and ran out deserved winners.

City enter the New Year with only three defeats in the league which is something they have only managed twice before on their history. In 1937-38 they were second in Division Two on New Years Day with only two defeats - they ended up finishing fourth and missing promotion by two points. Then in 1963-64 they were seven points clear at the top of Division Three on New Years Day with just three losses - they won promotion on goal average after a bad stutter in the spring when they failed to win in 11 games.