Jim's column 6.4.24

What is it about Coventry City and Welsh clubs? On Easter Monday Cardiff City did a smash and grab raid at the CBS Arena thanks to Liam Kitching’s two own goals and once again City have succumbed to a Welsh club.

Dave Long asked if it was his imagination about the Sky Blues and teams from the Principality and I can assure him it’s not, our recent record against teams from Wales is dreadful.

All City fans know we can’t beat Swansea - the last league victory was back in Division 1 in 1983 and the Sky Blues have never won at the Liberty Stadium unless you count a EFL Trophy win against their under 23s in 2017! Admittedly the clubs didn’t meet in league games for 25 years but since hostilities recommenced in 2008 we have failed to beat the Swans in fourteen league games.

                Pl.     W       D       L      F    A       Pts

Home         7      0        4       3        8     11      4

Away         7       0        4       3        3      7       4

Similarly Cardiff City weren’t league opponents of City between 1967 and 2003 but in the last 21 years City haven’t fared well against the Bluebirds. Last season they did win at the Cardiff City Stadium for the first time in six visits but then succumbed this season in a sloppy display.

                    Pl     W     D     L     F     A             Pts

Home         13         3     5     5     12   15             14

Away         13         3     2     8       10 19             11

Then we have Newport County. The Sky Blues came up against them in League Two in 2017-18 but failed to win either of the games, County winning 1-0 at the CBS and drawing 1-1 on a very wet day at Rodney Parade.

Finally there is Wrexham. We haven’t met the North Wales side in league games since 1963-64 but they did cause a major FA Cup shock last season as a National league side, winning 4-3 at the CBS Arena.

Our overall league record against Welsh clubs since 2003 is pretty miserable:

                    Pl     W     D     L        F     A     Pts

Home         21     3         9     8       20   27     18

Away          21     3         7     11     14   27     16

A total of 34 points out of 42 games.

Liam Kitching joined an elite group of Coventry City players to score two own goals in a match. He became only the third player to achieve the feat following 1950s hero Roy Kirk and recent favourite Fankaty Dabo. Kirk scored his brace in a 2-2 home draw with Leyton Orient in September 1954 and his goals were not disimilar to Kitching's. The first was a deflected header on a shot that was not going on target and the second was Kirk trying to clear danger in front of his own goal.

Dabo's goals came at Oxford United in a 3-3 draw in August 2019 and the first was an attempted clearance and the second bounced off his foot just ahead of an Oxford striker who would have scored anyway.