Jim's column 2.3.24

A thoroughly professional performance by the Sky Blues ensured that National League South side Maidstone United were swept aside on Monday evening to book a sixth round place for the first time since 2008 and only the third time in the 37 years since the famous FA Cup triumph. A trip to Molineux in the sixth round now faces Mark Robins' team where the old rivalry with Wolves will be resumed in what will be a re-match of the game at the same stage of the competition in 1973 which Wolves won 2-0.

The 5-0 victory is the club's biggest win in the cup since 1999 when Macclesfield Town were thrashed 7-0 and Ellis Simms' hat trick was the first club three goal haul in the competition since Darren Huckerby's in that same game. It was only the sixth occasion that a Coventry player to score three in an FA Cup tie. The others are:

1907-08 Albert Lewis ( v Brierly Hill) (a) 6-2

1907-08 Albert Lewis (v Bishop Auckland) (h) 7-1

1946-47 George Lowrie (v Newport County) (h) 5-2

1963-64 George Hudson (v Trowbridge) (a) 6-1

1998-99 Darren Huckerby (v Macclesfield) (h) 7-0

Lewis scored his two hat tricks in the famous 1907-08 season when Coventry reached the equivalent of the third round as a Birmingham League side. They came through seven rounds (including two replays) to face Crystal Palace, a Southern League side, in the third round. Palace were too strong for City and won 4-2 at Highfield Road. On the way they scored 32 goals, a club record in one season. This season the team have scored 16 goals so far which equals the club record since they joined the league in 1919, set in 1962-63. That season the Sky Blues reached the sixth round before losing to Manchester United and scored 16 goals in nine ties including three games against Portsmouth in round four.

There was another excellent attendance at the CBS Arena on Monday evening boosted by 4,800 Maidstone fans who excellently supported their team right to the end. The official crowd of 26,857 is the fourth highest for an FA Cup tie at the stadium. The top five are as follows:

31,407 v Chelsea (Sixth round) 2007-08

28,163 v West Brom (Fifth round) 2006-07

28,120 v Middlesbrough (Fourth round) 2005-06

26,857 v Maidstone (Fifth round) 2023-24

22,793 v Blackburn (Fifth round replay) 2007-08

To find a higher home Cup gate than the Chelsea game you have to go back to 1979 when the visit of West Brom to Highfield Road for a third round tie attracted a near capacity 37,928.

Jim's Column 13.1.24

Coventry City continued their good form with a comfortable 6-2 home victory over Oxford United in the FA Cup Third round. Big cup victories are a rare thing for the Sky Blues and it was the club's biggest victory in the competition since 1999 when Macclesfield Town were put to the sword 7-0 at Highfield Road. Since City joined the Football League in 1919 there have only been five instances of them scoring six or more goals in the FA Cup:

1929-30 Coventry City 7 Bath City 1

1934-35 Coventry City 7 Scunthorpe & Lindsey United 0

1963-64 Trowbridge Town 1 Coventry City 6

1998-99 Coventry City 7 Macclesfield 0

2023-24 Coventry City 6 Oxford United 2

In the first three instances the opponents were non-league clubs whilst Macclesfield were in the third tier of the league as are Oxford.

Matty Godden came off the bench to score two goals – the first City player to achieve that feat since Amadou Bakayoko did it at Charlton Athletic in a League One game in 2018-19. He is only the eighth Coventry sub to score two goals in a game and the first in an FA Cup game. After substitutes were introduced to the domestic game in 1965 Bobby Gould was the first sub to score two (at Nottingham Forest in 1967) and since then has been followed by Jay Bothroyd, Patrick Suffo, Chris Maguire, Ryan Haynes, Max Biamou, Bakayoko and now Godden.

Godden has now scored 50 goals for the club and is the first player to reach that level since Gary McSheffrey. The two Cup goals take him to 21^st in the all-time table which is headed by Clarrie Bourton with 189, followed by Billy Lake with 129. He is now within striking distance of Ernie Hunt (51) Ronnie Rees (52) and Terry Gibson (52). 

The draw for the fourth round gave City a trip to their favourite Cup ground, Hillsborough, the scene of their sixth round and semi final victories in 1987. It also means trips to Sheffield Wednesday in successive weekends with a league game next Saturday followed by the Cup trip the following weekend. I'm not a great one for omens but several readers have reminded me that in City's memorable 1986-87 season City played Wednesday on successive Saturdays. The teams fought out a tough league game at Highfield Road with City prevailing 1-0 in a snow-affected game. Lloyd McGrath scored the winning goal and Dean Emerson, then in the form of his life and being tipped for an England call-up, suffered a bad knee injury following a challenge by Gary Megson. Seven days later the Sky Blues pulled off one of their greatest Cup results, winning 3-1 at Hillsborough where the Owls were unbeaten in 23 FA Cup ties. 

Another footballing legend died this week. Following hard on the heels of Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, the man who marked Charlton in the 1966 World Cup final and the 1970 quarter final, passed away aged 78. 'Der Kaiser', the Emperor, started his career as a midfield player but later became an outstanding central defender winning the European Championships with West Germany in 1972, the World Cup in 1974 and the European Cup three times with Bayern Munich (1974-76). I particularly remember his imperious performance in the 1976 European Cup final against St Etienne at Hampden Park when he didn't misplace a pass all game. He also managed Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

                       Franz Beckenbauer can't stop Neil Martin scoring at Highfield Road in 1970

Franz captained Bayern against Coventry City in the UEFA Fairs Cup in 1970. Bayern destroyed the Sky Blues 6-1 in the first leg in Munich but City won the second leg 2-1 at Highfield Road and Beckenbauer was given a tough time by City's centre-forward Neil Martin but still managed to show the Coventyry crowd his outstanding ability.