After Saturday’s 0-0 draw away to Burton, Coventry City were looking to, again, maintain their winning start to the 2019/20 season and keep their place at the summit of League One. Wimbledon were the visitors, as the Sky Blues looked to compile their misery and keep them winless in League One.
Mark Robins sent out a team with two changes from the away draw, bringing back Brandon Mason, after his return from injury, and Callum O’Hare, giving Zain Westbrooke a much-deserved rest. The full line-up was Marko Marosi; Brandon Mason, Dom Hyam, Kyle McFadzean (C), Fankaty Dabo; Jordan Shipley, Liam Walsh, Callum O’Hare; Jordy Hiwula, Matty Godden and Wesley Jobello.
Wally Downes sent out Nathan Trott; Paul Kalambayi, Will Nightingale (C), Ryan Delaney; Luke O’Neill, Scott Wagstaff, Anthony Hartigan, Callum Reilly, Nesta Guiness-Walker; Marcus Forss and Michael Folivi.
In an expectedly subdued atmosphere on a cold Tuesday night, the game started with a fair amount of intensity. City came flying out of the blocks and looked to get on the front foot, pinning Wimbledon in their own half and dominating possession. Yet, despite all the good play in the opening exchanges, the first goal went to the Dons. A poor piece of play at the back from McFadzean, Marosi and Walsh led to the latter brining down the Wimbledon man and Trevor Kettle pointing to the spot. Marcus Forss stepped up and slotted home to give the away side the advantage, after just 8 minutes.
Wimbledon then looked to extend their advantage, Scott Wagstaff’s shot from the edge of the area took a big deflection off Dom Hyam, wrong-footing Marosi but striking the post. That was about it from Wimbledon, however, as Cov’ managed to reassert their dominance in the game. The dominance then paid dividends. On 30 minutes, Jordan Shipley carried the ball over the halfway line and played an absolutely sublime, cutting pass through Wimbledon’s midfield and back lines, into the path of Jordy Hiwula. He delayed-and-delayed his shot, before electing to round Nathan Trott and squeeze the ball over the line. Parity restored at St. Andrew’s.
Minutes later, Hiwula had another great chance. Matty Godden played the ball across to him but he could only send his shot wide of the near post. Then, yet another good chance came the way of Callum O’Hare – Wesley Jobello, who has courted some criticism from fans, played a great ball into the loanee’s path. He worked the ball onto his right foot, but his drilled shot was smartly stopped by Trott, who is highly regarded at his parent club West Ham.
Both sides went in level at the break but there was a sense that there would only be one team who would go on to win, that side being the home one. That said, the second half was fairly uneventful, in a manner similar to the Blackpool game a few weeks ago. An open game became tighter and there was little space for either team to play their game.
With 20 minutes to go, a Wimbledon free-kick into the box was met by Kalambayi but he could only head past the post, spurning Wimbledon’s last chance of the game. With 3 minutes of added time signalled, both sets of fans seemed resigned to a 1-1 draw, especially after Liam Walsh’s free-kick sailed past the post. The Bristol City loanee would get one final chance, though. Some smart play on the edge of the area from Callum O’Hare saw the ball laid off for Walsh, who stroked the ball into the bottom left corner to win the game for the Sky Blues in the dying embers of added time.
For Coventry, absolute delight. Another win on the board maintains their 100% start at home and their unbeaten start in the league and keeps them at the top of League One, although Ipswich still have a game in hand. A valuable 3 points, with a resilient performance to-boot, has only heightened the early-season adulation and admiration for a Coventry side looking to finally make the return to the Championship.
For Wimbledon, it was a valiant effort but ultimately a fruitless one. It could be argued that they were unlucky to come away with no point, considering the quality of the chances that they created during the game, but missing opportunities like that is a trait of a side struggling in the lower reaches of the table. There are certainly some signs of a decent team there, Wally Downes – or whoever comes in, in the case of his sacking – needs to work on getting them firing. That’s much easier said than done, though.
words Liam Murphy, Coventry City fan & writer