For just the second time in the team’s history—after their victory in 1987—Coventry City advanced to the FA Cup semifinals, pulling off another incredibly impressive performance and accomplishment.
For the fortunate 4,800 supporters who were able to secure tickets, the Sky Blues triumphed over Premier League Wolves with a thrilling stoppage time double, turning what appeared to be a 2-1 loss completely around. It was one of those memorable “I was there” moments.
From the first whistle, City dominated their opponents in the top flight, displaying fearlessness and confidence in every player’s superb performance on the day, which made the thousands of spectators at home and in other locations and bars as well as those in attendance extremely proud.
The contest fluctuated, with City having more than their share of opportunities and one horrible miss before eventually reaping the benefits when Ellis Simms gave them the lead. Hugo Bueno and Ryan Ait-Nouri scored two goals in the final ten minutes to overcome that, sending the Molineux supporters into a frenzy of “que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wemberly.”
However, Coventry’s tenacity and a healthy dose of “we’ll fight ’til the game is won” mentality resulted to a thrilling finish, with Simms drawing even in the 97th minute and setting up Haji Wright for an incredible winner three minutes later in a thrilling game finale. Thus, for the fourth time in eight years, little old Championship Coventry City will be playing at the Arch as Robins continues to provide happy memories and experiences for the fortunate young who don’t know any different and the long-suffering “old,” whose devotion through the good times is now being rewarded. Here are a few of the main talking points from the thrilling 3-2 victory in the FA Cup quarterfinal.
Adding insult to injury, £161 million
The Wolves injury list was one of the first topics discussed by both managers in their respective post-match press conferences. Mark Robins acknowledged this, saying, “Coming into the game you know they have injuries to key players – I mean, Pedro Neto is ridiculous.” We are deeply saddened by the loss of a couple we know, but it does show that there is still hope.
In contrast, Gary O’Neil declared in his opening gambit, “I am proud of the players.” Naturally, it’s difficult to remain optimistic after a loss, but the outcome of today’s game is just a culmination of the club’s progress over the previous few years, and we’re left with just one senior attacking player who is fit at a Premier League team! It’s difficult, and Coventry was able to take advantage of our inadequacies on the day to win. I’m devastated that we fell just short.
Even though the Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, who is now absent, cost a staggering £44 million, Jeanricner Bellegarde signed for £12.8 million, and Neto is currently valued at £47 million, the Sky Blues were still significant underdogs going into the game because O’Neil’s starting lineup was still worth approximately £161 million, not including homegrown teenage striker Nathan Fraser. Conversely, Coventry’s entire roster is just worth £45 million.
Robins’ excellent strategic curve ball
Mark Robins changed his team’s formation to further demonstrate his cunning strategy. Due in large part to the loss of winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto for the rest of the season, he had been using a back three with wing-backs with some degree of success. However, he pulled off an unexpected switch to a back four, using Milan van Ewijk wide of a forward three. The boss has been reluctant to use the Dutchman, especially at first, despite the fact that he has been a clear alternative to step in higher up the pitch. However, it was a great success, as Van Ewijk outmuscled his opponent and scored several well-placed crosses. This bodes well for the rest of the season. With the initial teamsheet suggesting City will remain with a back three and use him and Bidwell as wing-backs, Gary O’Neil will most likely not have been anticipating that.
Similar to this, Robins played Jay Dasilva wide on the left at Leeds in December after Daniel Farke conceded, grudgingly and somewhat harshly, that the “defensive” decision had taken him off guard. Furthermore, Van Ewijk was a dangerous conduit for attacks even if he provided solid support for Joel Latibeaudiere, who was used at right-back.
It’s interesting to note that the game was briefly stopped when Wolves’ man of the match contender Jose Sa fell down hurt early in the first half for no apparent reason. Call me cynical, but while the goalie was getting treatment, the other players hurried to the technical area to grab refreshments, and several of them huddled around an iPad while the manager and his coaches tried to correct them about changing their on-field strategies.
VAR played its part
Many partisan and quite a few neutral observers felt that there was a strong case for a red card for Nelson Semedo after his high boot challenge on Callum O’Hare which resulted in City’s attacking midfielder suffering a nasty blow to his nose that required treatment. ITV commentator Ally McCoist certainly felt the Wolves player was “lucky” to get away with it, and the fact that he attempted to pull his foot away at the last second might just have saved him in a VAR check.
The Sky Blues, of course, are not accustomed to such checks and when Ellis Simms’ opener was subjected to intensive and repeated scrutiny from every available angle for a possible hand ball, the brilliant 4,800-strong Sky Blue Army got a bit restless, some booing as the game was delayed for more than four minutes before the goal was finally confirmed, with the footage inconclusive. But as annoying as it was to have to wait in suspense for so long, the time delay proved to do the visitors a huge favour late on in the game when it helped make up the nine minutes of overtime, during which City pulled off their stunning ‘come from behind’ victory.
MOM missed by minutes
Two goals and one assist in a thrilling 3-2 win should guarantee man-of-the-match honours in normal circumstances, but Sky Blues hero Ellis Simms missed out at Molineux. The ITV production team delayed their nomination until the clock had ticked off five of nine added-on minutes when, reasonably enough, Ally McCoist plumped for Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Algerian star fired Wolves level before picking out Spanish substitute Hugo Bueno to make it 2-1. But Simms snapped up his second close-range goal barely a minute after McCoist had made the official pronouncement and there was still time to tee up Hadji Wright’s exquisite winner. Before that late flurry of four goals in 17 minutes, José Sá staked his MoM claims with a series of excellent saves as City chalked up 24 scoring attempts, a dozen of them on target. McCoist declared in commentary that the Portuguese keeper had kept Wolves in the game, a sentiment echoed by Radio Five pundit Leon Osman.
Everyone wants Cov
So Coventry City are in the last four of the FA Cup and one thing’s for sure, the other teams left in the competition will be licking their lips at the prospect of being pulled out of the bag against the Sky Blues. Whether it’s Man City or the winners from Sunday’s remaining quarter-final ties – Man United v Liverpool and Chelsea v Leicester – they’ll all see Coventry as a free pass to the final.
Asked if his team can go all the way and win the Cup, Mark Robins said: “You do realise who’s left in it! We have a small chance but we’re going to Wembley for a semi-final and we have to enjoy that game. But I don’t want to just go there and say we’re making the numbers up.
“We know, and I am not stupid, that the levels go up all the time and I am expecting a really, really tough encounter when we get to Wembley, but we have to go and enjoy it.”
GET MORE NEWS HERE