Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner examines some of the key talking points from Coventry City’s 6-2 FA Cup third-round victory over Oxford United in this match analysis from CoventryLive.
In an eight goal thriller at the CBS Arena, Coventry City easily defeated Oxford United, who were vying for promotion from League One, to secure their spot in the FA Cup fourth round. In a thrilling nine minutes, the Sky Blues scored four goals in quick succession. Latibeaudiere’s near-post header from the opening corner gave them the lead, and a minute later, Mark Harris gave the visitors a point.
Then, right after the restart, Ben Sheaf gave City the lead once more, and Kasey Palmer’s incredible 30-yard strike resulted in the game’s winning goal for the third round.
But Matty Godden bagged a late brace in the space of four minutes to round off a dominant and thoroughly deserved third round victory. Here we look at some of the big talking points from the game.
City show their class
Doug King demanded a cup run and Mark Robins responded by naming his strongest available side and the Sky Blues got the job done early with a thoroughly professional performance. Just how it should be. City have often made heavy weather of ties like this so it was particularly pleasing and refreshing to see the performance and result go to form. In actual fact, Coventry showed their class on the day by taking the game away from Oxford who are no pushovers in their league, currently in fifth place in League One with serious ambitions for Championship football next season. It’s therefore a measure of just where Mark Robins’ men are, and how far they have come, that they blew them away with such relative ease in a game that could easily have seen a greater scoreline had the home side taken more of their chances.
Simms so close
Ellis Simms will have been kicking himself for not scoring a couple himself after passing up two gilt-edged chances in the second half when he had just the keeper to beat. The centre-forward, however, couldn’t squeeze the ball past goalkeeper Simon Eastwood for the first and lacked the presence of mind to dink it over him for the second – both relatively close range opportunities on an angle. But he showed exactly what he’s capable of when he shrugged off two men at the byline before pulling the ball back for Ben Sheaf to restore City’s lead early in the first half. It’s a shame he didn’t get on the scoresheet as this was just the sort of game that could have given him the confidence to kick on in the league. That said, the fact that he didn’t score shouldn’t take the shine of an otherwise decent overall contribution.
But that’s certainly not the impression Mark Robins gave in his post-match assessment of the player when he admitted that he’s found it “frustrating” of late being left out of the starting line-up, but insisting that he’s looking “really sharp” at the minute and that the game was perfect for him due to the amount of chances that were going begging. Robins has never hidden his admiration for the striker, his ‘talisman’ for so many seasons, and while he’s not the sentimental type when it comes to upgrading his squad, it’s hard to see him letting Godden go with City so well placed to push for the play-offs this season. Having said that, if the manager has a new front man lined up then you never know!
Matty’s mysterious muted celebration
Matty Godden’s quick-fire double took his impressive contribution at the club to 50 goals – the best return from a City goal scorer since Gary McSheffrey and a haul that confirms his place among the club’s elite goal scorers in the modern game. Interestingly, however, the 32-year-old failed to celebrate either of his clinical finishes in the box, both of which were laid on by Jamie Allen. It didn’t go unnoticed by the fans and immediately had the conspiracy theorists in overdrive on social media, many concluding that it was a clear signal that he’s off in the current transfer window. His muted reactions were certainly out of character from a player who has always enjoyed being inventive with his celebrations, from his aeroplane simulation to lawn mower motion.
Unused subs speaks volumes
Mark Robins hinted at an uncertain future for veteran duo Liam Kelly and Kyle McFadzean during his pre-match press conference ahead of the FA Cup tie. Asked if either are likely to go out on loan or do anything in this window, he said: “I have no idea on that. They are obviously part of the squad and remain available for selection.”
However, although named on the bench against Oxford United, neither got on the pitch in a game when the manager made five changes on the day, including in their positions, having ample opportunity to give them a rare run out in a game in which City were in cruise control pretty much throughout the entire 90 minutes. It may be putting two and two together but it certainly felt like the decision not to throw them on spoke volumes for their short-term futures at the club.
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