The teams shake hands
Richard Shaw, Lee Carsley & Andy Thorne in the dugout
Preparing for their upcoming League One season after relegation from the Championship the previous season Andy Thorn’s Sky Blues travelled to Hinckley United‘s Greene King Stadium for their first pre-season friendly on this day (July 14th) in 2012.
Their relatively young team went ‘goal crazy’ racking up eight goals without reply against their non-league hosts in front of 1,392 fans (many from Coventry) with seven different scorers getting onto the goal sheet!
It might have been more but, with new defensive signing (from French club Nice) Kevin Malaga prominent, the Sky Blues were content with a brace from Will Roberts (57 & 63 minutes) and one each from Gary McSheffrey (three minutes), Louis Garner (31), Roy O’Donovan (35), Jordan Willis (65), Aaron Phillips (81) and Shaun Jeffers (85).
Jordan Willis in the Sky Blue
Roy O’Donovan in the Sky Blue
Aaron Phillips in the Sky Blue
‘Sheffers’ grabbed the first with a deflected shot three minutes in. Just after the half hour midfield general (and now Association member) Carl Baker slipped Louis in to double the Sky Blues lead and then the youngster expertly broke the Hinckley offside trap to enable Roy to net one before the break with City 3-0 up.
Gary McSheffrey in Sky Blue action
Louis Garner in the Sky Blue
Though it was all change for the Sky Blues in the second half, with experienced men John Fleck, Kevin Kilbane and Stephen Elliott on the pitch, the scoring continued and on 57 minutes young Will Roberts made it four and then doubled his tally five minutes later with a header after good work from Kilbane and Jeffers.
Only a minute later Jordan fired home off the cross bar to make it 6-0. City’s seventh came from Aaron who was played in by Fleck. Sean then got on the score sheet to round things off with only minutes left. CCFC’s full match report of the game can be found by clicking on the link here.
Chris Dunn (Lee Burge), Jordan Clarke (Jordan Willis), William Edjenguele (Richard Wood), Kevin Malaga (Aaron Phillips), Chris Hussey (Kevin Kilbane), Gary McSheffrey (Conor Thomas), Louis Rankin (John Fleck), Carl Baker (Stephen Elliott), Billy Daniels (Shaun Jeffers), Roy O’Donovan (Will Roberts) and Joe Henderson (Joe Pegg)
Roy powers through
The Hinckley side managed by Dean Thomas lined up as follows (half time subs in brackets):-
Scott Furlong (Rob Peet), Jack Lane, Mark Dudley, Danny Bragoli (Paul Lister), Declan Towers (?? Luke), Ben Richards-Everton, Sean Wilkin (Lee Hildreth), Brodie Blankley (Greg Downes), Jason Bradley (Curtis Shaw), Pavol Gierti (Harvey Headley), Sam Shilton (Matt Brown)(?? Hollis(68)).
Lee and Sam were young former Coventry City players.
Mark Robins gets his 1st taste of CCFC management
The Sky Blues had a very mixed pre-season in front of the 2012-13 campaign winning games at Brora Rangers in Scotland, Accrington Stanley, Port Vale (behind closed doors) and Bristol Rovers but conceding defeat at Ross County and Inverness Caledonian Thistle in Scotland as well as at Wrexham and our local neighbours Nuneaton Town.
As far as the League One season was concerned three straight draws at the start of the season led to Andy Thorn (now an Association member) getting the sack in late August. Fellow CCFPA member Richard Shaw took over in a caretaker capacity until Mark Robins (in his first CCFC ‘coming’) arrived towards the end of September with the club in the relegation zone.
‘Elvis’- Sky Blue ‘gaffer’
Results picked up extensively and, despite the ten point penalty from going into administration, the team was relatively comfortable in the League.
However, when Mark, clearly unhappy with the off-field situation, decamped for Huddersfield Town at the start of February (now CCFPA member) Lee Carsley took over as Caretaker. Then, in early March another Sky Blue former player (now CCFPA member) Steven Pressley took over at the helm to see out the season.
Leon Clarke‘s goals put him second in the League’s hot shot table and CCFC would have finished firmly mid table but not for the points penalty and were pleased to survive the season in fifteenth spot though exile at Northampton Town‘s Sixfields Stadium was in prospect.