Plymouth 3 Coventry 2 - 22/01/2007
Plymouth 3 Coventry 2 - 22/01/2007
Plymouth Argyle: Luke McCormick, Gary Sawyer, Hasney Aljofree, Paul Connolly, Marcel Seip, David Norris, Akos Buzsaky (Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 81), Peter Halmosi (Scott Sinclair 76), Lilian Nalis, Barry Hayles (Rory Fallon 81), Kevin Gallen
Subs not used: Lee Hodges, Luke Summerfield
Booked: Gary Sawyer 90, Hasney Aljofree 73
Goals: Gallen 18, Buzsaky 32, Hayles 48
Coventry City: Luke Steele, Marcus Hall, Andrew Whing, Robert Page, David McNamee, Christopher Birchall (Kevin Thornton 62), Stephen Hughes, Jay Tabb (Michael Mifsud 61), Michael Doyle, Dele Adebola, Stern John
Subs not used: Arran Lee-Barrett, Kevin Kyle, Adam Virgo
Booked: Andrew Whing 33, Robert Page 4, Michael Doyle 36, Dele Adebola 75, Kevin Thornton 88
Goals: Birchall 22, Mifsud 70
Attendance: 9841
Referee: S Tanner
Teamtalk
A Barry Hayles-inspired Plymouth defeated Coventry 3-2 and showed that life without Micky Adams promises to be no easier following his sacking.
After a 15-minute delay due to floodlight failure, Ian Holloway's Argyle side were gifted first-half goals for Kevin Gallen and Akos Buzsaky by shocking City defending before Hayles curled home a superb third after the break.
Chris Birchall's tap-in kept the Sky Blues in touch at the interval, but despite a first goal in English football for recent signing Michael Mifsud to reduce the arrears, Argyle held on for a deserved three points from an entertaining encounter.
In cold and blustery conditions, the home side produced what little good football there was early on and they gained their reward in the 18th minute when they took the lead.
Robert Page and Marcus Hall failed comically to deal with a routine long ball, allowing Hayles to steal in and pass to strike partner Gallen who turned inside and slotted home via the weak outstretched arm of goalkeeper Luke Steele.
But Coventry, led for the first time by caretaker manager Adrian Heath, were level four minutes later when Stern John's floated cross-field ball found Jay Tabb, who crossed for Birchall to stab home from close range under pressure.
Dele Adebola had a chance to put City ahead in the 27th minute after a great run and through ball from David McNamee, but Luke McCormick was off his line quickly to avert the danger.
Argyle made the most of that let-off to retake the lead in the 32nd minute.
Hungarian midfielder Buzsaky seemed to be going nowhere as he dribbled wide on the edge of the area before cutting back inside.
But the City defence failed to put in a meaningful challenge, allowing him to fire into Steele's bottom-left corner from 20 yards.
If the Sky Blues were hoping the interval would bring a change in fortunes they were sadly mistaken, as Hayles made it three less than three minutes into the second half.
Collecting the ball on the left angle of the Coventry box, the veteran picked his spot and curled a delightful effort into the far corner beyond Steele's despairing dive.
Hayles was inches from making it four in the 65th minute when he headed David Norris' outstanding right-wing cross wide from 10 yards.
But out of nowhere City were handed a lifeline in the 70th minute when substitute Mifsud lashed home a fantastic first-time volley on the full after Argyle failed to clear a right-sided free-kick - the Maltese winger's first goal for the club.
Moments later, the visitors were almost level when another substitute, Kevin Thornton, forced McCormick into an athletic parry with a deflected 25-yard free-kick.
Argyle gave a 10-minute debut to record signing Rory Fallon but he had little chance to shine as his new team held on.
CCFC
The Sky Blues go down 3-2 to Plymouth Argyle in a thrilling encounter in front of the Sky cameras. A first Coventry goal for Michael Mifsud was not enough to condemn City to defeat at Home Park.
On a cold evening on the south coast, the Sky Blues found themselves 1-0 down when Kevin Gallen hit a low shot past Steele on 18 minutes. Minutes later Chris Birchall levelled the score with a simple tap in after good work from Jay Tabb and Stern John. Coventry then fell behind again when Akos Buzsaky hit a great shot from the edge of the penalty area to make the score 2-1 in favour of Plymouth.
Minutes after the restart the Pilgrims took a 3-1 lead through Barry Hayles and with 20 minutes left on the clock Mifsud hit a delightful volley to give the Sky Blues hope but it was not enough to claim a draw.
Caretaker boss Adrian Heath made four changes to the side that lost against Bristol City.
David McNamee returned to the Coventry side after being sidelined with a hamstring injury since October, the former Livingston player replaced Ben Turner. The change saw McNamee come in at right-back and Marcus Hall switch to centre-back alongside Robert Page. Andrew Whing played at left-back.
Stephen Hughes replaced Isaac Osbourne in central midfield and Birchall came in for the injured Leon McKenzie, who is suffering from a slight thigh strain.
Up front for the Sky Blues was the pairing of Stern John and Dele Adebola, the combination saw Kevin Kyle drop to the bench.
Michael Mifsud returned to the bench after being ineligible for the cup tie against the Robins.
With the match being delayed by 15 minutes due to power failure it was taking both sides a while to get into the game but the first attempt at goal went in the way of Plymouth. Former Sky Blue Lilian Nalis hit a long range effort wide with 11 minutes on the clock.
Seven minutes later the Sky Blues went 1-0 nil down when debutant Gallen found the back of the net with a weak shot which somehow went under the body of keeper Luke Steele. The former QPR player was picked out by striker Barry Hayles who turned and found Gallen on the edge of the six-yard box.
Minutes later City were level when John found Jay Tabb with a beautiful cross field ball, Tabb picked out Birchall with a square pass across the penalty area and the Trinidad and Tobago international coolly slotted the ball home from six yards out.
The match was beginning to liven up and flow nicely from end to end before Adebola went close on 27 minutes when McNamee charged forwards from defence and found Adebola with an acute through ball but the pass just had too much weight on it which the goalkeeper comfortably dealt with on the edge of the area.
Disaster struck for City on 32 minutes when Buzsaky finished with aplomb from the edge of penalty area. The Hungarian international had plenty of time and space to pick his spot and made no mistake with a low shot to the left of Steele.
The referee was beginning to get somewhat card happy when he booked Whing and Doyle in quick succession. Plymouth were beginning to take the game by the scruff of the neck and nearly took a 3-1 lead when Buzsaky dispossessed Page and consequently found Gallen but the striker could only fire his shot over the bar on 41 minutes.
Moments later Birchall nearly levelled the score when he forced McCormick into a great save, the midfielder struck a fierce shot which forced the shot stopper into a diving save.
The Sky Blues began the second half badly when Hayles made the score 3-1 to the Pilgrims after two minutes of the restart. Some neat build up play from Plymouth and in particular Buzsaky found the striker who struck a fantastic shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top right hand corner which left Steele could do nothing about.
The goal prompted Adrian Heath into making a double substitution with Mifsud and Thornton replacing Tabb and Birchall on 62 minutes. City were beginning to feel the force of Ian Holloway's men and Hayles came close to getting his second of the evening when he headed wide of goal after escaping his marker.
A comeback was on the cards when Mifsud bagged his first goal for Coventry City with 20 minutes left on the clock. The Maltese striker struck a fine volley from just inside the area to make it 3-2. The diminutive player had been a constant threat and reaped his reward with the sweet strike.
The double substitution was certainly proving to be inspired one when Thornton went agonisingly close with a long range free-kick on 74 minutes. The match was getting lively and Norris forced Steele into a point blank save after Plymouth counter attack.
Ian Holloway handed debuts to Rory Fallon and Scott Sinclair respectively on 76 and 81 minutes in place of Halmosi and Buzsaky.
A late rally from Coventry came and went but there was no way through a resilient Plymouth defence.
4thegame
Plymouth Argyle held off a strong fight back from Coventry to inflict defeat on Sky Blues caretaker-manager Adrian Heath in his first game in charge.
Goals from home debutant Kevin Gallen, Hungary playmaker Akos Buzsaky and veteran striker Barry Hayles were enough to see Argyle take a clear lead, even though visiting midfielder Chris Birchall had briefly levelled Gallen's opener.
A late goal from Malta international striker Michael Mifsud just minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute reduced Coventry's arrears to just a single goal and a free-kick from Kevin Thornton was brilliantly saved by Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick to ensure the three points went to Plymouth.
The victory lifted Argyle to 11th in the Championship with a FA Cup fourth round visit to League Two Barnet to come at the weekend.
Holloway started with Hayles and Gallen up front, keeping out record £300,000 signing Rory Fallon and on-loan Chelsea starlet Scott Sinclair.
And it was Hayles' persistence that set up Gallen for a left-foot shot that opened the scoring.
Almost immediately, Stern John crossed for Jay Tabb to tee up Birchall for a tap-in to level matters despite the best efforts of Hasney Aljofree to keep the ball out.
Coventry-born Argyle goalkeeper McCormick then denied recalled forward Dele Adebola before Buzsaky made Coventry pay by wriggling free on the edge of the box and spearing home a low left-foot drive.
Three minutes into the second half, Buzsaky, Paul Connolly and Gallen combined to set up Hayles, who netted a sublime chip from 25 yards that caught Coventry goalkeeper Luke Steele off his line.
A fine volleyed goal by Mifsud gave Coventry hope and, only a fantastic save from McCormick after Thornton's long-range free-kick had been deflected by Connolly's attempted headed clearance, kept Argyle ahead.
Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Holloway said: "Barry (Hayles) is a born winner. If it's tiddlywinks, he wants to win and I think he is showing that. I don't know what I would do without him.
"It was not the best of conditions, but I thought my lads were superb." Coventry caretaker-manager Adrian Heath added: "I couldn't ask any more from the players. It was just sloppy goals and individual errors which cost us again as they have been doing.
"A lot of the players out there showed the desire to win. It is dispiriting but we need to pick ourselves up."
Plymouth Argyle: Luke McCormick, Gary Sawyer, Hasney Aljofree, Paul Connolly, Marcel Seip, David Norris, Akos Buzsaky (Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 81), Peter Halmosi (Scott Sinclair 76), Lilian Nalis, Barry Hayles (Rory Fallon 81), Kevin Gallen
Subs not used: Lee Hodges, Luke Summerfield
Booked: Gary Sawyer 90, Hasney Aljofree 73
Goals: Gallen 18, Buzsaky 32, Hayles 48
Coventry City: Luke Steele, Marcus Hall, Andrew Whing, Robert Page, David McNamee, Christopher Birchall (Kevin Thornton 62), Stephen Hughes, Jay Tabb (Michael Mifsud 61), Michael Doyle, Dele Adebola, Stern John
Subs not used: Arran Lee-Barrett, Kevin Kyle, Adam Virgo
Booked: Andrew Whing 33, Robert Page 4, Michael Doyle 36, Dele Adebola 75, Kevin Thornton 88
Goals: Birchall 22, Mifsud 70
Attendance: 9841
Referee: S Tanner
Teamtalk
A Barry Hayles-inspired Plymouth defeated Coventry 3-2 and showed that life without Micky Adams promises to be no easier following his sacking.
After a 15-minute delay due to floodlight failure, Ian Holloway's Argyle side were gifted first-half goals for Kevin Gallen and Akos Buzsaky by shocking City defending before Hayles curled home a superb third after the break.
Chris Birchall's tap-in kept the Sky Blues in touch at the interval, but despite a first goal in English football for recent signing Michael Mifsud to reduce the arrears, Argyle held on for a deserved three points from an entertaining encounter.
In cold and blustery conditions, the home side produced what little good football there was early on and they gained their reward in the 18th minute when they took the lead.
Robert Page and Marcus Hall failed comically to deal with a routine long ball, allowing Hayles to steal in and pass to strike partner Gallen who turned inside and slotted home via the weak outstretched arm of goalkeeper Luke Steele.
But Coventry, led for the first time by caretaker manager Adrian Heath, were level four minutes later when Stern John's floated cross-field ball found Jay Tabb, who crossed for Birchall to stab home from close range under pressure.
Dele Adebola had a chance to put City ahead in the 27th minute after a great run and through ball from David McNamee, but Luke McCormick was off his line quickly to avert the danger.
Argyle made the most of that let-off to retake the lead in the 32nd minute.
Hungarian midfielder Buzsaky seemed to be going nowhere as he dribbled wide on the edge of the area before cutting back inside.
But the City defence failed to put in a meaningful challenge, allowing him to fire into Steele's bottom-left corner from 20 yards.
If the Sky Blues were hoping the interval would bring a change in fortunes they were sadly mistaken, as Hayles made it three less than three minutes into the second half.
Collecting the ball on the left angle of the Coventry box, the veteran picked his spot and curled a delightful effort into the far corner beyond Steele's despairing dive.
Hayles was inches from making it four in the 65th minute when he headed David Norris' outstanding right-wing cross wide from 10 yards.
But out of nowhere City were handed a lifeline in the 70th minute when substitute Mifsud lashed home a fantastic first-time volley on the full after Argyle failed to clear a right-sided free-kick - the Maltese winger's first goal for the club.
Moments later, the visitors were almost level when another substitute, Kevin Thornton, forced McCormick into an athletic parry with a deflected 25-yard free-kick.
Argyle gave a 10-minute debut to record signing Rory Fallon but he had little chance to shine as his new team held on.
CCFC
The Sky Blues go down 3-2 to Plymouth Argyle in a thrilling encounter in front of the Sky cameras. A first Coventry goal for Michael Mifsud was not enough to condemn City to defeat at Home Park.
On a cold evening on the south coast, the Sky Blues found themselves 1-0 down when Kevin Gallen hit a low shot past Steele on 18 minutes. Minutes later Chris Birchall levelled the score with a simple tap in after good work from Jay Tabb and Stern John. Coventry then fell behind again when Akos Buzsaky hit a great shot from the edge of the penalty area to make the score 2-1 in favour of Plymouth.
Minutes after the restart the Pilgrims took a 3-1 lead through Barry Hayles and with 20 minutes left on the clock Mifsud hit a delightful volley to give the Sky Blues hope but it was not enough to claim a draw.
Caretaker boss Adrian Heath made four changes to the side that lost against Bristol City.
David McNamee returned to the Coventry side after being sidelined with a hamstring injury since October, the former Livingston player replaced Ben Turner. The change saw McNamee come in at right-back and Marcus Hall switch to centre-back alongside Robert Page. Andrew Whing played at left-back.
Stephen Hughes replaced Isaac Osbourne in central midfield and Birchall came in for the injured Leon McKenzie, who is suffering from a slight thigh strain.
Up front for the Sky Blues was the pairing of Stern John and Dele Adebola, the combination saw Kevin Kyle drop to the bench.
Michael Mifsud returned to the bench after being ineligible for the cup tie against the Robins.
With the match being delayed by 15 minutes due to power failure it was taking both sides a while to get into the game but the first attempt at goal went in the way of Plymouth. Former Sky Blue Lilian Nalis hit a long range effort wide with 11 minutes on the clock.
Seven minutes later the Sky Blues went 1-0 nil down when debutant Gallen found the back of the net with a weak shot which somehow went under the body of keeper Luke Steele. The former QPR player was picked out by striker Barry Hayles who turned and found Gallen on the edge of the six-yard box.
Minutes later City were level when John found Jay Tabb with a beautiful cross field ball, Tabb picked out Birchall with a square pass across the penalty area and the Trinidad and Tobago international coolly slotted the ball home from six yards out.
The match was beginning to liven up and flow nicely from end to end before Adebola went close on 27 minutes when McNamee charged forwards from defence and found Adebola with an acute through ball but the pass just had too much weight on it which the goalkeeper comfortably dealt with on the edge of the area.
Disaster struck for City on 32 minutes when Buzsaky finished with aplomb from the edge of penalty area. The Hungarian international had plenty of time and space to pick his spot and made no mistake with a low shot to the left of Steele.
The referee was beginning to get somewhat card happy when he booked Whing and Doyle in quick succession. Plymouth were beginning to take the game by the scruff of the neck and nearly took a 3-1 lead when Buzsaky dispossessed Page and consequently found Gallen but the striker could only fire his shot over the bar on 41 minutes.
Moments later Birchall nearly levelled the score when he forced McCormick into a great save, the midfielder struck a fierce shot which forced the shot stopper into a diving save.
The Sky Blues began the second half badly when Hayles made the score 3-1 to the Pilgrims after two minutes of the restart. Some neat build up play from Plymouth and in particular Buzsaky found the striker who struck a fantastic shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top right hand corner which left Steele could do nothing about.
The goal prompted Adrian Heath into making a double substitution with Mifsud and Thornton replacing Tabb and Birchall on 62 minutes. City were beginning to feel the force of Ian Holloway's men and Hayles came close to getting his second of the evening when he headed wide of goal after escaping his marker.
A comeback was on the cards when Mifsud bagged his first goal for Coventry City with 20 minutes left on the clock. The Maltese striker struck a fine volley from just inside the area to make it 3-2. The diminutive player had been a constant threat and reaped his reward with the sweet strike.
The double substitution was certainly proving to be inspired one when Thornton went agonisingly close with a long range free-kick on 74 minutes. The match was getting lively and Norris forced Steele into a point blank save after Plymouth counter attack.
Ian Holloway handed debuts to Rory Fallon and Scott Sinclair respectively on 76 and 81 minutes in place of Halmosi and Buzsaky.
A late rally from Coventry came and went but there was no way through a resilient Plymouth defence.
4thegame
Plymouth Argyle held off a strong fight back from Coventry to inflict defeat on Sky Blues caretaker-manager Adrian Heath in his first game in charge.
Goals from home debutant Kevin Gallen, Hungary playmaker Akos Buzsaky and veteran striker Barry Hayles were enough to see Argyle take a clear lead, even though visiting midfielder Chris Birchall had briefly levelled Gallen's opener.
A late goal from Malta international striker Michael Mifsud just minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute reduced Coventry's arrears to just a single goal and a free-kick from Kevin Thornton was brilliantly saved by Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick to ensure the three points went to Plymouth.
The victory lifted Argyle to 11th in the Championship with a FA Cup fourth round visit to League Two Barnet to come at the weekend.
Holloway started with Hayles and Gallen up front, keeping out record £300,000 signing Rory Fallon and on-loan Chelsea starlet Scott Sinclair.
And it was Hayles' persistence that set up Gallen for a left-foot shot that opened the scoring.
Almost immediately, Stern John crossed for Jay Tabb to tee up Birchall for a tap-in to level matters despite the best efforts of Hasney Aljofree to keep the ball out.
Coventry-born Argyle goalkeeper McCormick then denied recalled forward Dele Adebola before Buzsaky made Coventry pay by wriggling free on the edge of the box and spearing home a low left-foot drive.
Three minutes into the second half, Buzsaky, Paul Connolly and Gallen combined to set up Hayles, who netted a sublime chip from 25 yards that caught Coventry goalkeeper Luke Steele off his line.
A fine volleyed goal by Mifsud gave Coventry hope and, only a fantastic save from McCormick after Thornton's long-range free-kick had been deflected by Connolly's attempted headed clearance, kept Argyle ahead.
Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Holloway said: "Barry (Hayles) is a born winner. If it's tiddlywinks, he wants to win and I think he is showing that. I don't know what I would do without him.
"It was not the best of conditions, but I thought my lads were superb." Coventry caretaker-manager Adrian Heath added: "I couldn't ask any more from the players. It was just sloppy goals and individual errors which cost us again as they have been doing.
"A lot of the players out there showed the desire to win. It is dispiriting but we need to pick ourselves up."
posted by SkyBlueSnowy at 8:42 am
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