Coventry 1 Stoke 2 - 12/04/2008
Coventry 1 Stoke 2 - 12/04/2008
Coventry City: Kasper Schmeichel, Daniel Fox, Scott Dann, Isaac Osbourne, Elliott Ward, Jay Tabb, Michael Doyle, Kevin Thornton, Stephen Hughes, Leon Best (Robbie Simpson 85), Michael Mifsud (Zavon Hines 84),
Subs not used: Marcus Hall, Andy Marshall, Julian Gray
Booked: Michael Doyle 68, Scott Dann 64
Goals: Elliot Ward 31(pen)
Stoke City: Carlo Nash, Leon Cort, Chris Riggott, Andy Griffin (Ryan Shawcross 40), Carl Dickinson, Stephen Pearson (Liam Lawrence 67), Richard Cresswell, Danny Pugh, Rory Delap, Shola Ameobi (Mamady Sidibe 25), Ricardo Fuller
Subs not used: Jay Bothroyd, Steve Simonsen
Booked: Liam Lawrence 80, Rory Delap 71
Goals: Ricardo Fuller 55(pen), Liam Lawrence 79
Attendance: 20249
Referee: U Rennie
Teamtalk
Substitute Liam Lawrence scored the winning goal as Stoke ended their alarming recent slump with a 2-1 win over Coventry at the Ricoh Arena .
Lawrence, a 66th-minute replacement for Stephen Pearson, took just 13 minutes to make an impact as Tony Pulis' side won for only the second time in their last nine matches.
It had been a tale of two penalties at the Ricoh Arena as Ricardo Fuller cancelled out Elliott Ward's opening goal for Coventry from the spot.
Chris Coleman's first home defeat since becoming Coventry boss in February saw his side dragged further into the relegation battle.
Coventry threatened inside the opening minute when Leon Best latched on to Stephen Hughes' throughball.
Carlo Nash had anticipated the danger and rushed out of his 18-yard area to clear the danger but was beaten to the ball by Best, who in trying to knock the ball round the Stoke goalkeeper inadvertently put it out for a goal-kick.
Coventry were on the attack again two minutes later and almost opened the scoring through Kevin Thornton.
The diminutive midfielder's near-post glancing header from Jay Tabb's left-wing cross had Nash beaten but struck the crossbar.
Stoke failed to clear their lines and eventually the ball broke to Michael Doyle, whose angled shot from the edge of the box went narrowly wide.
Coventry continued to ask early questions of their visitors and good link up play between Thornton and Doyle created an opening for the latter, but the Irishman dragged his shot harmlessly across the face of Stoke's goal.
The same combination engineered another chance in the 13th minute following a neat one-two on the edge of the box.
Doyle connected better this time but once again his shot curled wide of the far post.
Stoke looked menacing for the first time midway through the first half when Fuller crept in behind the Coventry defence, but Scott Dann recovered well to muscle the chance away from the Jamaica international.
Ward then put the Sky Blues ahead. Referee Uriah Rennie pointed to the spot after a goalmouth scramble inside Stoke's six-yard box following Dan Fox's inswinging corner.
Carl Dickinson upended Thornton and Ward calmly side-footed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner, sending Nash the wrong way.
It was the defender's fourth goal of the season, all of them from the penalty spot.
Leon Cort could have equalised immediately. However, the defender steered his volley wide from 12 yards out.
Nash produced a solid save to palm Thornton's rising shot over the crossbar following Tabb's cut-back from the byline in the 39th minute.
The first half ended with Doyle stinging Nash's palms with a low shot from inside the area.
Coventry keeper Kasper Schmeichel was forced into action for the first time five minutes after the restart, pushing away Fuller's low shot on the turn.
Fuller levelled from the spot in the 55th minute. A weaving run from Stoke's top scorer was brought to an abrupt end when he was brought down inside the area by Hughes.
Fuller confidently blasted the penalty into the bottom left-hand corner, despite Schmeichel diving the right way.
Stoke were in the ascendancy. Pearson was inches away from getting a touch to Fuller's delightful cross with the outside of his foot as he slid in at the near post just after the hour mark, before Mamady Sidibe glanced a header wide midway through the second half.
Stoke's pressure was rewarded when Lawrence expertly steered home his 15th goal of the season.
Schmeichel had rushed from his line to thwart Richard Cresswell but the ball broke to Lawrence, who curled a first time shot with his left foot into the unguarded net.
CCFC
Promotion chasing Stoke came from a goal behind to record victory at the Ricoh Arena.
A penalty from Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence goal cancelled out a first half spot kick by Elliott Ward as City's relegation worries deepen.
The Sky Blues started brightly and were unfortunate not to take a third minute lead when Kevin Thornton hit the crossbar with a glancing header from a Jay Tabb cross before Michael Doyle fired narrowly wide of the upright from the edge of the area.
The Irishman was on the end of another excellent move in the 23rd minute, with City playing some flowing football to keep the Potters' rearguard occupied, but again his effort was just off target.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis was forced to make a change midway through the first half when Shola Ameobi came off injured and was replaced by Mamady Sidibe.
But the Sky Blues took a deserved lead just after the half hour mark when Dickinson upended Thornton in the box and referee Uriah Rennie pointed to the spot. Elliott Ward stepped up and calmly slotted his penalty into the bottom corner, sending keeper Carlo Nash the wrong way.
City came close to extending their lead five minutes before the interval when good work from Tabb teed up Thornton but his 15 yard effort was superbly tipped over by Nash.
Stoke had failed to test Kasper Schmeichel through the duration of the first half but Ricardo Fuller forced the City shot stopper into a full stretch save in the 50th minute with a curling shot from 18 yards, as the visitors looked to make more of an impact in the second 45 minutes.
And the Potters were level on 53 when Fuller equalised from the penalty spot. Stephen Hughes made a needless challenge on the Jamaican international and Uriah Rennie again had no doubt aas he awarded a second spot kick of the afternoon. Fuller stepped up and cooly finished to even things up.
The game was far more stretched in the opening stages of the second period and Thornton, lively as ever for the Sky Blues, looked to regain the lead for City but his sweetly struck shot drifted wide.
Pulis made his third and final substitution of the afternoon on 67, bringing on talented midfielder Liam Lawrence for Stephen Pearson.
And it was Lawrence who scored what would turn out to be the winner with 12 minutes remaining, shooting into an open net after Schmeichel had saved at the feet of Fuller.
Coleman made a double switch, introducing Robbie Simpson and Zavon Hines for Best and Mifsud but it was too late to influence the result.
4thegame
Substitute Liam Lawrence earned Stoke City a valuable victory in their bid for automatic promotion after falling behind at Coventry City.
Ricardo Fuller's 15th goal of the season cancelled out Elliott Ward's first-half opener as both teams netted from the penalty spot, before Lawrence scored with 11 minutes left.
Coventry started this match which manager Chris Coleman described as "monster" in positive mood by attacking Stoke from the start.
Jay Tabb's floated cross from the left was met by a glancing header from Kevin Thornton which crashed against the bar in the third minute.
In the next attack, Michael Doyle's low 20-yard shot flew across the face of the goal as Stoke were penned back in their own half.
Coleman's team were rewarded for their dominance by taking the lead on the half-hour mark.
Thornton was brought down inside the box in a goalmouth melee by Carl Dickinson and referee Uriah Rennie immediately pointed to the spot.
Ward's right-footed penalty beat keeper Carlo Nash, who dived the wrong way.
Tony Pulis' side might have equalised in the 50th minute when Fuller turned Ward to curl in a shot which Kasper Schmeichel palmed away.
The dangerous Fuller won the visitors a spot-kick four minutes later when he weaved past two Coventry players before he was fouled by skipper Stephen Hughes.
The Jamaican tucked his penalty into the corner of the net.
Soon after, Fuller's left-wing cross teed up Stephen Pearson, but the on-loan midfielder from Derby just failed to connect with the ball.
But Stoke grabbed a vital second goal in the 79th minute when Richard Cresswell's shot was saved by Schmeichel, but the rebound fell to Lawrence and the substitute hit the ball into an unguarded net.
Coventry City: Kasper Schmeichel, Daniel Fox, Scott Dann, Isaac Osbourne, Elliott Ward, Jay Tabb, Michael Doyle, Kevin Thornton, Stephen Hughes, Leon Best (Robbie Simpson 85), Michael Mifsud (Zavon Hines 84),
Subs not used: Marcus Hall, Andy Marshall, Julian Gray
Booked: Michael Doyle 68, Scott Dann 64
Goals: Elliot Ward 31(pen)
Stoke City: Carlo Nash, Leon Cort, Chris Riggott, Andy Griffin (Ryan Shawcross 40), Carl Dickinson, Stephen Pearson (Liam Lawrence 67), Richard Cresswell, Danny Pugh, Rory Delap, Shola Ameobi (Mamady Sidibe 25), Ricardo Fuller
Subs not used: Jay Bothroyd, Steve Simonsen
Booked: Liam Lawrence 80, Rory Delap 71
Goals: Ricardo Fuller 55(pen), Liam Lawrence 79
Attendance: 20249
Referee: U Rennie
Teamtalk
Substitute Liam Lawrence scored the winning goal as Stoke ended their alarming recent slump with a 2-1 win over Coventry at the Ricoh Arena .
Lawrence, a 66th-minute replacement for Stephen Pearson, took just 13 minutes to make an impact as Tony Pulis' side won for only the second time in their last nine matches.
It had been a tale of two penalties at the Ricoh Arena as Ricardo Fuller cancelled out Elliott Ward's opening goal for Coventry from the spot.
Chris Coleman's first home defeat since becoming Coventry boss in February saw his side dragged further into the relegation battle.
Coventry threatened inside the opening minute when Leon Best latched on to Stephen Hughes' throughball.
Carlo Nash had anticipated the danger and rushed out of his 18-yard area to clear the danger but was beaten to the ball by Best, who in trying to knock the ball round the Stoke goalkeeper inadvertently put it out for a goal-kick.
Coventry were on the attack again two minutes later and almost opened the scoring through Kevin Thornton.
The diminutive midfielder's near-post glancing header from Jay Tabb's left-wing cross had Nash beaten but struck the crossbar.
Stoke failed to clear their lines and eventually the ball broke to Michael Doyle, whose angled shot from the edge of the box went narrowly wide.
Coventry continued to ask early questions of their visitors and good link up play between Thornton and Doyle created an opening for the latter, but the Irishman dragged his shot harmlessly across the face of Stoke's goal.
The same combination engineered another chance in the 13th minute following a neat one-two on the edge of the box.
Doyle connected better this time but once again his shot curled wide of the far post.
Stoke looked menacing for the first time midway through the first half when Fuller crept in behind the Coventry defence, but Scott Dann recovered well to muscle the chance away from the Jamaica international.
Ward then put the Sky Blues ahead. Referee Uriah Rennie pointed to the spot after a goalmouth scramble inside Stoke's six-yard box following Dan Fox's inswinging corner.
Carl Dickinson upended Thornton and Ward calmly side-footed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner, sending Nash the wrong way.
It was the defender's fourth goal of the season, all of them from the penalty spot.
Leon Cort could have equalised immediately. However, the defender steered his volley wide from 12 yards out.
Nash produced a solid save to palm Thornton's rising shot over the crossbar following Tabb's cut-back from the byline in the 39th minute.
The first half ended with Doyle stinging Nash's palms with a low shot from inside the area.
Coventry keeper Kasper Schmeichel was forced into action for the first time five minutes after the restart, pushing away Fuller's low shot on the turn.
Fuller levelled from the spot in the 55th minute. A weaving run from Stoke's top scorer was brought to an abrupt end when he was brought down inside the area by Hughes.
Fuller confidently blasted the penalty into the bottom left-hand corner, despite Schmeichel diving the right way.
Stoke were in the ascendancy. Pearson was inches away from getting a touch to Fuller's delightful cross with the outside of his foot as he slid in at the near post just after the hour mark, before Mamady Sidibe glanced a header wide midway through the second half.
Stoke's pressure was rewarded when Lawrence expertly steered home his 15th goal of the season.
Schmeichel had rushed from his line to thwart Richard Cresswell but the ball broke to Lawrence, who curled a first time shot with his left foot into the unguarded net.
CCFC
Promotion chasing Stoke came from a goal behind to record victory at the Ricoh Arena.
A penalty from Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence goal cancelled out a first half spot kick by Elliott Ward as City's relegation worries deepen.
The Sky Blues started brightly and were unfortunate not to take a third minute lead when Kevin Thornton hit the crossbar with a glancing header from a Jay Tabb cross before Michael Doyle fired narrowly wide of the upright from the edge of the area.
The Irishman was on the end of another excellent move in the 23rd minute, with City playing some flowing football to keep the Potters' rearguard occupied, but again his effort was just off target.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis was forced to make a change midway through the first half when Shola Ameobi came off injured and was replaced by Mamady Sidibe.
But the Sky Blues took a deserved lead just after the half hour mark when Dickinson upended Thornton in the box and referee Uriah Rennie pointed to the spot. Elliott Ward stepped up and calmly slotted his penalty into the bottom corner, sending keeper Carlo Nash the wrong way.
City came close to extending their lead five minutes before the interval when good work from Tabb teed up Thornton but his 15 yard effort was superbly tipped over by Nash.
Stoke had failed to test Kasper Schmeichel through the duration of the first half but Ricardo Fuller forced the City shot stopper into a full stretch save in the 50th minute with a curling shot from 18 yards, as the visitors looked to make more of an impact in the second 45 minutes.
And the Potters were level on 53 when Fuller equalised from the penalty spot. Stephen Hughes made a needless challenge on the Jamaican international and Uriah Rennie again had no doubt aas he awarded a second spot kick of the afternoon. Fuller stepped up and cooly finished to even things up.
The game was far more stretched in the opening stages of the second period and Thornton, lively as ever for the Sky Blues, looked to regain the lead for City but his sweetly struck shot drifted wide.
Pulis made his third and final substitution of the afternoon on 67, bringing on talented midfielder Liam Lawrence for Stephen Pearson.
And it was Lawrence who scored what would turn out to be the winner with 12 minutes remaining, shooting into an open net after Schmeichel had saved at the feet of Fuller.
Coleman made a double switch, introducing Robbie Simpson and Zavon Hines for Best and Mifsud but it was too late to influence the result.
4thegame
Substitute Liam Lawrence earned Stoke City a valuable victory in their bid for automatic promotion after falling behind at Coventry City.
Ricardo Fuller's 15th goal of the season cancelled out Elliott Ward's first-half opener as both teams netted from the penalty spot, before Lawrence scored with 11 minutes left.
Coventry started this match which manager Chris Coleman described as "monster" in positive mood by attacking Stoke from the start.
Jay Tabb's floated cross from the left was met by a glancing header from Kevin Thornton which crashed against the bar in the third minute.
In the next attack, Michael Doyle's low 20-yard shot flew across the face of the goal as Stoke were penned back in their own half.
Coleman's team were rewarded for their dominance by taking the lead on the half-hour mark.
Thornton was brought down inside the box in a goalmouth melee by Carl Dickinson and referee Uriah Rennie immediately pointed to the spot.
Ward's right-footed penalty beat keeper Carlo Nash, who dived the wrong way.
Tony Pulis' side might have equalised in the 50th minute when Fuller turned Ward to curl in a shot which Kasper Schmeichel palmed away.
The dangerous Fuller won the visitors a spot-kick four minutes later when he weaved past two Coventry players before he was fouled by skipper Stephen Hughes.
The Jamaican tucked his penalty into the corner of the net.
Soon after, Fuller's left-wing cross teed up Stephen Pearson, but the on-loan midfielder from Derby just failed to connect with the ball.
But Stoke grabbed a vital second goal in the 79th minute when Richard Cresswell's shot was saved by Schmeichel, but the rebound fell to Lawrence and the substitute hit the ball into an unguarded net.
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