Saturday, 24 January 2009

Read all about in Monday's Herald Express and at www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk
What can you say? The Gulls were on top for long spells, and certainly throughout the second half.
City had one shot on target in the second half, and substitute Ward made it count.

FULL TIME - GULLS 0-1 CITY

Have we got anything left to give? We were all over them right up until the goal went in.
Doyle shoots just wide from 25 yards for City.
Have we got one more chance left?
No, that's it.
We are in injury time now, of which there will be two minutes.
We haven't given up the ghost, though.
Nicholson swings in another cross but City clear.
We are making a double substitution. Carayol is on for Dsane and Stevens for Carlisle.
We are in the last minute.

GOAL - GULLS 0-1 CITY

There are four to go, and City have a corner on the left. it will be fox again with the kick.
And Elliot Ward heads in from six yards. Simple goal, and heartbreaking.
Westwood hoofs a clearance into Marnham Road now. City are on the ropes but we can't quite find the killer blow.
It's a corner on the right for the Gulls now, in the 85th minute. Nicko takes it.
Westwood grabs it off Sills' brow.
The attendance is 6,018.
Corner on the left for City. Fox will take it.
Sills clears.
Now it's a corner on the other side for City, and Fox is coming across to take this one too.
Nicky Wroe shoots over in the 81st minute, shooting from outside the box after some great work by Dsane.
City just haven't been in this in the second half, and that's dangerous...
McKenzie gets himself into another great position from an Eastwood pass. Bevan saves brilliantly but the flag is up for offside.
Now City are beginning to get themselves back into this.
But in the 79th minute Chris Hargreaves shoots just over from 18 yards as the ball breaks to him.
In the 80th minute Benyon is coming on for Green.
Corner on the left for Torquay, forced by Green. He has really given us a great performance today.
Woods meets the corner but it's easy for Westwood.
Foul on Sills now, 35 yards out. Wroe will take this one.
He clips it into the box, Woods meets it unchallenged and heads over from eight yards. That was another great chance.
We're now in the 76th minute.
There are 20 minutes to go. Carlisle has a shot charged down on the edge of the box.
Torquay have a free kick wide on the left. Nicko will take it.
A good curling cross but Coventry deal with it.
Green crosses from the right and sills heads over.
At the other end Thornton tries a few tricks on the edge of the box, but he's caught offside.
Mifsud, who is, by the way, wearing gloves, races past Nicholson but then beats himself and stands on the ball.
There are 67 minutes on the clock, and McKenzie shoots over the top again after a great through ball by Doyle.
McKenzie is now down needing treatment.
Another Nicholson throw is flicked on but runs through to Westwood.
We are absolutely on top here. Who'd have thought that?
Nicko throws in from the right this time. Westwood punches this time.
Turner clears out into Marnham Road and it's another big throw from our specialist.
64 minutes gone and Green pokes the ball over the top after being found by yet another Nicholson throw.
Coventry bring Thornton on for Beuzelin.
Dsane must have been 10 yards out if that. Will we get another chance that good?
The Gulls are on top now.
Nicholson throws in, Sills flicks on but it bounces through to Westwood. we're in the 60th minute.
Carlisle puts the ball over the top from 30 yards after spotting Westwood off his line.
The Championship side are rocking and we need to score before they get their act together again.
At the other end Mansell clears for a corner. Fox is taking it from the right.
Mansell heads clear. Who else?
Long throw again from the left by Nicko, this time right up by the corner flag. The ball bounces around the area and Dsane lifts it over the bar in the 58th minute. What a great chance - the best of the game so far.
In the 55th minute Green conjures a great shot from 15 yards when it seemed he was going nowhere. The ball goes through the legs of the defender, but Westwood flings himself down to his left to save.
So, we all said if we could get to half time with the score at 0-0 anything would be possible. We did, and it is.
Now we have a corner on the right. Nicko will take it.
Westwood has to paw it away from under his bar and it has gone for a corner the other side. Carlisle takes it.
City break but Wroe snuffs out the danger.
Throw in for Nicko out on the left again.
A great run into the box by Hargreaves but his cross goes begging. McKenzie appears to clip Dsane's ankles and he goes sprawling in the box. No penalty, says Mr Friend.
Now he wants a word with Carlisle and Fox, who are getting a little aerated.
Dsane crosses from the left and Green heads goalwards in the 50th minute but it's an easy take for Westwood.
The teams are back on, with no more changes by the look of it.
We are attacking the Ministand end in the second half, and we're off.

HALF TIME - GULLS 0-0 CITY


Great take from Bevan under pressure in the 45th minute, and that's half time.
In the 44th minute Gunnarsson is limping off, apparently with a hip injury. There's no sub as yet. Yes there is. Ward is coming on, himself just coming back from a knee injury.
Another great tackle from Mansell. Lee is right up for this today.
Westwood again sprints off his line to deny Green. The Gulls striker - in green boots by the way - is covering some ground today.
Another long throw from the left sets up a chance for Green, he hooks a shot at goal but it's deflected behind for a corner which Carlisle will take in the 43rd.
He gets it back, but Sills puts the ball behind for a goal kick.
Another free kick for City 24 yards out. Fox drives it at the wall and Mansell is judged to have handled the ball. He gets a yellow card and it's a kick on the edge of the box now for Fox to have pop at.
He curls it over the wall but also just over the bar.
Another big throw from Nicko causes problems in the City box but Turner wellies it clear.
33 minutes gone. The scrap between Woods and Eastwood is interesting. They will both go off with a bruise or two. Hodges and Morrison the same.
A great move in the 35th minute involves Wroe and Green before Carlisle crosses from the right. Turner heads over his own bar.
The corner comes to nothing.
A good ball from Nicky Wroe puts Green in again, but the keeper is out to claim it off him.
Some clever work by City puts McKenzie in, but he's offside. Once again Nicko has to take the kick for Bevan, which means a sprint to catch up with the rest to avoid playing people onside.
Carlisle plays another good through ball for Green, but it's just too far for him.
Mifsud forces a great save from Bevan, but he's offside.
The ball over the top finds Green again in the 30th minute. He lashes in a low shot from wide on the left but it's just wide.
Another ball over the top finds Green but he can't quite keep it in. This is definitely going to be a feature of the afternoon.
The chants of 'Yellow Army' are drifting across from the Pop Side. A long diagonal ball from the right finds Dsane but he can't get a shot in. Nicko throws in from the left, the ball reaches Carlisle but his shot doesn't have the power to bother Westwood unduly.
At the other end McKenzie spoons the ball over the top from a decent position.
We're in the 24th minute....
Now City have a free kick 30 yards out and central. Fox will take it. He shoots but the ball pings up off the wall and Bevan gathers.
There doesn't seem to be much chance of Coventry sleepwalking through this like Blackpool did. They are contesting every ball and looking to make an early impact.
We're in the 17th minute, and the ref is having a word with Chris Hargreaves for a foul on Gunnarsson.
Morrison beats Hodges in the air and flicks on, but it's easy for Bevan.
Gunnarsson is in the book now for something involving Green off the ball. Nicko has the free kick again from the same spot as the last two. Sills gets his head to it around the penalty spot but the header is over the bar.
In the 12th minute Nicholson clears off the line after Fox cuts inside and takes the ball into the area. His shot beats Bevan but Nicko is there.
Great shot from 20 yards by Mifsud as the ball breaks clear from a corner, but again Bevan is in the right place and holds on.
Now in the 9th, it's a free kick on the left for City. It finds its way through to Gunnarsson but his shot is straight at Bevan.
Long balls over the top for Green seem to be a tactic today. He has got onto two of them already, and don't forget that's how the Blackpool goal came about...
Mifsud shoots way over the top from the edge of the box.
Eastwood races in on a through ball but Bevan is out to force him to put it wide.
Bevan is once again handing over the kicking duties to Nicko.
Another free kick in the 7th minute. Nicko curls it in again but it's cleared.
A deep cross from Mansell from the right in the first minute is picked out by Westwood before it can reach Sills.
And at the other end Mansell cuts out a Marcus Hall cross.
It's a lively start.
In the third minute Welsh international Freddie Eastwood misses a great chance, heading over from about eight yards after a great cross by Morrison. Mansell took a whack in the face there and is off getting some treatment.
Nicko swings in a free kick from the left in the fifth minute. Woods turns it back at the far post but Westwood gathers.

And here come the teams. We are all in gold as ever. City are all in black with gold trim and white numbers.
We have won the toss and will play towards the Babbacombe End in the first half just the way we like it. There will be a minute's silence for Jim Thompson, founder chairman of the Football Alliance.
And we're off...
This is the first time the ground has been rammed full since the play-off match against Ex***r at the end of last season.
We appear to have seven mascots today, which must be some kind of record.
I can't believe I have just waved to Gilbert the Gull.....and he waved back....
15 minutes to go now and the atmosphere is terrific. If you don't feel the buzz on a day like this, then you have no soul!
It's orange boots for the warm-up for Mustapha, by the way. Very flamboyant.
The Gulls are heading back into the dressing room now to a big reception.
Shaking hands with the fans down on the rails are a couple of Coventry directors. Apparently, our friend from the Coventry Evening Telegraph tells us, one of them is the man who has been given the job of running Northern Rock.
How good is it to see the place full again? With half an hour to go to kick-off, the Pop Side is packed, the family stand is filling up nicely and the grandstand is almost full. Down at the Babbacombe End the visiting fans are shielding their eyes against the low sun as the teams warm up.
So, there are a few surprises in the City side, with Ward and Dann on the bench despite having been declared injured earlier in the week, and Walker, Frazer and Wynter, all of whome are 17-year-olds.
The sweepstake in the press box has thrown up the usual outbreak of hopeless optimism. I have gone for 2-0 to Torquay. Darryl has gone for his usual 5-0 to the Gulls. One day he will be right...
The team sheets are here and the Gulls are unchanged.
We are Bevan; Mansell, Woods, Hodges, Nicholson; Carlisle, Wroe, Hargreaves, Dsane; Sills, Green. On the bench are Poke, Robertson, Benyon, Thompson, Carayol, Stevens and Adams.
The Sky Blues are Westwood; Gunnarsson, Hall, Turner, Fox; Mifsud, Beuzelin, Doyle, McKenzie; Eastwood, Morrison. On their bench are Ward, Dann, Thornton, Marshall, Walker, Frazer and Wynter.
Referee is Kevin Friend from Leicester.
Lots of people logging in today. Hello to those blogging in the library at UWE in Bristol. Try to keep the noise down, eh? And if Danny Stevens gets on, we'll be sure to let you know...
Coventry are stretched in squad terms, apparently, With Jay Tabb having joined Reading last week, they are also without Scott Dann, Isaac Osbourne, Elliott Ward and Marcus Hall, all of whom are injured.
Watch out for the lively Michael Mifsud in midfield, and also for Clinton Morrison of course.
The experienced front man is our official Man to Watch.
Michael Poke is out warming up with Scott Bevan at the moment, which indicates that while Bevan has probably recovered from whatever injury he has, Poke is likely to be on the seven-man bench just in case we need backup.
The press benches here are pretty crowded to say the least. We think the BBC have brought more than Altrincham did last time they came....
As regular bloggers will know, the connection is erratic here. We're in for the moment so what can I tell you?
This is the furthest we have ever been in this competition. The last time we did it was 18 years ago when we lost to Blackpool.
Can we really pull off the impossible? Well, we can dream, can't we?
Welcome to Plainmoor. It's sunny here and the crowd are pouring in. Steve Ogrizovic, the giant Coventry keeper who was between the sticks when we lost 0-2 up at Highfield Road in 1988, is out on the pitch warming up the visiting keeper.

Friday, 23 January 2009

YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!

LIVE coverage of Torquay United's FA Cup clash with Coventry City will appear here.