S.O.S: COVENTRY

Cometh the hour, Cometh the Dan! Well, that was canny, I wasn't worried at all. Honest...

All the hoo-ha around the ad boards being moved in reminded me how un-arsed we were about taking long throws and how wide we'd forced The Sky Blues to play on Friday. Apparently the away dressing room was alarmingly hot when the visitors arrived. But as we all know, Sunderland has a tropical temperature throughout most of the year. The SOL and the surrounding Monkwearmouth was drenched in Red n White. Issy could barely hold back his giddy mad smile as he warmed up. Frank's dower mush quivered for the cameras as Wise Men Say roared out around the ground. To say the atmosphere was electric would be a massive understatement. It was positively nuclear.

Same again on the team sheet, as RLB had opted for the good old 4-4-2. Regis was by far his most animated on Friday, a great thing to see from the Frenchman of few words. We'd all been hoping these last couple of months that RLB had some kind of super secret plan up his sleeve that we'd hopefully soon see come to fruition.

Kick off...

We started well, not without the help of the home fans who exploded to life every time we got something right and every time Coventry got something wrong. Enzo was given a promising chance early but lacked the finishing touch. LO9 stopped Radgey Wright with some great pressure and from my angle he grabbed more than just his shirt, if you know what I mean. Issy picked up the first card with a dive. There's no two ways about, it was a dive. After a great start in the opening 15 its was clear Jobe had been briefed to pass it anywhere but forward.

Mayenda tested their keeper for the first time of the evening. With tensions heating up the ref had his work cut out for him. Bellingham was felled and they picked up their first yellow of the evening. One's a piece, cards-wise. We pressed high. I can't remember the last time we'd spent this much time in an opponents attacking third this early on. Coventry pressed back with a corner there way, but Sakamoto fluffed it after some excellent pressure.

On the half hour mark Roberts got his name in the booked for a late challenge on Captain Sheaf - sounds like a sex ed mascot. Shortly followed by a 4th yellow, this one to Cov, as the ref tried his best to keep the heated exchange from boiling over. The visitors pressed forward and showed they were still very dangerous with a couple of chances squandered from crosses. We dealt with it just adequately enough and Patto took a tumble for treatment, which gave us a chances regroup and tighten up. It didn't last long with more crosses and balls into the box from the visitors.

Half time: 0-0. We started one well and slowly had absorb their pressure. 45 minutes to go. We had some decent runs and a handful of chance but it wasn't doing my hairline any good.

The second half began and the SOL all hoped we'd see less on a bombardment into our box. Naturally the first thing that happened was a high ball into our box. Wright dived exactly like Wilson did in the first half but got nowt for it. Haway ref. The game continued the way the first half had ended. for the opening ten minutes, with the Blues peppering balls into the box. The only highlight was a Coventry player clattering into the recently moved ad boards. Another cheeky bonus due to their relocation. After a promising move Roberts tried his luck from outside the box but he unfortunately spooned it.

65 minutes rolled around an not much had changed from how we began the second half. Wright tried his luck at using his arm to control the ball our box but was denied by 'the rules'. Eli stormed forward and won us a corner which gave us an opportunity to try a similar manoeuvre we had last week. It didn't work, but it at least showed we had a plan. The yellow cards flowed further when the opposing keeper executed a takedown on Jobe that one of the Gracie's would have been proud of.

On the 76th minute Coventry finally broke the deadlock. They did what they'd been threatening to do for the best part of an hour and we hadn't responded well enough too. Bollocks. Heads down, crack on. Fresh legs? With 10 mins (potentially 40) this was a tough call. We needed something special to happen. 3 minutes later Wilson made way for Rigg. We didn't look out of ideas, we just looked like we weren't about to change the ones we already had. We sat deep and I attempted to evoke Sods Law by going to the loo and hoping I'd miss a goal, but that didn't work. Not exactly tactical masterclass. On 90 mins none of the fans looked like they were enjoying themselves, even the ones wearing sombreros. Both managers where now on the edge of their technical boxes and giving large.

90 mins up and extra time was upon us.

Famous faces, new and old - Reidy and Amad wincingly watched from the stands. We regrouped on the sidelines. I thought about all those great changes we'd made since last season, all the bits of luck we'd had when we needed it and all the players who'd come into their own this season. A bunch of kids and an unproven manager and stuck it out and ended up in fourth. After our fall from grace over the last 10 years we've progressed much more this season than just ending up in 4th place. We had 30 mins to make it count. Til the end...

We spent the first 10 mins in our own half. Mundle had joined the fray but we hadn't changed much. Coventry saw chance after chance handed to them as we sat back and tried our best to absorb what we could. We finally got into the attacking third but despite the space we couldn't get the ball out from underneath us.

Break. Deep breaths.

The 4th half(?) began. Coventry had us covered all over the pitch. We seemed afraid to start any build up play for fear of losing the ball. On the one hundred and eleventh minute we did managed some decent play which led to Eli being denied by a wall of blue. LO9 did well tracking back and thwarted a counter. We created some momentum in the final 5 that actually got the Blues on the back foot.

And then...

Ballard. Dan Ballard. The man of the moment scored a stonker. An incoming corner found him and after managing to fold himself in half he met it with his beautiful teff. Off the bar and in. Beautiful. That wrapped things up and absolute scenes ensued. Jimmy Hill, that one's for you! The lads got what, in the grand scheme of things, we deserved. Plus Frank and his stupid face can naff of back to his Shropshire! Ok, may have got a bit carried away there, but I stand by it. We did it where it matters. That's all that matters. Moving those boards was worth it.

TIL THE END.

KTF,

GTFI!

GPD