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Does anyone know how close to fitness Richard Spong is? He was looking a class act next to Davenport in the youth and reserve teams until he got injured.

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Coventry City’s home game with Norwich City has been postponed due to international call-ups.

The game was originally scheduled for Saturday October 12 but has now been re-arranged for Wednesday October 23, kicking-off at 7.45 pm, due to a number of Sky Blues’ players being away on international duty.

Youssef Safri and Youssef Chippo will both take part in Morocco’s African Nation Cup qualifier against Guinee Equatoriale on 13 October. Mo Konjic is selected for Bosnia to play Germany in a friendly on 11 October and against Norway in Oslo in a Euro 2004 Group Two qualifier.

Lee Fowler has also been called-up to represent Wales in the UEFA under 21 Championship Group 9 match against Italy at Ninian Park on 15 October.

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Under 17 player Stephen Munn has been selected by the Republic of Ireland for their forthcoming Under 17 mini-tournament in Denmark.

The centre-back is part of the Irish squad that will play Northern Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Malta in the competition, which starts the week beginning October 13.

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Under 19 player Eddie Stanford has made the step-up from the Academy to the first team and has been given squad number 35 for the season.

The versatile left winger has already featured in the reserves this season – making two starts for the Sky Blues’ second string. Impressive performances for Gary Mills’ side has seen the 17-year-old rewarded with a squad number.

all from www.ccfc.co.uk

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Coventry City are looking to use tonight’s Worthington Cup clash to get back on track and set them up for the gruelling month ahead.

The Sky Blues hope to iron out their deficiencies against Third Division Rushden & Diamonds and build a platform for the key league clashes against Portsmouth, Leicester and Norwich.

“It is a big month for us with Gillingham on Saturday and then the top three but if we want to be where we think we should be we have got to confront them and come out with points,” said City’s assistant boss Eric Black, who confirmed that on-loan Richie Partridge is in line to replace the injured Youssef Chippo for tonight’s second round game at Highfield Road (7.45pm).

“So it will be a big test for us and will give us a clear indication of whether we are capable of being up there.

“I am sure that will be something the players will relish and it is certainly something we, as the management team, are looking forward to, and let’s hope that we can start positively against Rushden in the Cup and again on Saturday.

“We used the Colchester game to get back on track after the defeat by Forest so we are hoping it goes the same way tonight because it could give us that springboard to have a bit of confidence about the team and go out and perform well in several games.

“The Worthington Cup is very important to us and we want to go as far as we possibly can. If you win games you can get into a winning pattern and that can go right through the club.”

Black revealed the he, Gary Mills and player manager Gary McAllister have conducted an inquest into Saturday’s 3-2 Millwall defeat, and are working hard to put things right, paying particular attention to City’s problem of inconsistency during games.

“We have watched the video four or five times to try to look for pointers as to what went wrong, what we can improve on and what can be eliminated to make it harder for teams to score goals against us,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to point the finger at anyone but there are areas defensively when we don’t have the ball where we can make things harder by filling areas and picking up people to make it harder than it has been.

“And there are obviously things offensively where we feel people can contribute more going forward in and around the box, so it is a general thing but there are key individuals and areas where we want to try and improve.

“Consistency is a worry because we have had some very good performances in periods of games where we have looked a real team and there are other times when we haven’t and have looked really vulnerable.

“We have to work hard and continue to do the things we believe are right and hopefully the percentage of good periods of play will increase.”

Looking at tonight’s opposition, Black feels City are well prepared for a side they already know about.

“We played them in the pre-season and they are certainly a good footballing team with one or two good individuals in that league so we know it is going to be a hard game,” he said.

“But we want a game as quickly as possible after Saturday and it gives us a great opportunity. We are desperate to get another game under our belts and try to work on things that went wrong and hopefully we can put those to practice in the game.

“We have had them watched two or three times and they have got people who can cause us problems if we allow them to play.

“Paul Hall is very quick and direct and probably their main play-maker in terms of going forward, and as he showed against us in the pre-season he is more than capable of competing at this level. And being a former player that will give him an extra incentive I am sure.”

Youssef Chippo and John Eustace are the only injury problems, although McAllister is carrying a few bruises from the weekend.

“Chippo has picked up a bit of a knock ,” said Black, “and Gary obviously took a couple of heavy knocks on Saturday. Although he has trained we will have to see how he feels while John Eustace is still struggling, unfortunately.

“He went over on his ankle last Thursday. It is progressing but not as quickly as we had hoped. Apart from that we should be OK but we are getting a bit thin on the ground.

“I don’t know what the gaffer is thinking but Richie Partridge will certainly come into contention for a start now that he has got the all-clear to play from Liverpool.

Squad: Debec, Caldwell, Konjic, Davenport, Gordon, Safri, McAllister, McSheffrey, Mills, Bothroyd, Hyldgaard, Shaw, Partridge, Quinn, Betts.


www.iccoventry.co.uk

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The Sky Blues are lining up for tonight’s Worthington Cup second round clash with some new faces in the side.

Macca has clearly opted to give his young guns an opportunity to shine against lower division opposition.

There is no place in the squad for Youssef Chippo who was injured on Saturday and Richie Partridge makes his first start for the club in his place.

Also out of the squad are Macca and Dean Gordon who are both resting, with David Pipe and Robert Betts given their first starts of the season.

Jay Bothroyd is starting on the bench where there is also a place for Brian Ford and Eddie Stanford, who was only given a squad number earlier today.

Coventry: Debec; Konjic; Partridge; Mills; Quinn; Safri; McSheffrey; Caldwell; Betts; Davenport; Pipe. SUBS: Hyldgaard; Shaw; Bothroyd; Ford; Stanford.

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Coventry City hit Third Division Rushden and Diamonds for eight this evening at Highfield Road with a phenomenal display to progress to the Third Round of the Worthington Cup.

Despite Macca’s claims that he would not be able to field a weak side for this game, the starting line-up certainly differed a great deal from the one that took to the pitch against Millwall on Saturday.

Some of the changes were necessary with injuries keeping Chippo and Eustace out of the action, but Macca’s decision to give Coventry’s younger stars the opportunity to shine indicates the faith he has in them to succeed.

David Pipe was given his first start for the Sky Blues taking up the right midfield role, as was loan signing Richie Partridge who occupied the other flank. Robert Betts started in central midfield, while Barry Quinn filled in for the resting Dean Gordon at left back.

Early encounters indicated that Rushden would prove to be strong opposition as they passed the ball about neatly looking to break City down.

However, it didn’t take long for Coventry’s speedy youngsters to demonstrate their attacking intent. After five minutes a free-kick was played to Partridge who took flight down the left before putting a good cross in that just evaded McSheffrey.

Five minutes later and it was McSheffrey that put City ahead. David Pipe did brilliantly down the right and put a lovely ball in for the nippy striker who knocked the ball home from six yards out.

It was a good start for the Sky Blues and a minute later it looked as if it was 2-0 but Calum Davenport’s towering header went just wide. In previous games City have been guilty of sitting back on leads or losing concentration and conceding at the other end but this was clearly not going to be the case tonight.

Coventry’s young players were clearly relishing the opportunity on the big stage and kept pressing Rushden. Betts had an opportunity to score on 17 minutes when Rushden’s keeper Billy Turley spilled a McSheffrey cross, but Stuart Gray made a terrific saving challenge just as Betts was going to knock the ball into an unguarded net.

After 23 minutes the Sky Blues had a two-goal lead thanks to the latest entry into the book of classic goalkeeping errors. Hunter played a backpass to Turley who had come outside his area, but Mills was alert and stole in before the Diamonds’ shotstopper could clear upfield. The City striker played the ball into an empty net to give City a commanding lead.

On the half-hour Paul Hunter did not help Rushden’s cause by picking up his second bookable offence and leaving the field following a late challenge on Lee Mills. And five minutes later Gary McSheffrey put the game well beyond the visitors, grabbing his second and City’s third with a lovely glancing header.

The Sky Blues were rampant by this stage and looked like scoring with every attack. Diamonds had no answer and right on the stroke of half-time Mills also grabbed his second. A great passing move ended with Safri playing the big man through and he made no mistake, slotting the ball past Turley.

In stoppage time McSheffrey had a brilliant opportunity to get his hat-trick but could not keep his shot down. The referee then closed proceedings in a first half that City completely dominated. Rushden were outplayed and outclassed and the scoreline was not flattering for City who could quite easily have scored more.

The only down point of a thrilling half was Mo Konjic limping off the field with five minutes remaining. He was replaced by Richard Shaw.

It did not take long for Coventry to pick up where they left off in the second period and unsurprisingly it was the electric McSheffrey who scored City’s fifth and collected the matchball on 51 minutes. Safri played it in to Betts who knocked it to McSheffrey who kept his composure to lift it over Turley.

The Sky Blues’ top scorer was revelling playing alongside teammates from his youth days and was seeing a huge amount of possession. On 56 minutes Coventry made another change with Eddie Stanford making his City debut, having only been given his squad number earlier in the day.

The 17-year-old replaced Safri but slotted in at left-back with Quinn moving into centre midfield, and it did not take him long to get into the action. Stanford put a good cross into the area and Bothroyd – on as a substitute for Lee Mills at half time – got a great header onto it that whistled into the net.

By this stage the Diamonds really had had enough although Coventry were still pressing for every ball and looking to add to the scoreline. And with ten minutes to go they did score again.

Partridge floated a deep cross in that substitute John Dempster flicked away with his hand. The referee awarded the penalty and sent Dempster off for deliberate handball. By the letter of the law the decision was correct although it seemed a little harsh on a well-beaten side.

Robert Betts showed no remorse and smashed the spot-kick home to put City 7-0 up with his first goal for the club.

And the rout was not over there. Jay Bothroyd finished off the massacre on 85 minutes with a delightful goal. He picked the ball up on the edge of the area, ran for the touchline and put it away from the tightest of angles.

It was a skillful end to a highly entertaining evening. Coventry answered all their doubters in true style with a highly accomplished display against a team performing well in their division. The young débutantes performed exceedingly well and seemed to bring out the very best in their more experienced colleagues.



Coventry: Debec; Konjic (Shaw 39); Partridge; Mills (Bothroyd 46); Quinn; Safri (Stanford 53); McSheffrey; Caldwell; Betts; Davenport; Pipe.

Subs not used: Hyldgaard; Ford

Rushden: Turley; Mustafa; Hunter; Peters; Wardley; Gray; Mills; Setchell; Bell (Dempster 35); Talbot (Bignot 72); Hall (Partridge 72)

Subs not used: Sollitt; Solkhon

Red card: Hunter (2 bookings), Dempster (deliberate handball)

Referee: Graham Salisbury

Attendance: 8,570

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Gary McAllister let some of City’s younger players take centre stage yesterday evening and they repaid his faith with a great performance and an 8-0 thrashing of Rushden and Diamonds.

He was especially happy with the attitude shown by the Sky Blues but was not getting too carried away with the importance of the victory.

“It was a great result and a pleasing performance. We had the opportunity to give some of our younger players a chance in cup football. We asked them to approach the game with a positive attitude tonight and they certainly showed that. I think they played the match perfectly.

“The financial situation here dictates that we are unable to buy players so we are going to have to fasttrack a few players through the ranks. It was very pleasing to see them perform so well and tonight was good for the lads – it’ll do them no harm at all.

“We got off to a great start and they lost a player quite early as well so a lot of things went for us although I’m not taking anything away from our performance. At the end when we were playing against nine men from two divisions below we were always going to create chances.

“As much as I’m very pleased I’ve got to take into account that we were playing against nine men at the end and ten for quite a long time.

“The players have given me a choice to make for the weekend now and there are decisions I’ve got to make. It was a cup-tie tonight and there wasn’t the pressure of playing for points or losing ground on the teams above us in the league. Tonight was totally different.

“Our main objective is that we want to get out of this league so tonight was a totally different proposition. Having said that we went about it in the right way and I couldn’t have asked for any more.”

When City were awarded a penalty at 6-0 there was some confusion over who would take the spot-kick. Robert Betts scored it but Macca joked that he would like to have seen a more experienced player with a far from prolific strike rate for Coventry take it.

“We were trying to get Shawsy on the scoresheet for the first time since 1994 – I think he’s got three goals in total and that was the last time he scored but Bettsy was not going to release that ball.”

The man-of-the-match award was not in much doubt with Gary McSheffrey running all night and scoring a hat-trick. Macca was delighted with the 20-year-old’s performance even if it could have been slightly better.

“McSheffrey was great. Strikers thrive on scoring goals and he looked sharp all night. He gave us a threat running in behind and with his movement. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, if you can bag three goals and take the matchball home you’ve got to be very proud of it and he should be. He could have scored more though!”

The only down point of the evening for Coventry supporters was seeing Mo Konjic limp off before half time and Macca said that with the win pretty much guaranteed at that point he did not want to take any risks.

“Unfortunately Mo took a knock on the thigh in the first five minutes and when we managed to get three goals up it gave me the opportunity to get him off and make sure he didn’t damage it further.”

With his side comfortably through to the third round of the Worthington Cup Macca now has to concentrate on the important business of the league but was content with a job well done this evening.

“Of course we’ll be looking to transform that sort of showing into league games now. I thought we demonstrated the gulf between the First Division and the Third tonight. It’s easy saying that on paper but you’ve got to do it on the park and we did.”

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Coventry City’s 8-0 win over Rushden and Diamonds is their highest ever cup victory.

City’s youngsters turned on the style to break the previous record of 7-0, which was set for the first time way back in 1934 when the Sky Blues beat Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup 1st Round.

City equalled the feat more recently with the same scoreline over Macclesfield Town in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in 1999.

On an evening where everything seemed to be going Coventry’s way the score could quite feasibly have been more, and the win was just one goal short of City’s all-time record victory in competitive football of 9-0 over Bristol City also in 1934.

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Gary Caldwell has been called up by Rainer Bonhof for the Scotland Under 21 squad for the international games against Iceland and Ghana.

The central defender will fly out to Iceland with the squad to play in the opening qualifier for the UEFA Under 21 Championship on Friday 11 October.

Gary will face Ghana in Scotland two days later on Monday 14 October in a friendly.