Coventry 70s first friendly of the season saw them slip to a late 2-1 defeat against old rivals Birmingham Blues. Played in very hot conditions the match was a credit to both sides. Elaine Smith stood in for Colin Farmer as manager as Colin had to referee the game. Birmingham took a first half lead when their forward turned a Coventry defender and buried a low shot past Keeper Jeff Grimes to give them a half time lead.
Coventry pulled level with a penalty when Birmingham were guilty of the new four runs rule and Phil Maund fired home the spot kick. Coventry were then guilty of the same four runs rule but Keeper and Man of the Match Jeff Grimes pulled of a superb save to keep the scores level, Birmingham were then awarded another penalty when a Coventry player strayed into the box, but again Jeff Grimes pulled off another excellent penalty save. Kevin Perrott then forced the Birmingham keeper into a good save when his shot looked to be going into the bottom corner. Birmingham won the game two minutes from time when a Birmingham player was left unmarked on the edge of the box to score the winner. A good game of football played in the right spirt by both sides. Kevin Watson made his debut for Coventry and looked a good addition to the squad.
70s Team: Jeff Grimes (GK), Tony Malone, Brian Sharp, Colin Yates, Ray Lewis, Kevin Watson, Kevin Perrott and Phil Maund.
Manager: Elaine Smith - A big thank you to Elaine for stepping in and managing the side
Report by Colin Farmer