Doncaster Rovers

Coventry -2 (Armstrong 30’ , Fleck 59')
Rovers - 2 (Tyson 52’ , 72')

Saturday 28th November, 2015
Ricoh Arena, Coventry
SkyBet League One

Rovers travelled to the Ricoh Arena having defeated Chesterfield 3-0 in the week and were looking for their fifth win in six games.

It wasn’t going to be an easy ask however with Coventry sitting at the top of the League One table.

It was difficult for either side to play football in horrid conditions at the Ricoh. Rovers started brightly however and the first chance fell to Nathan Tyson as Craig Alcock delivered a dangerous ball in to the back post. Rising above his defender, Tyson got his head to the ball but Charles-Cook was untroubled.

The Coventry goalkeeper was called into action when a Rovers corner fell to Harry Middleton. The youngster hit a stunning shot from 30 yards which was acrobatically tipped over the bar as it was heading for the top corner.

Rovers continued to pressure and in form Andy Williams caused problems from both the left and the right, but the final ball was lacking for the visitors.

Darren Ferguson was forced into an early substitution as Felipe Mattioni left the field with injury and was replaced by Luke Mccullough.

Coventry looked dangerous on the break and against the run of play went ahead on the half hour mark. Sam Ricketts had an initial shot blocked and as the ball fell to Adam Armstrong Rovers failed to close him down and the striker shot into the bottom corner.

The hosts started to look dangerous and Armstrong continued to cause problems for the Rovers defence. He almost got his second as he weaved his way through a number of players before shooting on goal again. This time his effort was blocked.

Shortly after the striker was in again. A perfectly timed pass from John Fleck saw Armstrong one on one with Stuckmann. Fortunately for Rovers his chipped effort cleared the cross bar.

HALF TIME: Coventry 1-0 Rovers

It was a very entertaining second half at the Ricoh. Coventry started the brighter and almost doubled their lead as Armstrong again made a great run down the middle before feeding the ball to Murphy whose shot hit the side netting.

Deservedly so, Rovers got an equaliser seven minutes into the second half. Williams made a great run down the right before using the conditions to his advantage and shooting low at goal. Charles-Cook made the save but wasn’t able to hold on to the ball and Nathan Tyson was there to poke home from three yards.

The home side went ahead for the second time just minutes later. A corner fell to Fleck who tried his luck from range. Stockmann managed to get a hand to it and tip it onto the post, but his shot found a way in off the woodwork.

From then the game was wide open. Rovers were appealing for handball when Tyson’s shot was blocked in the area. Andy Butler was then inches away from heading in a Craig Alcock cross.

There was controversy as Charles-Cook fumbled a simple shot and as Williams went to poke it over the line the referee blew for a foul and booked the Rovers man. It didn’t matter though as seconds later Nathan Tyson pounced on a mistake in the Coventry defence before beautifully curling the ball into the bottom corner for his second of the afternoon.

Coventry pressured in the final ten minutes and it looked like they might grab a winner but it was Rovers who came the closest. On a hat-trick, Tyson picked up the ball and took a shot on the turn. As Charles-Cook was beaten, the visitors could only watch as it bounced back off the cross bar.

After four minutes added time the referee blew his whistle and it was a very deserved point for the visitors and a man of the match performance from Nathan Tyson.


Team Lineups-

Coventry: Charles-Cook, Stokes, Vincelot, Fleck, Armstrong, O’Brien, Turner, Ricketts (c), Martin, Murphy, Kent

Unused Subs: Burge, Lameiras, Phillips, Bigirimana, Tudgay, Haynes, Antoine-Fortune

Cautions:

Rovers: Stuckmann, Butler, Evina, Alcock, Taylor-Sinclair, Grant, Coppinger (c), Middleton, Tyson, Williams (Stewart 85’), Felipe (McCullough 24’)

Unused Subs: Marosi, Forrester, MacKenzie, J.McKay, Whitehouse

Cautions: McCullough 27’, Grant 62’, Coppinger 67’, Williams 71’, Middleton 90', Tyson 94'

Attendance: 11,885