After this result I feel strangely disappointed. This had to be viewed as 2 points dropped seeing as we are at home...Not that I expect us to beat everyone at home but I do expect us to do teams of Coventry's standard. Also, following how we upped our performance levels during the game against Sheffield United, I had hoped to see us take care of City today.

But we did see Colin Kazim-Richards bag his first Brighton goal and a well worked goal it was too. Another glaring point spotted during the game was our defence's amazing ability to forget to pick players up.

Once more we were slow out of the blocks and did not start at the pace that was shownin the second half against Sheffield United, which is what Mark McGhee demanded. This apart from Richard Carpenter who appeared to be in a big hurry to do everything and often gave the ball away as a result. I can only think he was trying to give us a quick tempo and to get us moving at every opportunity

The speculation and rumour was true as Alan Blayney returned to the Town on loan from Southampton. Not sure where this leaves Wayne Henderson as it is silly to have 3 loan goalkeepers at the club.

There was some on this website who bemoaned the fact we did not sign Dele Adebola when Coventry got him. Judging by his showing today I think we can safely say we have not missed out. Yes, he is huge and awkward and still managed to get past our players with strange simplicity but he cannot finish. Had he been able to finish City might have been more that the one goal to the good they were at half-time. For those fans that wanted him to sign, the position of big lumbering oaf up-front has already been taken at this club...Luckily he is currently injured.

Both our centre-backs, despite at times making some decent interceptions, struggled on the whole today. How on earth they allowed Adebola to get past them with some ease was a big worry. But both parts of his game were shown in the first 10 minutes. He managed to work free of his marker and found himself in the area with a sight at goal. Luckily his crap shot was blocked by Blayney.

The Terriers then finally started to click into gear and we started knocking the ball around with Sebastien Carole again a very positive influence. I do not want to go on about him too much again as I do so in every match report and it would be boring...All I will say is that the player has some class about him.

But, as with last Tuesday every time we got some fluency it was interrupted by the Sky Blues having an attack. One of those attacks saw Blayney do well to block close in on Dele by the post. Particuarly lively was Gary McSheffery on who looked like he was playing on the left wing in support of the lone striker Adebola. James Scrowcroft on the on ther wing hardly impressed at all.

We then had our best effort to up to that point when a flowing move had Carole away down the right and his centre was met by the unmarked Jake Robinson. The resulting header was directed straight at Stephen Bywater in the Sky Blues goal who had a simple catch.

Jake had a rather below par game. He does have his tireless running but at present the end product seems to be fading.

Bywater had to do much more work though for his next save. As a corner came in Hammond once more teleported himself into the area and had a free header. He placed it low to the left of the goal but Stephen dived and caught the ball at almost full stretch for a quality save.

The game was rather evenly posied although there could be an arguement that we were just shading it. So this was being proved as we had another corner but what followed from this was the sequence of events that lead to their goal. When our corner was cleared we managed to work it to Albert Jarrett on the edge of the area. He took a powerfull shot which was blocked but the shot was so hard it flew back over Albert's head, onto the half-way line and fell to McSheffrey. He sprinted off with our defence scampering but had no support from his team-mates. The fast pace of Gary Hart allowed him to catch McSheffrey and hold him up a bit. He still had possession although he was no longer clean through but he managed to work a position for a shot at the near-post. The ball cracked against against the post which was very audible and out of play. The ref gave a corner so one can only assume Alan got a touch to it. The upcoming corner was cleared but it still fell to a Coventry player and they worked the ball back out to the left. As the cross came in Guy Butters and Dele Adebola challenged for it but both missed it. Paul McShane who was right behind both players was taken completely by surprise by this and had no time to react as the ball hit him went in. It was a fortunate goal for the Ricoh Arena club and even more fortuitous to be leading when it was not deserved.

Once again this shocked us into action and we spent the 6 or so minutes that were left of the first half trying to equalise and equalise we should have done. We carved out 2 very good opportunities. The first when another Carole run saw him play in great diagonal which Dean Hammon went in for. A City defender managed to help scoop the ball over for a corner though. Then when Jarrett got the ball after another Town corner he skipped past a challenge and shot with the outside of his boot. As the ball looked like it was heading for the top-corner Andrew Whing leapt and using his head he turned the ball around the post.

This was not just a shame for the team as a whole but also Albert who was having another good game. He certainly is causing the opposition plently of problems with his tricks although work can be done on his final ball.

The referee then called time on the first half and a quick mention about him. Ref's are often criticised when they screw-up but apart from a couple of strange decisions in the second half I thought the he had a very good game.

The second half saw a marked improvement from both teams and an explosive opening 10 minutes as 3 goals were scored. City looked much better than they did in the first half and really should have scored again when Whing managed to head wide from a free header. This was a sign of what was to happen about 5 minutes later as our defence failed to pick up the opposition players.

As I said above we also raised our game and started to zip the ball about show more of the movement that has now been accompanying our new style. As Jarrett set off down the wing once more he turned his man inside and out and sent over a cross. Bywater was decieved as it head goalwards and he flapped and missed the ball which struck the inside of the post. The ball bounced back across the goal in the six yard box where Leon Knight dived in to head home from about 1 yard.

There was a twinge of injustice at the fact we went in at the break 1 down, but any thought of us having the balance redressed by regainging parity lasted only 1 minute. With the warning of leaving players unmarked not heeded as I said earlier, City put themselves back in front. From an attack down our right a cross came in to the completely free Claus Jorgensen. His header down low to the near post saw Blayney get a hand to it but not keep it out. As good a header as it was I still get irritated to see a goalkeeper beaten at his near post.

We came forward once more in search of a second equaliser. One high pass was played forward and Jake had to challenge with Richard Duffy and was out-muscled and lost the header. This was pretty much Robinson's last contribution and obviously the final straw for McGhee who decided we needed Colin Kazim-Richards. Jake was electric against both Plymouth and Leeds but faded against Sheffield missing a couple of good chances into the bargain. Today he struggled and missed that free header in the first half. The substitution was the right one and maybe it is time for Kazim-Richards to take Jake's place in the starting line-up for the time being. Robinson has had a good little run but in the same way it was good to move CKR onto the bench at that time I think the same should happen to Jakey. This run would have been good experience for him but he is only young and it is a good way to rest him. Also having him on the bench does give us that extra option for him to come on to make things happen just as he was doing at the end of last season.

Now, McGhee has not had much luck with subs recently as it appears everytime we make one we condcede, like at Shrewsbury and Leeds. Today though was the payback for that as Colin scored with his first touches. Leon moved the ball on and CKR nodded it on and then turned his man. He chased the ball through towards the bye-line under pressure from Duffy. Somehow he managed to wriggle past his man and advance on goal close to the bye-line. Whilst everyone, Stephen included, expected him to cut the ball back to Leon who had made a run into the area, he instead used the outside of his right foot to clip the ball into the goal. It was a quality goal and very pleasing to see him get off the mark at last. Hopefully he can go on from here.

From here both teams played well as the game swung back and forth with City relying on their patient build up whilst Town were using their counter-attacking to break away.

Albert should have put us into the lead for the first time when Leon found him in the area but with all the time in the world he fired his shot too close to Bywater.

Then Coventry had a break and a deep cross found Andrew Morrell who was unsurprisingly left completely alone and he had time to control the ball but his weak shot was easily saved by Blayney. City then introduced Paul Watson but his only real contribution was a free-kick down by the corner flag which Alan had trouble gathering at his near post.

The introduction of Kazim-Richards did, despite his continuing reluctance to jump very high for headers give our attack a bit more height about it. But it was our fluent breaks that was producing our best moments. Once such chance saw Jarrett beat about 3 men as he raced through the centre of the park. His lay-off to Knight saw him shoot wastefully wide.

The Sky Blues were still pressing and they were forcing more corners. But it was Leon who had the next meaningfull chance as his shot from an acute angle was blocked by Stephen Bywater in the West Midlands club's goal.

With the game drawing to it's close City had a great chance to take all 3 points. After we cleared the a corner and were advancing out the ball fell to Scowcroft who was free dead centre of the goal. He turned and with the whole goal to aim at somehow dragged his shot wide of Alan Blayney's right hand post.

CKR who was looking very good and was obviously bouyed by his goal had the last chance of the game. He chested down a high pass and his swivel and snap-shot rose over the goalkeeper but did not dip enough and it whilsted over.

It has to be said that a draw was a fair enough outcome but we should be looking to beat teams like Coventry when at home. Also, whilst we look very promising going forward we do need to tighten up at the back.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA