Fox 21                                  Eustace 78 (p)

Friendly

Sunday 22 July 2001
Carlisle Grounds

"I am taking these games as if they are training sessions … we will change the eleven players at half time … the opposition may not be in the top bracket … but winning means everything." The thoughts of Coventry City manager Gordon Strachan before Sunday's encounter at the Carlisle Grounds. Dublin City and UCD had been defeated, five goals scored and none conceded. So far everything had gone according to plan.

Somebody must have marked his card about Bray Wanderers. Maybe it was Northampton Town boss Kevin Wilson, whose Nationwide Division Two side had been defeated 3-0 on the previous Monday. "Bray played very, very well," opined Wilson, "They passed the ball around and they looked sharper than us."

Gone were the wholesale half time substitutions as Mr Strachan chased the game after the Blues gifted Wanderers a 21st minute lead when a miss hit return pass from a Coventry free kick allowed the bustling Fox to expose Carlton Palmer's lack of pace. It took City until the 78th minute to avoid defeat thanks to a Eustace penalty. The Coventry match undoubtedly served its purpose as pre-season preparation for both managers but it was also serious stuff.

Honour apart, the score was unimportant. But manager Pat Devlin must have been delighted by the skill, commitment and fitness shown by his part timers against an élite First Division squad tipped to make a rapid return to the Premiership. It was the home side who initiated the substitutions, using 21 players during the match. Far from weakening Bray's resistance, the substitutes contributed to an impressive display.

True, Coventry had most of the chances; in the first half a Boothroyd header smacked against the bar and Walsh made an extraordinary save from the same player at close range, holding a drive he would have done well to parry. And shortly after the second half penalty had levelled the scores, the Bray keeper saved the match, again at point blank range.

But if the leggy, pacy Boothroyd was a problem, the unflappable Tresson was usually on hand to help Doohan out. At the other end, Palmer was often stranded against the pace of Fox pressing through from midfield. One-nil. Advantage Mr Devlin. At half time, Coventry switched to a flat back four, dispensing with their sweeper who was, perhaps, left to muse on the real nature of Irish hospitality.

Pre-season friendlies are often frustrating affairs, intended to assist the manager rather than please the punter. Coventry's match with UCD was just such a practice match. The Bray encounter, although its shape was inevitably disrupted by substitution, was exceptional; competitive enough with plenty of good football.

But these are exceptional times at Bray Wanderers. Time was when the entertainment tended to the agricultural, plenty of spirit and endeavour not matched by skill or tactical insight. But now there is a positive aura about the club on and off the pitch. It is enough to make me, an old cynic with Sky on tap, clock up eighty miles a match to pay in. At £6 it's the best value for money I know. Believe me, this is a good time to be around the Carlisle Grounds as your grandchildren will discover in times to come.

How, I wonder, will Pat Devlin shuffle his pack to take on Ipswich Town, a class act? Will that tall numberless newcomer, who marked his late entry to Sunday's game by heading just over the bar with his first touch, feature? I didn't catch news of his substitution over the tannoy. Could he be Sasha Chudak, one of the mystery men from Moldova? [He was: see below! - Ed.] If so the announcer has my sympathy. I'm the man who once had to announce the arrival of the then unknown Ugo Ehiogu before a large crowd at the Valley. Try it yourself in the safety of your own bathroom.

by Brian de Salvo

STRACHAN DELIGHTED WITH TOUR

Coventry City boss Gordon Strachan has commended his players' effort during their successful tour of Ireland. He told the City website: "Sunday's game may have come a day too early. We had a lot of tired players out there who had just played 24 hours before and some of them did a full 90 minutes which wasn't scheduled.

"They had worked very hard the day before in the UCD game and we took them on a long training run if they only featured in

45 minutes of that game - so perhaps it was expecting a bit much.

"I am very pleased with the way everyone has gone about their business. The passing was very good in the first game but got progressively worse because of the severity of the training.

"The opposition were very good and everything was played in the right spirit - the teams pushed us really hard by being competitive but fair."

John Eustace scored for a second day in a row to ensure the Sky Blues ended their tour of Ireland unbeaten. City were without strikers John Hartson and Julian Joachim, who picked up minor injuries in the games on Thursday and Saturday.

[ohu]

Bray Wanderers: John Walsh; Colm Tresson, Philip Keogh, Jodi Lynch, Michael Doohan, Eddie Gormley, Barry O'Connor, Matt Britton, Stephen Fox, Jason Byrne, Thomas Morgan
Subs: Gary Dempsey (for Campbell 83), Kieran O'Brien (for Keogh 67), Dave Campbell (for Morgan 46), Ciaran Ryan (for O'Connor 67)Jimmy Fyffe (for Walsh 87), Maurice Farrell (for Gormley 41), Dave Williamson (for Fox 60), Wesley Charles (for Lynch 44), Keith Long (for Britton 46), Sergei Brohorof (for Farrell 83), Sasha Chudak (for Byrne 83), Stephen Gough (for Doohan 87)
Not used: Glen Brien, Alan Young

Coventry City:Morton Hylgaard; Marc Edworthy, Ivan Guerrero, Paul Williams, Richard Shaw, Carlton Palmer, David Thompson, John Eustace, Jay Boothroyd, Lee Carsley, Gavin Strachan
Subs: Chris Kirkland (for Hylgaard 46), Roland Nilsson (for Carsley 46), Barry Quinn (for Edworthy 46), Laurent Delorge (for Thompson 46)Marcus Hall (for Palmer 46); Carsley in turn replaced Strachan, 67

Referee:Paul McKeown