Match Thread Coventry City vs Barnet Match Thread - Saturday 10th Mar (11 Viewers)
- Thread starter Nick
- Start date
standupforcity
Well-Known Member
Optimistically? City 5 Barnet 0. Realistically? City 2 Barnet 0
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
Last third of season is worst time to play strugglers, they fight harder.
Otis
Well-Known Member
So often proves to be the case.
We should be fighting harder too though shouldn't we. It's not as if we have nowt to play for.
Do agree though. Quite often the teams at the bottom start producing near title winning form as the season draws to an end.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
If we have any aspirations then we need to be picking up three points here
clint van damme
Well-Known Member
their recent for m is poor, especially against top half teams. I expect nothing less than a win.
Covstu
Well-Known Member
agree, we have to raise our game. Granted they will sit back a little more but we have to find a way through. No excuses anymore...
no_loyalty
Well-Known Member
Hopefully Barnet will roll over like playful puppies and let us win
Otis
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I agree that Paperwork will probably prove to be the match winner for us again.
SlowerThanPlatt
Well-Known Member
Will be a difficult game. They are bottom of the league but over the last six games have picked up the same amount of points as us and coming to the Ricoh will be a big occasion for them
Burge
Grimmer
McDonald
Hyam
Haynes
Bayliss
Kelly
Doyle
Reid
Clarke Harris
McNulty
1-0 win
Burge
Grimmer
McDonald
Hyam
Haynes
Bayliss
Kelly
Doyle
Reid
Clarke Harris
McNulty
1-0 win
Kingokings204
Well-Known Member
Forest green beat us home and away not last third tbf.
I go 1-0 cov. Scrappy game.
Behind McNulty with 15 goals and Nazon who has left with 8 our next top scorer is JJ with 5 and he hasn't played for months. The only way we have a chance of making the playoffs at worst is for JCH to get into double figures starting this weekend against a poor side ( we generally play shit against poor teams)but hopefully he will bully his way to goals.
no_loyalty
Well-Known Member
Anything less than 3 points against Barnet would be unacceptable, we need to start performing against the weaker sides in the division
I_Saw_Shaw_Score
Well-Known Member
1-0
McNulty
McNulty
no_loyalty
Well-Known Member
An early goal would do the trick, Barnet will probably come and play for a point, so need to find a way to break them down
stevefloyd
Well-Known Member
Definitely need to win and showing why Robins thinks we are the best team in the division instead of the usual lacklustre performances we usually put in against lower opposition we need to go for it get the fans on board don't want to turn it into a boo fest
Otis
Well-Known Member
You'd have to wait for the post match phone-in for that though.
Amcoventry
Well-Known Member
Anything less than a 2-0 win will have us all very nervous to the end of the season! A good solid win. PUSB
Sky Blue Pete
Well-Known Member
That would be fun
Esoterica
Well-Known Member
Barnet have only kept 4 clean sheets all season which includes just 1 away from home, meaning they have conceded in 94% of their away matches. However that away clean sheet did come in their last match, away at Colchester. They're having a little uptick in form though, respectable wins at home vs Notts County and away to Colchester, with a draw against form team Accrington in between:
Their overall away record is still horrible though, losing 67% of their away matches:
Looking at their goals for and against suggests a first half of containment and then a more open 2nd half, which is also how we've played for much of the season.
The other thing I spotted of note is their goal margins. For a team bottom of the table they rarely get thrashed - 25 of their 35 matches have been settled by 1 goal or less and only once have they lost by a 3 goal margin home or away all season (4-1 vs Accrington):
That said, I think we're playing them at home at the right point in the season. If this fixture was in the first half of the season I'm sure they'd be coming here happy to leave with a point but 6 points adrift of Port Vale and having played more games they surely have to go for the win. Hopefully this will better suit our strengths and avoid our weakness, which was painfully highlighted in the reverse fixture, Barnet's only 0-0 draw this season.
Their overall away record is still horrible though, losing 67% of their away matches:
Looking at their goals for and against suggests a first half of containment and then a more open 2nd half, which is also how we've played for much of the season.
The other thing I spotted of note is their goal margins. For a team bottom of the table they rarely get thrashed - 25 of their 35 matches have been settled by 1 goal or less and only once have they lost by a 3 goal margin home or away all season (4-1 vs Accrington):
That said, I think we're playing them at home at the right point in the season. If this fixture was in the first half of the season I'm sure they'd be coming here happy to leave with a point but 6 points adrift of Port Vale and having played more games they surely have to go for the win. Hopefully this will better suit our strengths and avoid our weakness, which was painfully highlighted in the reverse fixture, Barnet's only 0-0 draw this season.
Astute
Well-Known Member
They should fear playing us then.
Esoterica
Well-Known Member
I see it as the opposite, they are desperate for points so will have to take risks. Our weakness has been breaking down teams who sit deep with 2 banks of 4 and they simply can't afford to do that now. More risks = more space to exploit and we've generally been good against any team genuinely trying to win a game.
Mild-Mannered Janitor
Kindest Bloke on CCFC / Maker of CCFC Dreams
Use the tactics Brighton used against us, hold the left and right midfielders out on the touchline, have both full backs within 5 yards of them and tell McNulty and +1 to be in the area and bomb on in the first 20 minutes, stretch the play and move the ball quickly.
Sadly, that isn't going to happen, we will keep it tight through the middle and fail like we did away at Barnet earlier on this year.
Sadly, that isn't going to happen, we will keep it tight through the middle and fail like we did away at Barnet earlier on this year.
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
I'm more of a glass half empty kinda man. :emoji_anguished:
ccfcricoh
Well-Known Member
I'd take a 1-0 win right now though and be happy with it!
0-0 at half time and a 1-0 win late on then!
Also agree its the right time to play them, draws aren't going to cut it for them really so they may have to come out a bit more
Otis
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I agree. I think they will go for the win. A draw in the grand scheme of things for them does them little good.
Be great if both teams go for the win.
Esoterica
Well-Known Member
These are the games this season where I'd like us to be a bit more ruthless. An early goal could open the floodgates with them chasing their football league status. A couple of goals to the good by 60 minutes means Ponticelli can get some vital minutes, Doyle and whoever else can have a rest ahead of Tuesday's Luton match etc. We've still only been ahead by a 2 goal margin for a total of 119 minutes this season - apart from being an awful stat, it puts a lot of pressure on the first XI and limits the substitutions that MR will risk.
Otis
Well-Known Member
Very fair point.
Been very rare for us to have the game won and cruising and that does indeed then affect the substitutions you can make.
Be nice to give a player a 20 minute 'run out' with the game in the bag.
Esoterica
Well-Known Member
Bit of niggle between Robins and Westley too isn't there from his Preston days?
EDIT: Thought so, remembered Robins having a go at his tactics and that was the JPT year too I think:
Coventry City boss Mark Robins unimpressed by Preston
EDIT: Thought so, remembered Robins having a go at his tactics and that was the JPT year too I think:
Coventry City boss Mark Robins unimpressed by Preston