Olympic Play Off - Senegal v Oman (3 Viewers)

[sw88]

Getting in was a right mess! But farcical tbh! Wasn't a search of people but everything like keys, phones, wallets etc had to be put into clear bags while queuing until you got thru turnstiles. Queues were stupidly unmanaged and not enough turnstiles open IMO as although all the telegraph and Tesco is open, there were only turnstiles round towards the joining of CET and Tesco that were open (obviously didn't go any further than that tho as I'd have been silly not to have joined a queue!).

So far, Senegal are winning and are the much better team. They have a nippy little right back (number 3), number 11 is pretty decent too. They have a big guy up front, think he's 6. Hope Thorn is watching em (not that I know their names so can't research em to see if they'd be realistic targets or not). Saying that, doubt they'd get permits to play over here as don't think these count as actual caps? Might be wrong.

 

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[ccfcdan]

Hows the stadium look? Have they removed the RICOH lettering from the outside? I noticed on central news theyve put red covers inside. Are you still able to tell its Cov's ground? (Rented) Many people there?

 

[Otis]

Getting in was a right mess! But farcical tbh! Wasn't a search of people but everything like keys, phones, wallets etc had to be put into clear bags while queuing until you got thru turnstiles. Queues were stupidly unmanaged and not enough turnstiles open IMO as although all the telegraph and Tesco is open, there were only turnstiles round towards the joining of CET and Tesco that were open (obviously didn't go any further than that tho as I'd have been silly not to have joined a queue!).

So far, Senegal are winning and are the much better team. They have a nippy little right back (number 3), number 11 is pretty decent too. They have a big guy up front, think he's 6. Hope Thorn is watching em (not that I know their names so can't research em to see if they'd be realistic targets or not). Saying that, doubt they'd get permits to play over here as don't think these count as actual caps? Might be wrong.

Surely he should be in the junior team rather than be playing in an Olympic qualifier?

 

[sw88]

Hows the stadium look? Have they removed the RICOH lettering from the outside? I noticed on central news theyve put red covers inside. Are you still able to tell its Cov's ground? (Rented) Many people there?

I took some pics which might answer that a bit better. Will try and upload them. Coverings were only inside over the stand sponsors. The bill boards were 2012 adverts. Outside was the same. I presume the big Ricoh signs are too big to cover, so I guess RICOH will be compensated in some way for this? Just a guess. Unless they have other plans for the other fixtures.

Attendance was 11,600 which is fairness wasn't bad. Was a good atmosphere is the ground (for a change). Most atmosphere was half way line area.

Got a picture of the orange 'event stewards' who found them selves sat behind the goal (away end as this wasn't open to supporters) with nothing to do.

Finished 2-0 to Senegal btw, if anyone's interested.

 

[sw88]

Surely he should be in the junior team rather than be playing in an Olympic qualifier?

Otis, trust you to pick up in that!

 

[ccfcdan]

I took some pics which might answer that a bit better. Will try and upload them. Coverings were only inside over the stand sponsors. The bill boards were 2012 adverts. Outside was the same. I presume the big Ricoh signs are too big to cover, so I guess RICOH will be compensated in some way for this? Just a guess. Unless they have other plans for the other fixtures.

Attendance was 11,600 which is fairness wasn't bad. Was a good atmosphere is the ground (for a change). Most atmosphere was half way line area.

Got a picture of the orange 'event stewards' who found them selves sat behind the goal (away end as this wasn't open to supporters) with nothing to do.

Finished 2-0 to Senegal btw, if anyone's interested.

Pretty decent attendance then. Thanks for the info

 

[sw88]

Good morning Coventry City fans,

I see that you all are talking about tonight's Oman vs. Senegal match, and I just wanted to reach out and say that we hope you all will be able to attend and enjoy the game tonight.

Oman has never qualified for the Olympics before in men's football (nor has Senegal), so this fixture means a lot to both countries. This is actually a very exciting time in Oman football, when some of our top plAyers are emerging internationally (such as goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi of Wigan), and we're getting great results ahead of some of our favored neighbors in the Middle East and Asia (we also qualified for the final stage AFC World Cup qualifying).

Oman is a country with all different types of people and places, but one thing you tend to find is that everybody here loves football. We know it's an honor and a privilege for the team to represent Oman in Coventry, and the whole country will be behind them tonight. Some fans we're able to get a flight to the game, but many more will be up late in the Gulf, trying to propel the lads to victory.

If you're not familiar with Oman football, hopefully this tells you a bit more about what the game means to us tonight. We hope you'll get a chance to watch the game either live or on TV, we hope you enjoy it, and if you get a chance, we hope you can send a little of your cheering support Oman's way!

Thank-you for your in depth post. Unfortunately I didn't get to read it until now, however my support was more so towards Oman before kick off.

I must say though, Senegal deserved their victory, but the Oman squad should be proud of their efforts. You could easily see they were proud and passionate about representing their country. Something I have failed to see at club level for the majority of the season being a CCFC supporter. So it made a nice change.

Senegal have some decent players in their ranks, and it's no surprise you can see more of them coming onto the football scene ( Cisse, Ba etc ).

One thing that did maybe let the teams down was the rolling around, but this happens a lot within the game so is not personally directed at these two countries.

Once again, the Oman team should be proud of their efforts.

 

[sw88]

Pretty decent attendance then. Thanks for the info

I can see that being our average next season too!

 

[CCFC_Charlie]

Just got back from the game, very good game. The Omani fans were incredible at times, flags and banners everywhere, constant singing. The football was decent too, better than most of the stuff we've been subjected too this season. We should sign up some of the Senegal players, big lad up front, No 6, and the left-back, No 13 both impressed me.

 

[ccfctommy]

Yeah number 13 was very good.

 

[Mumford and Daughter]

tonight was shambles before the game , good atmosphere and the Oman fans were good

If that what the olympics going to be like then good luck cause it was a farce

 

[Si80]

Didn't see it was much of an issue to be honest with the queuing. I've queued to get into the (whatwas) Tescos stand a few times this season when we have had average gates.

We had freebie tickets in the West Stand. Was a great game, great atmosphere, bomb scare. Was nice to see some decent football at the Ricoh for once

 

[Mumford and Daughter]

Didn't see it was much of an issue to be honest with the queuing. I've queued to get into the (whatwas) Tescos stand a few times this season when we have had average gates.

We had freebie tickets in the West Stand. Was a great game, great atmosphere, bomb scare. Was nice to see some decent football at the Ricoh for once

what i didnt grasp was 1 min everyone was getting searched then all of sudden they let everyone in

 

[We'll_live_and_die]

The big Ricoh sign that adorns the stadium will have to go at Games-time to comply with the International Olympic Committee's "clean venues" policy. Just as the O2 will become the North Greenwich Arena, so the Ricoh will become the City of Coventry Arena. For those who will watch 12 Olympic matches here over the summer, including the bronze medal play-off in the women's tournament, last night provided a brief taste of the Olympic experience

 

[Oman Football Association]

Thanks everyone for the kind words about Oman fans! The country really takes pride in having passionate and good-natured people, and hopefully the people in Coventry yesterday found this to be true. We're disappointed we didn't qualify for the Olympics for the first time in football, but we're really proud of our team for hanging tough and giving great effort against a very talented Senegal group. All the credit and best wishes to them.

We believe that Oman football is growing, and we have some more huge fixtures over the next year in the final round of Asia World Cup qualifying. Hopefully you guys will keep an eye on our results (we begin the final round of World Cup qualifying June 3 against Japan), and at some point, hopefully you'll consider taking a holiday in Oman - get a sense first hand of our diverse settings and friendly people.

Thanks again for welcoming us to your board!