Matchday Memories: On This Day 2015 – See Sky Blues & Shrimpers All Square On Goals & Pens!
Manager Mowbray
By this last day of the month (31st August) in 2015 the Sky Blues had had a reasonable start to their 2015-16 campaign. Apart from going out of the Capital One Cup on penalties at Rochdale they had so far recorded successive League One wins over Wigan Athletic (2-0 at the Ricoh Arena), Millwall (4-0 at the New Den) and Crewe Alexandra (3-2 at the Ricoh). However, they had blotted their copybook last time out at Walsall losing to the Saddlers by the odd goal in three. This had knocked them off the top of the table down to seventh.
Reda in the Sky Blue
In this Tuesday evening game (which had been moved from the previous Saturday) they were back at the Ricoh Arena taking on Southend United. There were 12,967 fans in the stadium (including 819 from Essex) with the Sky Blues fans hoping their team could keep their 100% home record intact. It wasn’t to be, however, as the Shrimpers claimed a 2-2 draw against Tony Mowbray‘s Men. It was a game of two penalties, one for each side, a contest which City ‘lost’.
In the end the Sky Blues had to come back from 2-1 down after taking the lead. It took a 72nd minute equaliser from Sky Blue captain (and now CCFPA member) Sam Ricketts to recue a point after Reda Johnson‘s 32nd minute volley from a rebound had given the homesters’ hope.
Sam in Sky Blue action
The Sky Blues lead only lasted two minutes before the Shrimpers’ Noel Hunt popped up with an equaliser for the visitors heading home a Ben Coker cross. Then, disaster, four minutes before the half-time whistle young Aaron Phillips (son of CCFPA member and Sky Blue 1987 F.A.Cup winning hero David Phillips) gave away a penalty. David Mooney converted to suggest the Shrimpers might win. Even worse City won their own penalty after 53 minutes but the normally reliable Jim O’Brien contrived to miss the equalising chance having his spot kick saved. Thank goodness then for captain Sam who saved the Sky Blues’ blushes with a nodded equaliser and ensured City finished a tidy fifth after the game.
BBC Sport’s contemporary match report (complete with Tony Mowbray‘s post match remarks) can be found here and match highlights, courtesy of CCFPA’s Dean Nelson, can be seen by clicking the link or image below:-
For the record, the Sky Blue team that day was (CCFPA members underlined):-
Lee Burge, Aaron Phillips, Chris Stokes, Sam Ricketts (c), Reda Johnson, Romain Vincelot, John Fleck, Ruben Lameiras (sub. Marcus Tudgay -46), Adam Armstrong, Jacob Murphy and Jim O’Brien
Unused subs:- Bryn Morris, George Thomas, Aaron Martin, Conor Thomas, Ryan Haynes and Reice Charles-Cook (gk)
Phil Brown put out the following Southend side:-
Dan Bentley, John White (c), Ben Coker, Will Atkinson (Anthony Wordsworth -79), Ryan Leonard, Glen Rea, David Worrall (Stephen McLaughlin -75), Michael Timlin, David Mooney (Myles Weston -63), Noel Hunt and Adam Barrett Unused subs:- Luke Prosser, Jack Payne, Joe Pigott and Ted Smith (gk) Referee:- Darren Handley
The Shrimpers got full revenge in late January beating the Sky Blues by three clear goals. City were still in fifth spot at that time with hopes, at least, of the playoffs.
CCFC 2015-16
Sadly, the promising first half of the season was not maintained in the new year. Thus, the Sky Blues who had once harboured serious promotion aspirations had to be content with an eighth placed finish (and Southend United were fourteenth).
It was Wigan Athletic (champs) and runners up Burton Albion who got promoted automatically plus sixth placed Barnsley (via the play-offs). The relegated quartet was Doncaster Rovers, Blackpool, Colchester United and, at the very bottom, Crewe Alexandra.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images
