Two away defeats in four days have increased the pressure on
Steven Pressley & the Sky Blues & once again they are looking over
their shoulders at the teams fighting to get away from the bottom four in
League One. The result at Gillingham on Tuesday night was a pretty disastrous
one but was a unique game in Coventry City's history being the first time that
four penalties were scored in a game involving the club. Gillingham's Adebayo
Akinfenwa scored two from the spot with Callum Wilson & Carl Baker netting
for the Sky Blues. I am certain that there has not been another instance of
four penalties scored in a City game since the Second World War but some of the
pre-1939 penalty scorers are a bit uncertain.
There has been two post-war instances when four penalties
have been awarded. The first was a game at Leicester City's Filbert Street in
1977. City's Mick Coop netted twice from the spot with Jon Sammels replying for
the Foxes but Leicester's first penalty by Dennis Rofe was saved by Jim Blyth.
City won the game 2-1. The second was in September 1990 at Highfield Road
against Nottingham Forest when City were awarded three penalties. Brian
Kilcline scored one and missed one, Forest's Nigel Jemson scored from the spot
and added a second from open play before Brian Borrows netted City's third
penalty two minutes from time to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw.
Akinfenwa is not the first opponent to score two penalties
in a game against the Sky Blues - Liverpool's Jan Molby managed three in the
League Cup tie at Anfield in 1986 and other players to match Akinfenwa include
Swindon's Jan Age Fjortoft (1994), West Ham's Ray Stevens (1984), Tottenham's
Glen Hoddle (1980), Manchester City's Gary Owen (1978), West Ham's Geoff Hurst
(1969) and Sunderland's Neil Martin (1967). I think Martin is the only opposing
player to score two penalties at Highfield Road and he later scored two
penalties in a game against Crystal Palace for the Sky Blues.
Another interesting statistic from Tuesday night's game was
that stand-in captain Dan Seaborne became the first City player to receive a
red card in a league game this season. Earlier in the season Dan was punished
with a three-match ban after video evidence showed he had committed a red card
offence against Oldham. Carl Baker was, of course, shown a red card in the
League Cup tie at Leyton Orient this season. With only one red card last season
(Jordan Stewart at Walsall) it is now almost two years since a City player was
sent off in a home game - that was Richard Keogh in the final home game in the.
Championship.
Red cards are one way of measuring a team's discipline and
the above are positive signs for the Sky Blues. However another measure is the
number of penalties conceded and the Sky Blues' record this term is appalling
with the total now 11 in 35 league games. Admittedly Joe Murphy has saved four
of them (a record for a City keeper) the total is the worst in the club's
history, surpassing the 10 conceded in 2004-05.
Back to a positive statistic & Callum Wilson's goalscoring
feats. Three goals in the last three games has taken his league total to 17 in
27 games and he is now joint top of the League One scorers. He has scored more
league goals in a season than any other City player since 1997-98 when Dion
Dublin topped the Premiership scoring lists (with Michael Owen) with 18 goals.
With eleven league games remaining Wilson is capable of
overhauling some other all-time great City scorers. Over the last 50
years the top seasonal scorers are as follows:
24 George Hudson 1963-64
24 Bobby Gould 1966-67
21 Ian Wallace. 1977-78
19 George Hudson 1964-65
18 Dion Dublin 1997-98
17 Callum Wilson 2013-14
17 Mick Quinn 1992-93
17 Terry Gibson 1983-84
Callum's efforts this season are outstanding especially when
you consider he was only a fringe player with only one senior goal to his name
before the season kicked off.
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