Match 11. Coventry City v Northampton Town

Saturday 7^th November 2015 @3pm

FA Cup 1^st Round

COVENTRY CITY 1-2 NORTHAMPTON TOWN

Ricoh Arena, Phoenix Way, Coventry CV6 6GE

Admission: £15

Programme: £2.50 (36pp)

Attendance: 9,124

Refreshments: None purchased.

With cheap Virgin train tickets acquired, I finally made my first visit to the Ricoh Arena 10 years after it opened.  There was a fiver off normal admission prices as well so I arrived at Coventry rail station just after 2pm and took around 50 minutes to make the journey by 2 buses as the traffic was heavy but I got into the ground 10 minutes before kick-off, found one programme seller inside the concourse and bought his last programme. I had eaten on the train up so didn’t need any refreshments but they have the usual hot food for £3-£4.50 and alcohol for similar prices. Hot drinks were £2 and crisps & chocolate was £1.

I climbed the 50 odd steps to my seat near the back of the East Stand in time for the minutes silence and kick off.  The view was excellent and the elevated view only highlights the positional mistakes in the match.  The away fans were in good voice and got behind their team from the start.  They were rewarded within 5 minutes when a free kick was crossed in by Nicky Adams and got a nick off someone and found its way into the net.  Coventry were level 5 minutes later when a run in from the wing by Murphy created space for himself and shot into the net from the edge of the box.  Northampton regained the ascendancy and got what was the winning goal after 15 minutes when a cross from the right corner found Richards unmarked in the 6 yard box and headed easily into the empty net.  The rest of the match was more Coventry in possession, with Northampton relying on counter attacks, but it was not until the last 20 minutes that the home side showed more urgency and found their passing improved, due partly to the introduction of the lively pair Sambou and Alliyu. Northampton held on to a deserved win and coped with the pressure of the last quarter.

The 1655 no4 bus didn’t turn up and the 1715 bus took 40 minutes to get to the bus station.  Thankfully there were plenty of taxis in the adjacent taxi rank so got to the station in time for my booked 1810 train into London.