..

..

..

County have played Coventry only twice in the last 82 years. Never drawn together in any cup competition, (which must surely be some kind of anomaly!), the only opportunity to see us face ‘The Sky Blues’ was in Division 1, (Tier 2), in 2001/02. They came to EP on the opening day of the season, and went away with a reasonably comfortable 2-0 win. Lee Hughes marked his debut for them by hitting the target. But they were a club relegated from the Premier League the previous season so as we left the ground it was a case of thinking that they would be one of the stronger opposition, and that there wasn’t too much to worry about. Little did we know.

By late October with only a single win Chairman Elwood had decided that it was time to part company with Andy Kilner, and after a short interregnum, with Craig Madden in charge, the appointment of Carlton Palmer was announced. Four points from his first two games suggested that maybe things would improve. Far from it. By the time we came to visit Highfield Road in mid January we had lost 10 league games on the bounce, scoring 4 and conceding 26 in that period. We were beyond hopeless despite the influx of players Palmer brought in. I’d made my mind up by New Years Day as explained in more detail on The Hawthorns post. Palmer was simply not up to the job. Relegation was all but certain as we were 15 points from safety with only 17 games left. Some may say that kind of gap could be bridged. I wasn’t one of them as I recognised that side without much purpose, and having garnered only 12 points all season, were not going to escape.

Which makes the performance at Highfield Road all the more creditable. But before then a small personal reflection. With the League being sponsored by the Nationwide BS, and my work at that time involving a large funding relationship with NBS, I was invited, together with my two sons, Rob and Mark, to enjoy hospitality for the game. And excellent it was too! The photo below was taken in the away team dugout, (naturally!), before the game.

..

..

As to the game. It was a fighting scoreless draw when we displayed more fight and application than in the previous 10 games put together. I may have had little time for Carlton Palmer as a manager but that afternoon he put in an immense display on the field. A head injury necessitating heavy bandaging did nothing to deter him as he cajoled those around him. It was a performance, which on relfection, I was proud to have witnessed.

But there was no evidence that it was built on. The next 9 games brought 4 points, and with the last of those, (a defeat at Wimbledon), we plunged into the 3rd tier. There were still 7 games left, and with our fate sealed we saw 3 wins, to make it 6 for the season. And one of those 3 was of the sweetest kind – and always remembered as Hardiker’s game – as top of the table Manchester City made the short journey down the A6 only to return with their tail between their legs. One of the great nights!!

..

Memories of a trip to Highfield Road

..

THE GAMES

..

Where the date is in bold click for highlights of the game

..

	Date	Venue	Ground	Competition		F	A	Att:
Sat	11/08/01	h	Edgeley Park	Nationwide Football League – Division 1 (Tier 2)	L	0	2	9,329
Sat	19/01/02	a	Highfield Road	Nationwide Football League – Division 1 (Tier 2)	D	0	0	12,448

..

Back to Opposition Team Index