CARLING PREMIER LEAGUE.

Coventry v Leicester City. 27/11/99

Coventry (0) 0 Leicester (0) 1 FT
                       Heskey 60

Heskey's Smash and Grab Settles The Tale of Two Cities
Peter Gilbert.  27.11.99

Coventry must have felt rather pleased with themselves having got to half time without conceding any goals. Izzett broke into the box twice was felled twice and was denied a penalty twice. Cottee had a good chance and for once a clinical finish eluded him. Gerry Taggart Leicester's latest scoring defender also failed to connect when unmarked in the box.

It was a grim and cold half time and Leicester Fans could have been excused for thinking that they had wasted their best chances whilst Coventry fans must have felt happy to be still alive and kicking.

The second half started predictably with Coventry pushing on but Leicester hung in there and slogged it out with them which they eventually converted into genuine possession, creativity and were up and at 'em.

In the 60th minute Heskey received a fairly innocuous looking ball.  He controlled it on his chest on the edge of the box, turned, beat a man and slammed into the back of the net while the rest of the world stood staring at him.   It was a brilliant effort and he was warmly;y received when he ran over to us to celebrate.

The goal was well deserved - Leicester had been playing well ,   Emile was due a goal and this was his sixth of the season.

However Cov. were on a run of four home wins and were not likely to lie down without a fight. They certainly raised their game being clearly stung into life by the goal.
Coventry were too denied a penalty when Keane was sent sprawling in the box, 'Oh Well' - people are always screaming for consistency, so there it is.

Carlton Palmer and McAllister were becoming very prominent in the midfield area, one using his brains the other his brawn - I'll leave you to guess which is which.

With ten minutes to go it was hanging on time for Leicester and Coventry piled in looking for a weakness to exploit. A corner was survived and followed by another penalty appeal which could have drawn the teams level but Leicester stood firm in the face of tremendous pressure.

Neil Lennon - recently voted 'Midlands Player of the Year' put his foot on the ball , called for and inspired calm and commitment.   Heskey and Cottee won some respite when a neat one two gained a corner.
It was now so cold that the Cov. clock seemed to have frozen and we were marooned, locked in time, but still one up.

Cov. fans began to drift away home to a comforting cup of tea by the fire as the 2 mins. 'extra' time was entered.

We raised our voices, we could see the winning line - we ran towards it with aching muscles, fighting for breath while Martin O'Neill patrolled the touch line.

Then as sweet as a Nightingale the final whistle blew and Leicester won not only their first double of the season but also their first double over Coventry since 1951.

Leicester now on 29 points only 4 off the top are looking good, and as Bill Shankley used to say 'If you can win games when you've not played well then you know you've got a good side.'
I expect that Gordon Strachan will yap about denied penalty's but in that department it was even Steven, the difference between the two sides though was Emile Heskey who had turned in a masterful performance crowned with a magnificent goal.

It was a close fought contest which we had never dominated - had never played good football for lengthy periods - but we had done more than enough to pinch the points and run off victorious. It's just a pity we won't be playing Leeds on Tuesday !

Coventry: Hedman, Telfer, Breen, Williams, Burrows (Froggatt, 46), Hadji, McAllister, Palmer, Chippo, Roussel (Whelan, 35), Keane.

Subs not used: Ogrizovic, Konjic, Eustace.

Booked: Williams, Whelan, Keane, Palmer.

Leicester: Flowers, Taggart, Elliott, Sinclair, Impey, Savage, Izzet, Lennon, Guppy, Heskey, Cottee.

Subs not used: Arphexad, Walsh, Marshall, Oakes, Zagorakis.

Booked: Taggart.

Attendance: 22,021.

Referee: S Lodge