All over bar the shouting

Date published: 22 April 2014


Athletic 0, Coventry 0
NEARLY . . . but not quite.

It was a close thing. Jonson Clarke-Harris rattled a post with a superb curling free-kick from long range, James Dayton headed into the turf and over the crossbar and Charlie MacDonald was foiled only by the legs of Joe Murphy.

But Athletic couldn’t quite make it six points from two matches in four days over Easter. Perhaps that was being a tad greedy anyway – and by gaining a draw, Athletic at least ensured things didn’t go too egg-shaped.

Coventry were no great shakes - Steve Pressley’s men also remain in theoretical danger of the drop to League Two.

Mentally their players seemed to be thnking of other things, rather than the game.

Star striker Callum Wilson – he of 21 goals this season fame – was virtually non-existent as Athletic’s increasingly stingy back line left him little more than scraps.

Behind him, a diamond midfield formation had little joy against the controlling influence of James Wesolowski and captain Korey Smith. So why could Athletic not make it four losses in a row for Pressley’s men?

Well, this may have been a game where an unchanged formation caught up with the team. Not defensively, where James Wilson in particular was outstanding, but Athletic weren’t sharp enough in the creative positions.

Gary Harkins was marked out of the game and ended up regularly doubling back on himself down the left. David Worrall couldn’t quite provide a regular stream of quality crosses from the right and though Clarke-Harris was impressive in the first half, he appeared to tire.

Having expended plenty of mental and physical energy in gaining that Good Friday win at Colchester and making the long trip back home, this one looked like a bridge too far for Athletic.

That said, the start had promise. Coventry were all at sea from the off and as Athletic opened up at a lick, Danny Philliskirk’s attempted flick was only a couple of feet off target. Clarke-Harris then directed a clever header that Murphy clawed out from under his crossbar, before a 21st-minute thunderbolt of a 25-yard free-kick from the same player hit the right-hand post. That was the closest any player would come all afternoon.

Athletic had the better of the first half, but as the second period descended into a slow-paced midfield affair, the contest had its eventual final score written all over it.

No goals and not much excitement, then. But seven games unbeaten at such a crucial stage of the campaign is worthy of praise, as is a run of four clean sheets in six matches.

Barring an extraordinary sequence, the club's 51-point total – the same as Athletic finished on last season – has already secured League One safety for another year.