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Norman's cheeky wink as hero and villain return to Coventry City
Coventry City’s interim boss Rhys Carr extended his unbeaten record with another come-back draw packed full of spirit and determination, ensuring that whenever he hands over the reins that the new man will come into a stable and reasonably confident environment.
The Sky Blues started the brighter of the two sides, getting at joint leaders Sheffield United from the first whistle before finding themselves behind against the run of play when Tyrese Campbell scored with the visitors’ first real attack.
Norman Bassette chalked that off with a fine reply nine minutes later ahead of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi restoring the advantage before Anel Ahmedhodzic was sent off just before the break. But City battled back in a sustained second half of pressure that resulted in the unmarked Bobby Thomas heading home the second equaliser to secure a more than deserved point at the CBS Arena. Here are some of the big talking points and things learned from the entertaining 2-2 draw.
READ MORE: Chris Wilder takes swipe at City players' part in sacking
READ MORE: Chris Wilder makes 'mugged' claim as he singles out City goal scorer
Hamer’s hero’s welcome
Gustavo Hamer received warm applause and a heart-felt reception from City fans on his first playing return to the CBS Arena. The classy midfielder has been back as a spectator many times, of course, but Saturday was the first time he did battle against his former club. And it came as no surprise that he was the architect of both of Sheffield United’s first half goals, laying off passes for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi first to put the ball in for Tyrese Campbell to score before feeding the forward to finish precisely in the box.
Hamer was applauded at the start and, unusually, during the game when he went to take a flag kick at Singers’ Corner, and again when he went off injured later on in the second half – the Sky Blue Army clearly expressing their warmth and affection for a player we all enjoyed watching so much during his three years at the club.
O’Hare the villain
The reception for Callum O’Hare couldn’t have been more different, and it was difficult not to feel a little bit sorry for the lad who was widely booed whenever he touched the ball, and again when he was substituted seconds before Hamer left the field to a hero’s exit. There were plenty of City fans applauding as well, but he did look pretty downbeat when he walked off after a largely anonymous and ineffective contribution for the Blades.
That was in no small part down to Josh Eccles who, being a local lad, understands the fans’ displeasure and set about getting stuck into the midfielder from the first minute, and effectively marked him out of the game to earn a chorus of “one of our own” approval from the stands.
It was interesting watching the body language of the players when they lined up for the customary handshakes before kick-off, and Eccles appeared a little frosty with O’Hare compared to a more affectionate shoulder bump with Hamer.
It’s a shame it has ended this way, with O’Hare no doubt set to be the on-going villain whenever he plays against City. At the end of the day, he was a good player for Coventry who more than played his part in their rise to become an established Championship side. He bought into it while he was here and was loved for what he did. Unfortunately, the way he ran down his contract and was poorly advised to take part in a silly photo shoot appears to have soured the relationship for some, but not all.
Carr continues to impress
Rhys Carr and his staff once again showed their increasingly impressive credentials, first and foremost in the way they set up the team and went about the game. Sticking with three centre-halves and wing-backs, Carr tweaked the midfield by playing a box with Josh Eccles and Ben Sheaf effective at the base and Victor Torp and Jack Rudoni at the top, behind rapid lone striker Norman Bassette. And the quick out of the blocks start certainly worked with the Belgian causing all manner of problems for the Blades by being played in behind from a number of precise long balls.
The impressive coach, who masterminded the comeback from two goals down at Sunderland in the previous match, had the nous to switch things up later in the game, changing to a back four and throwing on wingers Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron Mason-Clark as City set up camp in ten man United’s half after the break.
Set pieces – one of the remits of John Dempster – were again inventive with decent deliveries from Torp on one side and Rudoni on the other, which produced a really decent headed chance for Luis Binks on one occasion, and the equalising headed goal from Bobby Thomas on another.
Food for thought for watching new boss
Overall, this was another decent performance from the Sky Blues, particularly from a front foot attacking point of view which will have given Mark Robins’ successor plenty of encouragement. Whether it’s Frank Lampard or someone else, it’s guaranteed they will have been a keen observer of the televised match, no doubt from the comfort of their living room. He will have seen plenty there to work with and to get excited about but, on the other hand, plenty of room for improvement, not least in the defending.
The two goals City conceded were poor, to say the least, the first when they failed to cut out the cross and then Thomas and Latibeaudiere allowed Campbell to get in between them to convert the low ball into the box. The second came after City gave the ball away cheaply in their own half which allowed Hamer to slip Rak-Sakyi through – all very avoidable. That’s 23 goals that have been conceded so far to give them a goal difference of -1. That has to change.
Norman’s cheeky wink
Fans love a bit of chicanery – for want of a better expression that doesn’t end in ‘housery’ – and that’s exactly what Norman Bassette was accused of after engineering Anel Ahmedhodzic’s red card.
The Belgian celebrated with a cheeky Cristiano Ronaldo-style wink and followed up by blowing a kiss to the opposition once the referee had made the only decision open to him when Ahmedhodzic lunged at the teenage striker’s throat.
Footage revealed a couple of incidents leading up to the critical clash which prematurely ended the Bosnian’s participation, one of which saw Bassette land heavily on his opponent with a forearm to the back of the head.
A bit of afters, follow-through aggression, provocation – call it what you will as the pair had a right battle with each other. Chris Wilder settled for “mugging” and, while not condoning the reaction of his own player, was clearly unhappy with Bassette rolling about on the floor, holding his face.
Meanwhile Carr, predictably enough, settled for a more measured interpretation, saying: “Norman’s certainly spirited. He’s a winner. Not sure what was said, what he did or didn’t do but it provoked a reaction. But that goes on in every game up and down the country every weekend.”
