Anybody who follows the Sky Blues will be able to recall several occasions where we have tripped up on proverbial ‘banana skins’ at pivotal moments in the season. With four former City players on Grimsby Town’s books as well, it had the potential to be a frustrating game afternoon at the Ricoh Arena.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case and Peter Vincenti’s first-half strike set us well on the way to our biggest victory of the season so far. Marc McNulty then popped up with a hat-trick to take him to 21 goals in all competitions – a very healthy return for a man who came under some scrutiny during the early stages.
Finding the net has been a problem for us, but we seem to have overcome it recently to finally start putting teams to the sword. In a division as tight as Sky Bet League Two, whether or not we get promoted could boil down to goal difference, so the margin of victory is extra satisfying. We have now picked up 14 points from our last six games and it looks as if we are hitting form at exactly the right time.
The signing of Jonson Clarke-Harris has turned out to be a shrewd piece of business and he has been a real influence. His pace and power is capable of causing all sorts of problems for opposition defences, but his record in front of goal is respectable too. Maxime Biamou is still a great option when the ball needs to stick up top, and our striking options fill me with confidence now.
Our defensive record is by far the best in the league too and that should be enough of a platform to build on. No fixture from now until May will be easy, but Newport County lost to struggling Crewe Alexandra so they should be a team we can see off. They have fell away from the top seven too, so with just an outside chance of forcing themselves in there, it looks as if they will have to settle for a mid-table finish.
As teams in and around us continue to drop points, it’s imperative that we focus on ourselves and aim to prolong this current rich vein of form. We can’t look too far ahead, but the clash away to Notts County on April 7th is set to be a real six-pointer. Just six points now separate us and Wycombe Wanderers who occupy the final automatic promotion spot, while perhaps more importantly, the gap between City and 8th has widened.
We seem to have several attacking threats that we didn’t have a few months ago, none more so than Tom Bayliss who’s driving runs from midfield pose questions. His ability to spot a pass is exceptional and you can tell that that boy will go on to have a great career in the game. Vincenti is starting to show that there is talent in there too and I am glad for him because he tormented us numerous times when he was at Rochdale. Everything is falling into place.
There are 24 points still up for grabs and there is certainly more twists and turns to come, but we are on course to at least be in with a chance of a League One return. Mark Robins is doing a superb job when you consider the injury problems we have had over the last few months, and if we continue to back him and the players, who knows what can happen?
Play Up Sky Blues.
Images courtesy of @SBA_HaA
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