Sparky stars as Sky Blues hit six at Cheltenham

Following Tuesday night’s defensive horror show against Lincoln City, I was a little sceptical as to how the Sky Blues would fare as they travelled to Cheltenham Town on Saturday. Whilst the Robins had nothing much to play for bar pride, they are a side that is capable and Mohamed Eisa – their key player – has the potential to be a thorn in the side of any team in Sky Bet League Two. It’s safe to say, I was somewhat nervous heading into it.

One positive of late has been our surge in scoring goals, something that held us back earlier on the season. With that in mind, you sensed that if we performed to our maximum, three points could be secured. Fortunately, the players seemed to respond to Mark Robins’ post-match comments from Tuesday to galvanise themselves. We had threatened to sweep someone aside at stages this term, and we did that in style at Whaddon Road.

With a hefty contingent of City supporters packed out in the away end and most dressed as superheroes, the lads down on the pitch freed themselves from the shackles. Cheltenham had a couple of sightings in the opening few minutes, but Tom Bayliss scored to alleviate any tension after 12 minutes with a well taken half-volley which came from a dangerous Jordan Shipley cross.

From that moment, we continued to threaten, and Marc McNulty was on hand to double the advantage on 28 minutes. Jack Grimmer claimed the assist with a perfectly placed delivery, and the striker did the rest with a header reminiscent of the one he netted away to Luton. Before half-time, there was time for two more goals as Shipley and McNulty both beat Scott Flinders. 4-0 up at the break – City were in cruise control.

Following the restart, it was the Sky Blues knocking on the door once more, but Cheltenham were offered a lifeline when Lee Burge brought down Eisa inside the area. He then stepped up to plant a finish into the corner, but it only proved to be a consolation. Some would say we were fortunate to still have 11 men on the pitch at this point, as the home fans appealed for Burge to be sent off, but the referee deemed that the challenge only warranted a caution.

Biamou – the man only capable of scoring stunners – did just that on 74 minutes to make it five, as he acrobatically overhead kicked a Grimmer cross into the corner. McNulty was at the heart of the move again with some superb footwork down the byline, but the Frenchman’s finish was incredible. He was handed a deserved recall into the starting line-up, and he certainly repaid that decision with a strong performance.

City’s dominance wouldn’t end there though, and four minutes later, Sparky sealed his hat-trick and City had secured their biggest victory of the season. After beating the offside trap, he cut inside and unleashed a curling effort into the far corner before heading over to celebrate with the 1,541 members of the Sky Blue Army. We had done our part of the bargain, but Mansfield Town came from behind to win against Yeovil Town, meaning play-offs aren’t quite a certainty just yet.

Barnet also picked up three points against Morecambe, which now means the Shrimps travel to the Ricoh in need of a point to survive, depending on other results. The Sky Blues also need just a point to cement a top seven finish if they don’t want to rely on Mansfield faltering at home to Crawley. It’s set to be another nervy afternoon in Coventry, but if we can replicate Saturday’s performance, we should have no issues. Both teams will be fighting for it though, that’s a certainty.

I’m not even going to attempt to predict the outcome, especially with it being such a crucial game for both sides. Unlike the Lincoln clash, we need to win our battles first and then let the football do the talking. We have to rekindle our defensive solidity that had made us difficult to beat earlier in the season and couple that with our newly found form in front of goal. Fingers crossed we will be celebrating at this time next week, as opposed to crying ourselves to sleep. Boys, it’s up to you.

Play Up Sky Blues.

Images courtesy of @SBA_HaA