Wally Downes has called on his players to rise to the big challenge of taking on the League One leaders tonight.
Moving ground has proven to be far from a problem for Coventry City this season as they’ve hit the heights at St Andrews. They’ve won all four league games at that venue to top the table. In total, they’ve scored 13 league goals with Matt Godden as their top scorer with four. The Sky Blues have only lost one game so far this season and that was in the Carabao Cup at Premier League club Watford.
The previous four matches between Wimbledon and Coventry have ended in draws though and Wally Downes believes that his squad are capable of upsetting the table-toppers tonight. With only Rod McDonald and Anthony Wordsworth ruled out for tonight’s match, Wimbledon will go there with virtually a fully fit squad.
Below are quotes from Wally, plus stats, and a look back at previous matches.
Wally Downes
“We’ve had them watched, I’ve got all the reports on them, and they play an expansive game of football and they are playing it well at the moment. They’ve settled in to their new surroundings very well and the crowd are getting behind them so it looks like it’s going well for them.
“Playing against a top-of-the-table side, it’s another good test for us. We’ve only lost by the odd goal when we’ve lost this season, apart from at Sunderland. We are competitive and we will certainly be going there looking to cause a turn-up. With the position we are in at the moment and the position they are in, everyone will be expecting them to turn us over, but you can’t write us off and we will be going there looking to get the three points.
“There’s no better place to go, to be able to stick together, than a big stadium like St Andrews, and taking on a big club like Coventry. We will take the game to them when we can, but the important thing is that we are together as a group and we don’t get stretched, which is what they want to happen. We have to be compact and competitive and look to get the ball forward and wide, into dangerous areas, when we can.”
Wally’s full interview ahead of tonight’s game can be viewed below.
Mark Robins (speaking after the 0-0 draw at Burton Albion)
“There were a lot of poor decisions made from us and from them, some unforced but most were under pressure because both teams have tried to press. We couldn’t get out in the first half so we remined the lads of what we had worked on and we were much better in the second half.
“There is still a long way to go for us and the good thing is we did get a little more of a foothold in the second half and that was something that was missing a few games ago. We have to recover well because both sides tired visibly in the second half, conditions were warm and there has been a lot of games in the first six weeks of the season, but I am looking forward to the game on Tuesday.”
Last time we met
Coventry City 1-1 AFC Wimbledon (12 January 2019)
The second of two draws between the clubs last season was played at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry City’s previous home. The Dons earned an early lead through on-loan Jake Jervis, who was in the right place to steer home from close range after Coventry had failed to deal with a corner from Anthony Hartigan. Wimbledon then defended valiantly to hold onto the lead, before Luke Thomas plundered an equaliser just after the hour with a deflected strike. That’s the way it stayed and it was a point that would end up being crucial in Wimbledon’s successful battle to stay in League One. Take a look at the highlights from that game below.
One more from the past
Coventry City 2-2 AFC Wimbledon (28 September 2016)
A first visit to the Ricoh Arena after promotion to League One almost earned all three points. A first-half header from Jon Meades cancelled out an early goal from Marvin Sordell and Lyle Taylor’s 83rd minute strike appeared to have won it for Wimbledon. However, there was a late sting in the tail with Andre Wright netting an injury-time goal to bag a point for the Sky Blues. The video highlights for this game are below.
Top scorers
Coventry City – Matt Godden (4)
AFC Wimbledon – Kwesi Appiah, Luke O’Neill (both 2)
Form Guide:
Coventry City DWDDLW
AFC Wimbledon DLLDLL
Last time out
Burton Albion 0-0 Coventry City
AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Tickets
AFC Wimbledon supporters can pay on the night for the game (adult tickets at just £15). See our previous article for more details.
Live commentary of this match has not yet started.
key moments
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