Derby Men’s 4th XI 3-4 Coventry Men’s 3rd XI

Words by Jack Beighton.

Derby Men’s 4th XI fell victim to a second-half onslaught of goals from Coventry 3rd XI as they lost 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

The hosts were 3-1 up at half time thanks to a goal from Rob Ilsley and a brace from Ross Barnett. However, the away side came out fighting after the interval and managed three second-half goals to turn the match in their favour.

Derby started strongly, scoring the opener in the 12th minute from a corner. Rob Ilsley managed to get hold of the ball in a crowded Coventry box before poking the ball past the keeper and into the net.

The visitors found an equaliser just eight minutes later though as they caught their opponents off guard, leaving Dinko Ivanov on the edge of the box to tuck the ball into the bottom left corner.

Derby were soon back in front as they regained the lead from the penalty spot. Andy Forbes was brought down in the area and the spot kick was converted by Barnett who fired the ball into the top left corner.

It was end-to-end football from there which made for great viewing. Both teams had brilliant opportunities to score but Will Pattinson for Coventry and then Forbes for Derby both failed to find the back of the net.

Barnett put the home side firmly in the driving seat as he made it 3-1 just before half-time with an absolute stunner. After receiving the ball 25 yards from goal, he unleashed a thunderous half-volley into the top left corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance.

Coventry came out after half-time with intent to make a comeback and they had halved the deficit within a couple of minutes of the restart. Dominic Simpson converted from the penalty spot after the referee had spotted a foul inside Derby’s 18-yard box.

The visitors’ relentless pressure saw them find an equaliser ten minutes later. Karlos Osbourne received the ball on the edge of the box and turned the defender with a great piece of trickery before placing it into the bottom right corner.

The comeback was complete just three minutes later following some fantastic build-up play from Coventry. The ball was played into a very crowded Derby box and Ahmed Farah managed to get hold of the ball before stabbing it past Staines.

The hosts fought strenuously to get the equaliser in the final minutes of the game but couldn’t break through a resolute Coventry defence.