Second game of the week for the under-21s
Having won at Fleetwood on Monday this week, the under-21s are back in action this afternoon with a home game against Coventry City at the County Ground in Leyland.
We are still to play Coventry this season with the previously scheduled away game postponed and re-arranged for two weeks time, but both teams go into today’s game in good form. Since losing at Sheffield Wednesday, we’ve won two league games and the Central League Cup game against Accrington. That defeat to Wednesday was our first league reverse since going down at Peterborough in mid-October although it is only a total of seven league games during which time we’ve played nine games in the cup competitions.
We are currently sixth in the table, one place above Coventry who have four points less having played four games more. They’ve lost ten of their nineteen games but their recent form is good. They were held to a 1-1 draw by leaders Birmingham last Monday but had on their three previous games without conceding a goal.
With a four point advantage over Coventry and with us four points behind fifth place Barnsley, we won’t move up or down in the table no matter what today’s result but with all the games we have in hand, a win would start to push us closer the higher placed teams.
Today will be the fourth time we’ve played Coventry at home in the Professional Development League and we’ve won two and drawn one of the previous three. In the 2017/18 season we were 2-0 winners with goals from Olatunde Bayode and Ntumba Massanka and in the following season we drew 1-1 with Bayode again on the scoresheet.
On our return to the Professional Development League last season we won 2-1, coming from behind to win the game at Gawthorpe with goals from Halil Dervişoğlu and Darko Churlinov. Our team in that game played in the first week in March last year was: Denis Franchi, Keelan Williams, Dan Sassi, Jack Turner, Brad Grant, Joe Bauress, Samuel Bastien, Marcel Lewis, Jez Davies, Darko Churlinov, Halil Dervişoğlu. Subs: Lewis Forshaw, Jack McEvilly, Vernon Masara, Ne-Jai Tucker, Joe Westley.
It will be a very different line-up today. Of the eleven who started a year ago, five are no longer with the club, four are out on loan and Joe Bauress has a long term injury. Brad Grant is the only player from that team who can expect to play today.
The game at Leyland kicks off at 1 p.m. and is free to season ticket holders. Admission otherwise is £5 for adults and £2 concessions.
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