Liverpool's admittedly faint chances of claiming the Premiership runners-up
spot surely died at Highfield Road.
The team that dumped them out of the FA Cup at Anfield back in January
deprived the Merseysiders of the victory that would have kept them just about in
touch with second placed Manchester United.
The gap is now nine points with Liverpool having just a game in hand, so they
can now start thinking in terms of the UEFA Cup and third spot.
A brilliant Michael Owen goal, his 21st of the season, will have certainly
impressed Glenn Hoddle, but Liverpool were just not equipped to withstand the
barrage of pace and height, and Coventry deservedly grabbed a point through Dion
Dublin's penalty - his 21st goal of the season.
And the Sky Blues can also forget about their equally faint hopes of a UEFA
Cup spot and can concentrate on cementing their first top-half finish in nine
season.
Coventry were probably the only people who believed they had a genuine chance
of making the UEFA Cup spots, but they set about Liverpool with such relish
you'd have thought the title was at stake.
Coupled with their ability to embarrass the so-called bigger clubs, Coventry
had no intention of producing an end-of-season canter.
They already had that magnificent FA Cup win at Anfield under their belts,
plus the impressive achievement of battering Manchester United into submission
back in December.
Their pace and sheer desire gave Liverpool a dreadful afternoon. It didn't
take a genius to predict that Liverpool's defence would have problems with Dion
Dublin's height and Darren Huckerby's pace, and that's certainly how it turned
out.
Liverpool were terrorised at times. And it was made worse by the inability of
Phil Babb and Dominic Matteo to clear the ball properly when they had the
chance.
The chasing and harassing of Willie Boland and Trond Soltvedt made sure that
Paul Ince and Jamie Redknapp were not far behind when it came to panic and
squandering of possession.
Liverpool's main outlet was those excellent, sweeping passes from Redknapp
that find McManaman with unerring regularity. Without that, the Anfield side
wouldn't have got out of their half.
One run and 20-yard shot from Redknapp and a header from Michael Owen after
Stig Bjornebye's cross from the left, were all Liverpool could muster as
Coventry dictated the play.
There were times when Liverpool's box resembled a pinball machine, and it was
a miracle they survived at times. Dublin planted one fierce header inches wide
from a David Burrows free kick, having got away down the right early on to crack
a rising drive over the top.
Soltvedt, falling backwards, was unable to direct a header on target after
Dublin's flick on had caused more chaos. The sheer pace of Coventry's play had
Liverpool flapping and floundering.
But totally against the run of play Liverpool got themselves out of the
trenches long enough to escape to the other end, where Danny Murphy cracked in a
vicious 20-yarder that Steve Ogrizovic beat out.
The resulting corner was only cleared as far as Bjornebye and he lifted it
back into the box for Owen to flick up and away from Gary Breen before belting
it into the net after 33 minutes. An opportunist goal of real quality.
But frankly is was a miracle that Liverpool survived until half-time. They
last only two minutes of the second period with their lead intact.
Babb failed to cut out a long ball down the left, and set off in hot pursuit
of Huckerby, who got to the by-line and was tripped by the Irish international
defender. Dublin blasted home the spot kick.
Liverpool complained - they claimed the ball had gone out for a throw before
Huckerby embarked on his run.
Noel Whelan could have made it two a minute later when he lashed over after a
cross had found him unmarked on the far post.
Owen almost punished indecision between Breen and Ogrizovic, and from the
resulting corner, Ince rose high to force a fine save from the former Liverpool
reserve 'keeper. And just to compound Babb's nightmare day, he failed to force
home the rebound.
Liverpool had loud appeals for a penalty turned down after a Breen tackle from
behind on Owen. TV replays showed that the Coventry defender had touched the
ball cleanly before sending Owen tumbling - but he may have pushed the England
striker first.
Liverpool lost Redknapp with a worrying knee injury after 74 minutes, but
still had Coventry pegged back for the first time in the match, the home side by
now relying on Huckerby's high-speed breaks.
McManaman, having shaken off an ankle injury to make the match, was by now the
main danger with his runs from midfield, but it really would have been an
injustice if Coventry had not got a point, at least.
Teams:
Coventry: Ogrizovic, Shaw, Burrows, Breen, Nilsson, Whelan,
Soltvedt, Boland (Williams 88), Hall, Huckerby, Dublin.
Subs Not Used: Hedman, Moldovan, Eustace, Shilton.
Booked: Hall.
Goals: Dublin 47 pen.
Liverpool: Friedel, Jones, Babb, Bjornebye, Matteo, McManaman,
Leonhardsen, Redknapp (Riedle 74), Ince, Owen, Murphy.
Subs Not Used: James, Kvarme, Berger, Carragher.
Booked: Ince.
Goals: Owen 33.
Att: 22,721
Ref: N S Barry (Scunthorpe).
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