Match Reports

The Sky Blues failed to equal their club-record for clean sheets at home, but thankfully began scoring goals at the other end after a couple of goalless draws, with a priceless win that did much to ease our relegation worries for a couple of days at least.

Jay Tabb has probably been our best player this season, and he was certainly the best player today, making a pair of goals for Micky Doyle and then scoring himself.

Our strikers are few in number, and woefully out of form, but if the midfield can score goals, we'll settle for that.

Early on, Plymouth actually had a chance to take the lead, but Steve MacLean let us off the hook with a bad miss from close range after a defensive lapse.

And with Leon Best suspended, the forward line was led by Michael Mifsud and Robbie Simpson neither of whom have scored in a month of Sundays.

But just when it looked like another day when we might be bereft of ideas and playing for a 0-0, up popped Doyle with the opening goal.

Tabb's cross from the right caused panic in the Pilgrims defence, and Doyle was there to volley in at the far post.

And barely five minutes later, the combination was repeated to double our lead and alleviate our relegation worries significantly.

Tabb robbed the defence blind and sprinted forward into the area, before playing the ball to Doyle, who took his time and finished elegantly - the perfect situation to be in just before half-time.

2-0 is as big a half-time lead as we've had for a long time, and with our defence looking very solid under Chris Coleman, it felt comfortable although overall we hadn't been playing that well.

Early in the second half, Scott Dann's header from a corner was cleared off the line, but with Plymouth offering little in attack, we were able to relax.

The goal came, eventually, and this time it was Tabb who got to claim it, capping a fine attacking move with a one-on-one with sub Kevin Thornton and a tidy finish.

Things were definitely all over then, and we were also closing in on a seventh home game without conceding, equalling our league record.

But things went wrong on that front when the visitors claimed a late consolation through Steve MacLean - the first goal conceded by Kasper Schmeichel in his City career, and he'll know he should have done better.

In the final minutes, deadline day loan signing Zavon Hines came on for his debut, and had a chance within seconds, but fired over.

Against a play-off chasing side, any kind of win is a good result, and our relegation fears will be eased somewhat ahead of a crucical game at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.

The Sky Blues kept a rare clean sheet away from home, taking a point away from Southampton in yet another relegation six-pointer that ended all square.

We still have not scored from open play in an away league game since the start of the year, but at least our run of eight successive away defeats has come to an end.

The match was low on quality and played in icy conditions, and we rarely looked like scoring, so the form of Kasper Schmeichel in goal, still yet to concede in his first two appearances, was the major plus point.

Former Sky Blues striker Stern John looked the most likely man to score against us, and he went to ground when Schmeichel came out to collect from his feet, but no penalty was awarded, while the on-loan keeper then came off his line to collect a danger-ball.

Our first effort on goal was a long-distance shot from Micky Doyle which was comfortably saved, while John forced a save from Schmeichel just before the whistle went for half-time.

0-0 at the interval might have been seen as a job half-done from our perspective, and Schmeichel made a very good stop from Mario Licka early in the second half.

Yet again, Michael Mifsud was having a quiet game, but he managed a shot a few minutes into the half, though Richard Wright was equal to it.

He's had a hit'n'miss season, but the introduction of Julian Gray seemed to change things in our favour, as the winger found a way through the Saints defence a couple of times, and tested their keeper with a late effort.

But the final word went to Schmeichel who made a late save from John to keep the score at 0-0 at the final whistle, and end our long run of away defeats, and keep both sides in the relegation scrap.

The biggest cheer from both sets of fans came after the final whistle when the news came that our fellow relegation strugglers Sheffield Wednesday had conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in their game.

The first of two critical six-pointers against Sheffield Wednesday ended with an unsatisfactory draw, and as has happened in so many games at the Ricoh lately, the visiting keeper played a blinder, when otherwise we may have won comfortably.

The visitors, breathing down our necks in the league, came for a point and they got it, despite offering very little in attack, and we might come to rue our wasted chances at the end of the season.

Loan signing Kasper Schmeichel made his debut in goal, but had very little to do, unlike his opposite number.

Lee Grant was tested early on by an Isaac Osbourne cross, before saving from Jay Tabb after he latched on to Michael Mifsud's through-ball.

It was otherwise a frustrating half, with the ball bogged down in midfield too much, and Schmeichel had to be alert shortly before the break to collect a cross, having hitherto been a total spectator.

After the break we stepped up the pressure in search of a goal - the out-of-sorts Mifsud had a great opportunity to square the ball to Micky Doyle but instead tried to shoot himself, and only succeeded in finding the side-netting from a tight angle.

Doyle then went close with a header, before going off injured, and his replacement Robbie Simpson gave us a more attacking formation, and Simpson soon tested the keeper with a low shot from a corner.

We became frustrated as the game wore on - Super Kevin Thornton pulled a shot agonisingly wide after a one-two with Stephen Hughes and then Mifsud saw his effort saved from a one-on-one with the keeper.

Mifsud has been a long time without a goal, and he was denied a further couple of times by Grant today as the final whistle drew closer, while Leon Best was quiet against his former club.

The only relief is that Wednesday never looked like nicking a winner themselves, but in all honesty they should not have taken a point here.

So it's as we were in the relegation battle, and with a return game at Hillsborough in just a couple of weeks time, things remain tense.

Chris Coleman's Sky Blue Army slumped to an eight successive away league defeat, despite a solid performance and a penalty save from Andy Marshall - albeit a futile one.

We started well, with Scott Dann having a shot hacked off the line, before a strong penalty appeal for a foul on Leon Best.

But play continued, and the Blades went down the other end, and James Beattie chipped an effort over the advancing Marshall, but Dan Fox was back defending and cleared the danger.

Later in the half, Dann had a header saved from a corner, while out-of-sorts striker Billy Sharp had a shot saved by Marshsll.

There were few other chances in the first half, but we had acquirred ourselves well against a side that should have been competing in the Premiership this season.

After the break Michael Mifsud had a chance to break his long goal duck, but fired only into the side-netting from a tight angle.

And a largely quiet half sprung into life mid-way through when a United counter-attack saw David Cotteril crossing to Billy Sharp - Billy Sharp, the striker who signed for the Blades in the Summer and has not scored yet.

Of course, the opponents you want to play against in such a situation are the Sky Blues, and his header beat Andy Marshall from close range to give the home side the lead.

We haven't scored many away goals lately, and the task became even harder when Stephen Hughes was harshly penalised for a foul on Sharp.

Marshall did well to save veteran Gary Speed's penalty, but he slammed in the rebound to make it 2-0.

It was not to be the last penalty decision either, as Trevor Kettle gave another fairly soft one when Mifsud was brought down by Chris Morgan. Elliott Ward stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick, and make it 2-1 - lately the only goals we can score away from home come from the penalty spot it seems.

It was the defender's third goal of the season, all of them from penalties, but not enough in the circumstances, as United looked more likely to score in the final minutes.

The defeat moves Sheffield United away from a precarious position, but leaves us in trouble, in a battle that could go right down to the wire.

The Sky Blues bagged a fifth consecutive clean sheet at home in the league, and outplayed nine-man Norwich, but could still only win by a single goal, scored early on by Jay Tabb.

With just six minutes on the clock, Micky Doyle played a long ball forward to Tabb, who controlled well, before cutting inside and firing home from close range.

Shortly afterwards, Leon Best broke through to beat the offside trap, but found David Marshall waiting to make a good save, and the barrage continued with Best firing wide from Tabb's cross, and Kevin Thornton hitting the post with a cheeky speculative effort.

Norwich was utterly hapless, and began making substitutions even before half-time. Before the interval, Scott Dann went close with a header from a corner, and we had been completely on top.

But worryingly, we went in only one goal up, despite our dominance, and the visitors were always in the game, even without being in the game.

After the interval, Andy Marshall was required to make his first save of the game from a Jamie Cureton free-kick just outside the area, but shortly afterwards the visitors were down to ten men, when Gary Doherty was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

The biggest danger might have been former Sky Blues hero Dion Dublin, who loomed ominously at a couple of corners, but didn't deliver a final product for his side.

We continued to have chances to extend the lead, with Stephen Hughes firing just over from 25 yards, and then having a low shot saved by the busy Norwich keeper, after more good work from Tabb.

Defenders Dan Fox and Elliott Ward then combined, with the left-back floating in a free-kick for the centre-half to head goalwards, only to be foiled by the keeper.

Late on, the visitors went down to nine men, with Russel also guilty of a second yellow card, but there were still a chance that someone - Dublin, probably - could equalise from a set piece.

In the event we didn't add to our lead, David Marshall made another couple of good saves, and Andy Marshall had to make a stop from Cureton near the end.

But one goal turned out to be enough as we moved away from the relegation zone and dragged Norwich back into trouble themselves.

The Sky Blues put the weekends defeat behind them, largely dominated at home and kept an encouraging clean sheet, but were denied three points and a league double over QPR by a solid display from the visiting goalkeeper.

Given our precarious position in the league, a point isn't really ideal, and we have spurned an opportunity against uninspired opposition who had little play for.

Early on, defender Scott Dann appeared to have scored his first goal for the club, but his effort from Micky Doyle's pass was chalked off for offside.

Shortly afterwards, another decent move saw Kevin Thornton cross for Leon Best, who played in Elliott Ward, but he blasted over when he really should have scored.

Camp then saved well from Michael Mifsud and Leon Best (who squandered a one-on-one) as we began to feel the frustration - at the other end, Rangers offered very little, which is fortunate given Andy Marshall's recent form.

Before half-time, Jay Tabb had an effort saved, and Micky Doyle tried his luck from close range, while Buzsaky hit something from about 40 yards for the visitors that went vaguely goalwards, but would have been more at home in a Rugby game.

It felt like we could win the game, such was our sheer dominance, but we went in annoyingly goalless at half-time.

The second half was slightly more even, with Buzsaky going close for the visitors, and Mifsud's cross only finding Leon Best's hand, resulting in a harsh booking.

Sub Julian Gray had a cross go agonisingly close, and just needing the merest of touches, and Isaac Osbourne's cross broke to Dan Fox who tried his luck from distance, but we were unable to break the deadlock in the second period.

And with the score still goalless at the final whistle, it had been a disappointing evening, with plenty of effort but no end product. Will Mifsud ever find his scoring boots again now that we've sorted things out at the back?

Our relegation worries took a stomach-turning turn for the worst with defeat at bottom-of-the-table Scunthorpe, and one of the worst performances of the season that will surely not please Chris Coleman.

Poor defending, freak goals, and a confidence-lacking performance from Andy Marshall in goal gave the hosts the perfect opportunity to pick up a rare three points, and left us looking anxiously over our shoulders.

Glanford Park is a new stadium built to resemble an old one, and the swirling Humberside winds made conditions difficult.

Scunthorpe dominated early on, and had a couple of chances before they took the lead, with Ben May going close after a mistake from Marcus Hall and Marshall saving nervously from Martin Paterson.

The goal came on a counter-attack, as defenders stood off Paterson, and allowed the striker to unleash a speculative shot from outside the area that floated over Marshall, who was in no mans land, and into the back of the net.

But we hit back, with Dan Fox trying his luck from long-range and going fairly close, before a goalmouth scramble saw Kevin Thornton taking a bit of a dive with his back to goal, and the ref pointed for a fairly soft penalty.

With neither Ward nor Doyle on the pitch, Thornton decided to take the pen himself, and coolly despatched it to level the scores - only his second senior goal for the club.

But we didn't push on much having levelled, and Scunthorpe created further chances before half-time, with Jay Tabb having to clear off the line to keep the scores level as we defended desperately.

At the break we were hoping for better things... unfortunately the second half didn't improve things at all, and indeed got a lot worse.

Andy Marshall's miscued clearance fell to Ben May, and the keeper had to come off his line to collect the ball and recover from his previous error.

Marshall was having a particularly poor game in goal, and every time Scunthorpe attacked we looked like we might concede.

Mid-way through the half they did take the lead, with a freak goal from on-loan Chelsea midfielder Jack Cork. His only previous goal had come when Scunthorpe undeservedly drew 1-1 at the Ricoh, and this time he played a cross from the byeline that looped over everyone and was blown into the goal by a freak gust of wind at the far post.

Cork himself had a couple of other chances in the remainder of the game, as we struggled to get back into the game, with a lone Michael Mifsud effort on target our only real chance.

In the closing stages, we won a corner, and Andy Marshall sprinted up into the Scunthorpe area. They cleared the danger, and we were almost caught out, but they chose to keep ball rather than try the 70-yard shot on goal, ensuring the contest ended 2-1.

If we can't win at Scunthorpe, it's hard to see where we can win, and between now and the end of the season we could face some very nervous moments indeed.