Coventry 3-0 Notts County Six Things: Doyle’s influence

Jodi Jones celebrates – coventrytelegraph.net

The League Two season kicked-off at the Ricoh Arena with a Jodi Jones hat-trick as Coventry defeated fellow East Midlanders Notts County 3-0 – but what can we take away from the game? Here’s our thoughts.

Notts County’s bright start

After a poor performance from the Magpies, it is easy to forget that they were arguably the better side in the first quarter of an hour. They bypassed the midfield to get early balls into Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi, who were causing problems with their physicality, exploiting Dominic Hyam and Rod McDonald’s reluctance to do battle in the air. Terry Hawkridge broke into the box on two occasions, once slipping at the wrong moment, before hitting the post from a similar position moments later.

Coventry stabilized through Doyle

After 15 minutes, Michael Doyle dropped a few yards deeper and played a key role in sweeping up second balls. His presence in front of the back-line – along with the aggression of Liam Kelly – solidified Coventry and made it harder for Notts County’s wide men to get close to Stead and Ameobi. The Pies struggled to sustain the early pressure and support with only four midfielders, who were somewhat burdened by their defensive responsibilities.

Jones vindicates left-foot preference

Early on, one could have justifiably criticized Jodi Jones for cutting inside onto his left foot when teammates on the right were in space. When he did that on 30 minutes though, he was rewarded, coolly slotting the ball into the far corner. After that moment, Jones grew in influence and finished the match with a richly deserved left-footed hat-trick – maybe sticking to his left-foot isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Notts final third struggles

Ameobi saw his shot blocked early in the second half and one or two penalty appeals were waved away, but a County equalizer would have been undeserved. Despite the introduction of midfielders Robert Milsom and Jorge Grant, whom many fans wanted to see start, Kevin Nolan’s side were unable to retain possession in good areas for long enough to create openings.

Subs swayed the game

Coventry managed the game well once they took the lead and rarely looked like conceding. Their attacking play improved when Maxime Biamou came off the bench, then later Duckens Nazon, both impressively teeing up Jones for a late breakaway goal. As Notts County chased the game, centre-backs Richard Duffy and Shaun Brisley were left exposed and Jones took full advantage.

In summary

It was a disappointing performance from Notts County and, above all, evidence that they need to add pace up top to provide variation. Coventry’s margin of victory was down not so much to consistent creativity, but instead a well-organized midfield and a clinical hat-trick from Jones.