Match Report

Coventry City

Tottenham Hotspur

Hedman, Shaw, Burrows, Breen, Huckerby, Whelan (O'Neill, 87), McAllister (Soltvedt, 31), Dublin, Telfer, Hall, Nilsson.

Attendance
19,499

Referee
S W Dunn

Walker, Calderwood, Mabbutt, Fox, Nielsen, Anderton (Iversen, 51), Ferdinand, Carr, Ginola, Wilson (Edinburgh, 70), Sinton (Clemence, 70).

Subs not used: Ogrizovic, Haworth, Strachan.

Subs not used: Allen, Baardsen.

Booked: Telfer.

Booked:

Goal Scorer: Huckerby 42,84, Breen 63, Hall 87

    Coventry striker Darren Huckerby gave his side a slender half-time lead in the Premiership relegation battle with Tottenham at Highfield Road.
    Huckerby struck in the 43rd minute and his goal was all that separated the two struggling sides at the interval.
    The home team had welcomed back influential skipper Gary McAllister for the bottom of the table clash - but veteran goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic paid the price, as predicted, for his side's recent woeful run.
    McAllister returned only two weeks after suffering a knee injury in the local derby with Leicester.
    But Ogrizovic was dropped for the first time in his career and it gave summer signing Magnus Hedman the chance to make his debut after his £650,000 move from AIK Stockholm.
    Coventry have lost their previous three matches and another defeat against Spurs would make it their worst sequence for three-and-a-half years.
    Tottenham were without the suspended Ramon Vega and the injured John Scales from the side which had been humiliated 6-1 at home by Chelsea a week ago.

    It meant a return to the starting line-up for veteran defender Gary Mabbutt as Spurs aimed to improve upon their record of six defeats in their previous seven matches.
    Hedman, who was hoping to stake his claim to become Sweden's first-choice keeper, was given a standing ovation by the Highfield Road faithful when he took his place between the posts.
    Coventry were first to settle and McAllister was only a yard wide with an angled effort from the edge of the box after the ball had been rolled invitingly into his path.
    The Sky Blues won their first corner after six minutes but McAllister's inswinging effort was cleared easily by Mabbutt when under no pressure.
    Tottenham came more into the game and in the seventh minute almost broke the deadlock. A corner from David Ginola picked out Les Ferdinand at the far post and his powerful header was cleared off the line by David Burrows.

    Coventry enjoyed the bulk of the territorial advantage in the early stages with McAllister prominent in the centre of the park.
    One fine ball from the Scotland captain picked out Noel Whelan but his cross was easily cut out and the resulting shot from the rebound by Nilsson was easily blocked.
    Nilsson was figuring prominently down the right flank, using the ball intelligently to set up several promising moves.
    One delightful crossfield pass picked out Richard Shaw but again the quality of the centre into the box left a lot to be desired.
    Ginola started to make an impact on things and twice in the space of four minutes he might have given Tottenham the lead.
    First he left Hall and Burrows for dead as he burst into the penalty area and tested Hedman with a fierce drive which the Swede parried at the expense of a corner.
    But the Coventry keeper had no chance when a thumping effort from Ginola crashed against his left-hand post after the French star had again caused mayhem with a run into the area.
    Coventry were still enjoying a fair share of possession but they lacked a cutting edge and it was easy to see why they had gone into the game as the Premiership's joint lowest scorers with only 13 this season.
    They suffered a setback in the 32nd minute when McAllister hobbled out of the action to be replaced by Trond Soltvedt.
    Dublin headed over from a Telfer corner and then Walker was forced to hack the ball clear after a neat one-two between Huckerby and Soltvedt.
    Telfer then sent a 30-yard effort over the bar but it was still generally poor fare for the crowd - and it came as a surprise when the home side broke the deadlock.
    A long clearance from Hedman was flicked on by Dublin, and Huckerby had enough strength and pace to shake off the challenge of Wilson before firing powerfully passed Walker.
    Tottenham hit back and they should have drawn level on the stroke of half-time. Darren Anderton played Ruel Fox into space but from eight yards out his first time short flew past the post when it seemed easier to score.