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Football: Dublin in Barnsley's bad books after `dive' drama

Coventry City 1 Barnsley

Dave Hadfield
Monday 23 February 1998 00:02 GMT
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SHOULD anyone so much as stumble in the vicinity of the penalty area in the FA Cup replay on Wednesday, the eyes not merely of the world but of Barnsley will be on him.

For the second match in succession, a crucial decision went against Danny Wilson's side at Highfield Road. It will be no consolation to them that television replays show that Dion Dublin's extravagant dying swan routine on Saturday was as clear-cut a non-penalty as the infamous tackle at Old Trafford last week was a watertight case for an award.

It is one of the penalties of Coventry's precarious position that the borderline rulings go against you. If those verdicts had gone the way they should, Barnsley would be in the sixth round of the Cup and would have a precious extra point in their Premiership survival cache. Time for another early day motion from their local MPs, perhaps.

Sympathy for Barnsley should be tempered, however, by the fact that they never had a serious attempt on goal during this match and, had Coventry been anywhere close to their best, the result would have been decided long before Dublin's 89th-minute spot kick.

Wilson had to field a patched-up side and the best that could be said was that they put up stubborn resistance. Not that Coventry were much better for the most part; Gordon Strachan - again admonished for his vocal contribution from the touchline - has seen them perform far more convincingly during what is now a club record winning sequence of six matches.

Darren Huckerby provided the only break in the tedium of the first half, with a typical run and shot, and he, Viorel Moldovan and George Boateng all went close to resolving the deadlock before Alan Wilkie settled it.

But there was little of their recent fluency in Coventry's display and the combination of Huckerby and Moldovan was part of the problem. Although Huckerby's occasional spark of enterprise was enough to make him stand out, his blend with Coventry's record signing does not have that "made in heaven" aura that surrounds his link with Dublin - the two strikers are too similar in style.

It was predictable that City's breakthrough should only come after Dublin was moved into the attack - even if his contribution might look, on forensic analysis, like one of his less distinguished moments of the season.

Coventry City (4-4-2): Hedman; Nilsson, Dublin, Breen, Burrows; Telfer, Boateng, Soltvedt (Gavin Strachan, 75), Whelan; Moldovan (Hall, 67), Huckerby. Substitutes not used: Johansen, Haworth, Ogrizovic (gk).

Barnsley (4-4-2): Watson; Eaden, Moses, Markstedt, Jones; Bullock (Marcelle, 78), Redfearn, Bosancic, Sheridan (Hristov, 89); Ward, Fjortoft (Hendrie, 69). Substitutes not used: Appleby, Tinkler.

Referee: A Wilkie (Chester-le-Street).

Bookings: Barnsley Bosancic, Markstedt.

Man of the match: Huckerby.

Attendance: 20,265.

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