Source: FOOTYMAD
McSheffrey on Portsmouth win
We have played better says striker Gary McSheffrey, who won a penalty and scored a goal before going off injured at Fratton Park on Tuesday evening has given his analysis of the game that has almost guaranteed Championship survival for Coventry City. McSheffrey said, “I think we have played better football and it was one of those games where tackles were flying in. They were well up for it and we rolled our sleeves up and got stuck in and won the battle." “We went to Derby at the weekend and bossed them in terms of our football but, like at Burnley, we conceded goals. So it just shows what you can do if you keep a clean sheet.” McSheffrey was felled in the area when going o a run and the resultant penalty was scored by Marlon King to put City one up. Shortly after McSheffrey block tacked Dave Kitson and hurt his knee, but he played on for another ten minutes during which time he scored City's second goal with a powerful headed shot from an accurate Keogh cross. He had to be replaced soon after scoring and the knee injury was later proved to be a medial knee ligament problem, but how serious it is remains to be seen. McSheffrey had no doubts that it was a penalty after he was tripped by Ricardo Rocha, he confirmed, “It was definitely a penalty. I was about to get a shot off with my next touch. It was a great ball from Marlon King and the pace I was running at ensured I got there first and he just took me down." “I have won about four pens now and Marlon and Juke are hogging the ball. I want to take them but Kingy scored the last one he took and until they miss I probably won’t get a chance.” Talking through the goal he scored, City's second of the night, he said, “It was my third header this season. I scored against Doncaster, Sheffield United and now Pompey and they have all been good goals." “It was a great ball in from Rich Keogh and I just did what I was there to do. Richard had taken a quick throw-in to Lukas Jutkiewicz and he laid it back to him so I drifted in to the box for the cross. I made nice contact and it went in off the post.” After surrendering a two goal lead at Derby at the weekend, McSheffrey revealed that the side were determined not let the same thing happen again. He said, “To be 2-0 up is never a good score as we proved at Derby, but it was a comfortable enough lead for us to think we are not going to throw it away again, so I think we have learnt from our mistakes. I didn’t see the third goal because I was off getting treatment but it was good to get another.” Under Thorn's guidance McSheffrey has been give a more central role and he is relishing the opportunities it has given him and so is eager to continue playing deeper in the midfield rather than on the wing. “It is a good role for me sitting on the deep midfielder trying to break things up,” he said. “Playing off the strikers has been good because they caused havoc by pinning their defenders and if people don’t track me then I can get in quite a lot." “I think everyone can see from the last few performances that we are knocking it about nicely. We have still been conceding goals from set pieces but if we can cut those out and can keep scoring, we will keep winning games, but I think the ethic has changed a bit and when we got on the ball on Tuesday night we looked good and as if we can go through teams.” McSheffrey believes the win at Portsmouth means Coventry are now safe from relegation, even though, mathematically they are not, but they are now 12 points above the drop zone. He said, “We may not be mathematically, but I think we are safe and we want to take this form into the last few games and whoever we play and this is not being disrespectful, we feel we can out-perform them and get goals, so I think we are safe, yes.”
