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Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League
Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League
Liam Kelly insists “sleeping giant” Coventry must avoid letting the occasion of a Wembley play-off final ruin their Premier League dream. Coventry, one of the Premier League’s founder members in 1992, will end a 22-year exile from the top flight if they overcome Luton in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final on Saturday. Victory would cap a remarkable journey for Coventry and Kelly as the veteran midfielder was part of the Sky Blues team which beat Exeter in the League Two play-off final at Wembley in 2018. “The attention surrounding this game is more (than 2018), but on a personal level it’s just the same for me,” said skipper Kelly. “We were expected to be promoted from League Two and League One, but at the start of the season I don’t think anyone expected us to be in this position. “When I came here I don’t think many people envisioned where the club would be now. It’s been a great journey. “It’s a big club and it’s been a sleeping giant for a while, but we’ve seen the support the last few years.” Coventry took 42,500 fans to Wembley when they beat Oxford to win the EFL Trophy in 2017. This time the Sky Blues have sold their allocation of 36,237 tickets for a game described as one for the romantics given Luton’s rise from non-league football over the past decade. Luton ended the campaign two places higher and with 10 points more than Mark Robins’ Coventry, but their two games in the regular season were both drawn. Kelly said: “Luton finished third and are one of the best teams in the Championship. “It’s going to be a fantastic day but at the same time you can’t let the occasion get the best of you. “You’ve got to realise what’s at stake and use that energy from the crowd to achieve what we want to. “I remember it (2018 play-off final) went really quickly, but you’ve got to go out and be on it rather than be overawed by it. “We just have to go with the momentum and not overthink it, realise where our form has taken us and give everything to try to win this game. “Sometimes the best way to get into the play-offs is to creep into it in the last couple of weeks, which we’ve managed to do, and we can take confidence from that.” Kelly has made 160 appearances for Coventry after being relegated out of the English Football League as a Leyton Orient player in 2017. But the 33-year-old could be playing his final game at Wembley as he is coming to the end of his contract and facing an uncertain future. He said: “I won’t pay too much attention to that. I just want to concentrate on this final and we can sort everything out at the end of the season. “I just want to get that winner’s medal round my neck.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Don’t be overawed by Wembley, says Liam Kelly as Coventry aim for Premier League Tyson Fury: I have sent Anthony Joshua a draft contract for Wembley fight Sean Abbott equals Blast record with stunning century for Surrey
2023-05-27 05:18
Kyrgios withdraws from Wimbledon with wrist injury
Kyrgios withdraws from Wimbledon with wrist injury
Nick Kyrgios withdrew from Wimbledon on Sunday with a wrist injury, stripping the tournament of one its headline acts 12 months after the firebrand Australian...
2023-07-03 06:27
Marsh named Australian T20 captain, Cummins has wrist fracture
Marsh named Australian T20 captain, Cummins has wrist fracture
Mitchell Marsh was named Australia's new Twenty20 captain Monday for their tour of South Africa, as selectors revealed Test and one-day skipper Pat Cummins has a fractured wrist but should...
2023-08-07 12:56
Georgia football rumors: 5-star Crystal Balls, 4-star Michael Uini watch, Dawgs scaring Harbaugh
Georgia football rumors: 5-star Crystal Balls, 4-star Michael Uini watch, Dawgs scaring Harbaugh
Georgia football rumors: Jim Harbaugh already worried about the DawgsJim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines didn't see the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff this past season, notably because they didn't make it out of the semis and were taken down by TCU. Given what the ...
2023-06-30 02:21
Trouble in paradise: Garrett Wilson, Zach Wilson get in chippy Jets sideline argument
Trouble in paradise: Garrett Wilson, Zach Wilson get in chippy Jets sideline argument
Jets players Zach Wilson and Garrett Wilson were spotted arguing on the sidelines of Week 3's game against the Patriots.
2023-09-25 04:23
James Harden skips 76ers practice, leaving coach Nick Nurse unsure of what comes next
James Harden skips 76ers practice, leaving coach Nick Nurse unsure of what comes next
Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse said he no explanation for why James Harden skipped practice Wednesday but planned to proceed as if the disgruntled guard will play in the preseason finale
2023-10-19 02:26
Giants secondary depth will face challenge from Cowboys passing game
Giants secondary depth will face challenge from Cowboys passing game
The way rookie cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins have fit so seamlessly into the New York Giants defense, veteran Adoree Jackson has found himself playing a relatively new position
2023-09-05 07:50
Kimberley Martin's Stephen A. Smith Impression Brought 'First Take' to a Halt
Kimberley Martin's Stephen A. Smith Impression Brought 'First Take' to a Halt
VIDEO: Kimberley Martin and Ryan Clark roasted Stephen A. Smith.
2023-07-25 03:24
Roundup: Ana de Armas Fans Lose Lawsuit; Damar Hamlin Makes Bills Roster; Must-Watch Games For Week 1 of the NFL
Roundup: Ana de Armas Fans Lose Lawsuit; Damar Hamlin Makes Bills Roster; Must-Watch Games For Week 1 of the NFL
Ana de Armas fans lose lawsuit against Universal, Damar Hamlin made the Bills roster, must-watch games for NFL Week 1 and more in the Roundup.
2023-08-30 19:23
Jurgen Klopp hits out at lunchtime scheduling of Liverpool-Man City clash
Jurgen Klopp hits out at lunchtime scheduling of Liverpool-Man City clash
Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Brentford set up a mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City, but manager Jurgen Klopp is less than impressed with the lunchtime scheduling. The Premier League’s resumption after the international break kicks off with City v Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium live on television in a Saturday lunchtime clash. Klopp has been a long-time opponent of broadcast scheduling, particularly the 12.30pm slot, and he has aired his complaints again. “OK, no-one can say at the moment, but how can you put a game like this on Saturday at 12.30pm?” he said. “Is it the moment where the world pays the most to see a football game? I don’t know if that is the case, I really don’t. “Honestly, the people making the decisions, they cannot feel football, it is just not possible.” The logistics involved in getting players back from South America are well-drilled now and usually involve clubs liaising to charter a jet for all their players to return home together. But a lunchtime kick-off requires extra planning to get them back as early as practically possible, which often involves extra work to get them into one airport at the same time. “You have these two teams who have, all together, about 30 international players. They all come back on the same plane from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia,” said Klopp. “One game, one plane, they all come back.” Liverpool endured a couple of tricky moments at home to Brentford, but two goals from Mohamed Salah, taking him to 200 in English football, and one from Diogo Jota ensured Klopp’s side leapfrogged Arsenal into second place on goal difference. In becoming the first Reds player to score in each of their first six home matches at the start of a season, Salah joined Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry in having scored or assisted in 15 consecutive Premier League home games. “Exceptional, just exceptional player. Played a super game today and we all know how difficult it is against these tall centre-backs,” added Klopp. “Two players around him, all these kinds of things, how often he kept the ball for us and we could play from there. That was super important and scoring two goals. “We had so many good moments in the first half. We scored (through Darwin Nunez), but it was offside (twice), things like that, and then in that moment, the composure for the first goal is insane. “There is no doubt when the ball is in that area in the end you see it on the scoresheet. So a pretty special player.” Victory ensured the team headed off on international duty with a spring in their step after a difficult week which began with a draw at Luton and got worse with defeat in the Europa League to Toulouse. But in extending their 100 percent home league record to six matches this season, having conceded just twice at Anfield in that time, Liverpool moved into pole position as City’s nearest challengers. “Football is strange. If you would have asked me three days just about the feeling, not about what I know, I am not sure I would talk about the start (to their season),” said Klopp. “But obviously you look at the game, the numbers, the results, most of the time it was OK or better. “A point at Luton didn’t feel great, Tottenham, in the circumstances (a defeat after a controversial incorrect VAR decision) obviously didn’t feel great. “It’s absolutely all right if we just don’t really think about it. Today it was about getting through the game and we did. The boys responded sensationally well.” Brentford head coach Thomas Frank was unhappy with a second-half challenge by Wataru Endo on Christian Norgaard which, on the basis of what has gone before this season, he felt VAR got wrong. “I think this situation, back in the day, never would have been a red card, but in the football we are playing now, with the slow image you can see a clear foot on the leg, four bloody marks on Christian’s leg,” he said. “There is definitely some contact with force.” Read More Unai Emery demands consistency from Aston Villa after victory over Fulham I don’t like English referees – Roberto De Zerbi unhappy after Brighton held We’ve just thrown it away – Steve Cooper frustrated as Forest lose at West Ham Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart lead Britain to Billie Jean King Cup win over Sweden Brighton gift draw to Sheffield United after own goal and red card Aston Villa equal club-record home winning run by sweeping aside Fulham
2023-11-13 02:23
Jefferson's two touchdowns lead Arkansas past Kent State, 28-6
Jefferson's two touchdowns lead Arkansas past Kent State, 28-6
KJ Jefferson threw for two touchdowns and Arkansas' defense limited Kent State to 200 yards of total offense in a 28-6 Razorbacks win
2023-09-10 08:24
Aaron Boone flipped out on the umpire for having the
Aaron Boone flipped out on the umpire for having the "largest strike zone in MLB," but was he right?
Aaron Boone has flipped on another umpire as they continue to keep blowing calls. Was Boone in the right for berating an umpire who was just trying to do his job by continuing to verbally attack him?
2023-09-22 09:23