Cougars go toe-to-toe with England squad

PROVO — BYU went toe to toe with Coventry City for almost 90 minutes before finally dropping the game 3-0 before a near-capacity crowd at BYU's South Field Tuesday night.

The Cougars were hosting the Sky Blues, a First Division team from England, in one of two friendly games Coventry City is playing in the U.S. on its preseason tour. The other was against the Portland Timbers, a First Division USL team, on Saturday night, which the Sky Blues won 1-0.

BYU came out looking somewhat intimidated in the early going but settled down enough to take a 0-0 tie into halftime.

"I thought our starters did a nice job," said BYU coach Chris Watkins. "They really competed well and settled down after the first 10 minutes. We're not as good as they are, but we went toe to toe with them for quite a while. I'm quite impressed."

Coventry City went up 1-0 in the 58th minute when Gary McSheffrey, the Sky Blues' leading scorer last year with 17 goals, received a pass from Stephen Hughes on the left wing. He was in the open field and dribbled past one BYU defender before taking a shot from just inside the box. The kick went into the net just inside the far post for the goal.

The Cougars then held the Sky Blues scoreless until the 89th minute when Claus Jorgensen kicked the ball over the BYU defenders to the far side of the box where Kevin Thornton controlled it with his chest 15 feet from the goal and punched it into the net past BYU keeper Brandon Gilliam for the goal.

The final goal came seconds before the final whistle almost three minutes into stoppage time. Stuart Giddings received a short corner kick and passed it to Andrew Morrell, who headed the ball into the net.

Both teams substituted liberally with Coventry City substituting all 11 players in the 65th minute. By the time Coventry City scored its second goal, BYU had almost substituted its entire starting lineup.

"I'm happy with what our starters did and really a few of our reserves," said Watkins. "We went a little too deep into the bench, and it cost us in the last few minutes."

Coventry City manager Micky Adams was pleased with the game and the experience here in Utah.

"I think our play and our attacking in the first half was a little bit sloppy," said Adams. "In the second half we picked up the play of the game a little bit better. All the credit to Brigham (Young). I've never seen a more spirited and enthusiastic side than these young boys. They're a real credit to the university and to themselves."