FOOTBALL: RUSSELL Slade was denied his first victory as Sky Blues manager after an injury-time goal by Max Clayton earned promotion chasing Bolton a 2-2 draw at the Ricoh Arena on Monday.
For the second consecutive match the Sky Blues were denied all three points after conceding a late goal with Slade’s side more than holding their own against a strong Bolton outfit.
Marcus Tudgay gave the home side a 1-0 lead at the break before Zach Clough levelled for the visitors from the spot after Ryan Haynes brought down former City loan striker Gary Madine inside the area.
It was a debut to remember for new signing Stuart Beaton who fired the Sky Blues back in front with a neat low finish but Clayton earned the visitors a share of the spoils by beating Lee Burge late finish deep injury-time.
“I’ve got a headache and feel sick after that, to be honest,” said Slade. “Two games running we’ve been in the driving seat, but we do fatigue.
“The lads put in a fantastic shift but it is the finest of margins. At the minute little decisions are going against us, it is the tightest decision ever for the offside – it actually may even be on, but they are the fine margins at the moment.
“In terms of attitude, desire and purpose I can’t fault the lads out there – we’ve been working on organisation and playing without the ball and it has been much, much better than what they were in the very first game.”
A trio of signings made impressive debuts with Beavon, Callum Reilly and Nathan Clarke all putting in solid performances, while Beavon got his name on the scoresheet.
The Sky Blues are expected to make further signings in what will be a busy transfer window as Slade looks to stamp authority on the side to push the club away from the threat of relegation.
Slade added: “Firstly, I was really pleased that we were able to get them in which is positive, and all three of them were thrown straight in and did very well today.
“They’ve not had much football recently so it was difficult one for them. To say they’ve not played a competitive fixture for a few months or so, they’ve all done great and helped us improve.”
“Nathan Clarke cares, puts his body on the line and that is exactly what you need and want at the football club. You want a manager that cares and players that want to shoulder the responsibility.”
