Ricoh shut-out show

EYES ON THE BALL . . . substitute Ryan Flynn gets in front of his Coventry City marker

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 YOU really have to be a 'glass half-full' kind of person to support Athletic this season.

Yes, they failed to find the net again against second-bottom Coventry and were forced to defend manfully as the hosts pushed on in the closing 10 minutes or so, but the Athletic players and manager do deserve for their fans to take many more positives than negatives following this generally impressive effort.

The visitors should have won this game, undoubtedly.

It wasn't a great first half from either side, but after the restart the Athletic midfield ­- and charismatic substitute Lee Croft ­- grabbed the game by the scruff of its proverbial neck and forced their all-action style onto the Sky Blues.

They were denied victory by the woodwork ­- again ­- as this work in progress continues to show signs of life as the new boss digs in and continues to try to make his mark.

The table doesn't lie of course, and Athletic still boast a measly four goals this term, but they do appear to be 'getting there', slowly but surely.

Despite what can probably be best described as a slightly underwhelming start to the 2016-17 campaign for Athletic, the fans still went to the south Midlands ­- and Coventry's first-class Ricoh Arena with all its modern fineries ­- in healthy numbers.

Leaving Oldham during the mid-morning the sky was totally blue and spirits appeared high.

The goalless home stalemate against Chesterfield seven days earlier had definitely been one of those matches to instantly forget, but heading to take on the Sky Blues, Athletic's faithful had good reason to be hopeful.

The pressure not quite as intense as games at SportsDirect.com Park, Athletic will have prepared determinedly for an away test against a Coventry side who hadn't won in their previous seven Sky Bet League One assignments, and scored only THREE times during that run.

Granted, Stephen Robinson's men had also struggled in front of goal and Coventry had drawn at high-flying Millwall the previous weekend, but the hosts looked there for the taking.

Robinson opted for a more positive approach, making three changes to his starting XI following the Spireites disappointment.

On-loan Crystal Palace striker Freddie Ladapo was back following illness and partnered Lee Erwin in attack, while Brian Wilson got the nod to join a three-man central defence and Ollie Banks was handed the task of presumably trying to solidify the midfield.

Ryan Flynn, Billy Mckay and Darius Osei dropped to the bench, while there was still no place in the 18 for Ousmane Fane, despite him now being suspension-free.

Maybe Athletic could have done with Fane's pace and guile during an opening period which saw neither goalkeeper overly exerted.

There were early Athletic screams for a penalty when Paul Green appeared to be sent tumbling, but referee Chris Sarginson wasn't impressed.

Ladapo then produced a burst of lightning pace before smacking in a decent angled strike which Coventry goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook beat away well.

Jodi Jones and Gael Bigirimana both looked a handful and went close with efforts, while Athletic responded with Green watching agonisingly as his 18-yard drive was deflected wide for a corner-kick which came to nothing.

The Sky Blues missed the best chance seconds before the half-time whistle when veteran Marcus Tudgay somehow managed to head Kyel Reid's cross wide from only eight yards.

It was a hugely different story after the restart, however. Athletic looked reinvigorated, and by the three-quarter stage could have been out of sight.

Marc Klok forced Charles-Cook into a brilliant diving stop, while the 110-per-cent man Erwin drove a shot just over the top.

The woodwork then came to the Sky Blues' rescue after 57 minutes.

After a smart move down the Coventry left, Green touched the ball to Erwin, only for his crisp, left-footed strike to crash against the crossbar.

Undeterred, Athletic kept their collective foot on the gas and Green went close.

Osei looked lively in the closing half-hour after replacing the generally ineffective Ladapo, but neither side went on to carve out that clear-cut opportunity and the game between two of the third tier's lowest-scoring sides was destined to finish goalless.

Latest results in Sky Bet League One -

Bradford 1, Bristol Rovers 1; Charlton 2, AFC Wimbledon 2; Chesterfield 3, Northampton 1; Coventry 0, ATHLETIC 0; MK Dons 0, Oxford United 0; Port Vale 2, Gillingham 1; Rochdale 2, Fleetwood 1; Sheffield United 1, Peterborough 0; Shrewsbury 0, Scunthorpe 1 Southend 3, Millwall 1; Swindon 1, Bury 2; Walsall 1, Bolton 0.