Latest news with #CBSArena
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Sky Blues to host La Liga's Real Betis in pre-season
Coventry City will host Spanish La Liga side Real Betis at the CBS Arena on 30 July as part of their pre-season Betis lost to Premier League side Chelsea in the Europa Conference League final in May but enjoyed a successful season, beating top clubs such as Real Madrid to end the season in sixth and secure European football match will mark the first meeting between the two Sky Blues are also set to travel to League Two's Bristol Rovers the week prior for their first meeting since 2020 - the year Coventry last secured promotion to the Championship.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Coventry-mad Dexter, 14, recreates stadium in Minecraft
"The biggest problem ended up being the West Stand, with the balcony and oddly shaped corners." Dexter, a Minecraft fan and football fanatic, has probably got more patience than most 14-year-olds. After spending three months recreating the ground of Coventry City FC inside the game, he is still putting on the finishing touches. And as the Sky Blues face the tricky second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final today, they might take some inspiration from the youngster when it comes to creative build-up. Since its test release in 2009, Minecraft has grown to become the biggest-selling computer game of all time. The game is set in an "open world", allowing players to create almost anything imaginable out of blocks, including, in one case, the entirety of London. For Dexter, it allows him to showcase his home city - and beloved Sky Blues' CBS Arena - to people around the world. "[The game] is a complete sandbox and I can do whatever I like," he said. "There's no limit to it, really." Eventually, the Year 9 pupil wants to create the entire city of Coventry, but it is a task that is likely to take some time. He does not just spend hours building, there's also research using Google Maps to perfect the finer details. "It will probably end up being street by street," Dexter explained. "I love my city and I know my way around it. "It's a good town with passionate people for the city. I think it's got a bad reputation, but it's a nice city." Dexter's mother Gemma said she used to play with Lego as a child but insisted that is where the similarities ended. She praised her son's mathematical and analytical mind but added: "I have no idea where he gets it from. I don't think I'd have the same level of patience." Dexter said he was interested in becoming a football coach or a pilot in the future, two professions which he joked also required a lot of patience. For now, though, all he's waiting to find out is whether Coventry can move one step closer to Premier League football next season. They head to the Stadium of Light needing to overcome a one-goal deficit, having lost 2-1 in the first leg at home. "I'm feeling a bit nervous for it," Dexter added. "I'm just hoping we can get two goals." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Times
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Milan van Ewijk's late blunder hands Sunderland the edge over Coventry
A woeful back pass from Milan van Ewijk gifted Eliezer Mayenda the winner for Sunderland in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final at a boisterous CBS Arena. Van Ewijk presented Mayenda with a one-on-one chance against goalkeeper Ben Wilson, which the striker took with glee. It came after Jack Rudoni, the Coventry City star player, equalised just two minutes after Wilson Isidor's 68th minute opening goal. Mayenda's goal continued a theme of a valiantly fought but ultimately scrappy first leg with quality thin on the ground. Anthony Patterson, the Sunderland goalkeeper, was outstanding after collecting cross after cross on an evening of few chances. There was already bad blood between these clubs going back 48 years. Back in 1976-77, they were locked in
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Coventry City 1-2 Sunderland - send us your thoughts
Were you in the stands at the CBS Arena or following the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final from elsewhere? Wherever you were, we want hear from did you think of the Sky Blues' performance?Any thoughts on Sunderland's efforts?Come back to this page tomorrow to find out what some of you had to say.
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Eliezer Mayenda gives Sunderland advantage over Coventry in playoff
Who ever believed in the form book for the playoffs anyway? No team has ever entered the English playoffs in worse form than Sunderland, after their five successive defeats, but Wilson Isidor's first goal in 14 games and Eliezer Mayenda's late capital enabled Regis Le Bris's team to earn their first victory over Coventry City since 2007 and become favourites to reach the EFL Championship playoff final on 24 May. Jack Rudoni, who grew up a Chelsea fan, Frank Lampard his hero, had headed Coventry level within two minutes of Isidor breaking his long goal drought. But then, in the 88th minute, Mayenda was gifted a clear run on Coventry's goal by Milan van Ewijk's disastrous back pass and rounded Ben Wilson, the Sunderland academy graduate in Coventry's goal, before turning in the goal that has turned expectations on their head. The 2,400 travelling Sunderland fans reprised the Roker roar in their small corner of the CBS Arena. Lampard has exceeded expectations since taking over Coventry in November and he will still believe his team's superior form over the second half of the season will give him the chance of repeating his feat when he took Derby County to the 2019 Championship playoff final by beating Leeds United. But, after a wretched run of 14 points from 14 games, this was Sunderland's night. The home crowd, having broken the club's record attendance figure at this stadium for the previous game against Middlesbrough, were in full voice again as the game kicked off with a full moon peering down from a perfectly blue evening sky, mirroring City's white shorts beneath their shirts. 'The support on the day and the atmosphere was one of the best I have ever experienced at the CBS [Arena],' Ben Sheaf, the Coventry captain, wrote in his programme notes. 'That noise that you generate doesn't go unnoticed by everyone at the club.' Everything appeared in Coventry's favour. They have been in very decent form, winning nine of their last 11 home games, while their visitors' mediocre run stretches back well before the five successive defeats with which they ended the regulation season. Nor had Sunderland beaten Coventry in any of their 10 meetings since 2007. With automatic promotion effectively out of their reach since not long after the fold of the season, Sunderland had only scored three goals in the nine games since they lost 3-0 here in March. Their leading marksman Wilson Isidor, left out of last week's home defeat by QPR, had not scored for 13 games. So it was no wonder the CBS Arena was awash with optimism. From the first of five Coventry corners in the opening half, Antony Patterson, the Sunderland goalkeeper, barely helped matters as he struggled to make his punch count, and the ball had to be scrambled away. For all their dominance of possession, however, it was not until the middle of the half that Matt Grimes, their January signing from Swansea, had a couple of attempts at goal: after slicing the first well wide, he neatly sidestepped his man from Haji Wright's pullback from the second but saw his shot bravely blocked. Sunderland were restricted to rare breakaway, certainly in the first half. When Mayenda did turn and get away from the base of Coventry's midfield in the centre circle, Isidor's poor run off the ball obliged him to go all the way on his own. His final shot from the edge of the penalty area was a good effort but wide. From the right wing, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was constantly causing Sunderland problems, not least after Dennis Cirkin was booked for a fairly crude foul midway through the half. He seemed able to cut inside and swerve over his in-swinging crosses at will, and again Patterson failed to fuel Sunderland's 2,400 travelling supporters with great confidence when he flapped one such delivery wide for a corner. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion In their third playoff in four seasons, Sunderland came back into this contest after the interval. A corner routine had ended with Enzo Le Fée delivering a fine diagonal cross for Trai Hume, the original taker, to volley hard but wide. Although Rudoni, the jewel in Coventry's crown, snapped a shot wide, there was a sense of unease infiltrating the home ranks. Three Coventry players were cautioned in eight minutes. Sure enough, Sunderland went ahead midway through the second half. Le Fée picked up the ball in the centre circle and this time the two forwards split their runs superbly. Isidor was picked out superbly, as Coventry appealed in vain for offside, and the Frenchman cut inside to fire his shot into the far bottom corner for his 13th goal of the season. This served to wake Coventry up. Within two minutes Milan van Ewijk crossed from the right wing and Rudoni – who else? – rose at the near post to head powerfully home, his 12th goal involvement in his last 13 games.
