RANGERS were riding high in fourth place in the first division as they travelled to Highfield Road to take on mid-table Coventry City.
Teams: Coventry City v Queens Park Rangers
Date: Saturday 23rd March, 1974.
Competition: Football League Division One.
Venue: Highfield Road, Coventry.
Coventry were without a win in five games, losing three home games in succession, conversely Rangers had only suffered one defeat in eight, a run started by a magnificent 3-0 win over Manchester United.
Rangers travelled to Highfield Road with a view to chasing down Derby County, Liverpool and table toppers Leeds United, on a cool and cloudy day in Coventry.
For all of the Sky Blues slick build up play and passing, they didn`t have that killer instinct in front of goal to put a weary Rangers away, clearly struggling with a whole host of injuries that their recent cup runs had induced.
However with Coventry seemingly unabled to bury their higher placed opposition, the class finally told and Rangers broke the deadlock in the first period. It was Don Givens who supplied Rangers influential midfielder Gerry Francis, who in turn slammed the ball into the top right hand corner.
A tad harsh on Coventry, who for all of their football fell one behind and their toothless attack was never in position to get them back into the fixture, with Tommy Hutchison conspiring to miss from close range in the latter stages of the game.
Dave Thomas even had a chance to double the lead before the end as his stinging drive was well saved by Sky Blues stopper, Glazier. In truth City didn`t do quite enough to beat Phil Parkes as Rangers marched on in the push for a European place.
As it stood Rangers cup exploits took their toll on the side as they finished eighth in the Division One table after a bright start. QPR gained only four points from their remaining games of the season in a mediocre end to the campaign. Coventry City finished the season in 16th as they also slumped towards the end of the season.
Final Score: Coventry City 0-1 Queens Park Rangers.
Attendance: 18,804
Coventry City: Glazier, Smith, Holmes, Mortimer, Craven, Dugdale, McGuire, Alderson, Cross, Carr, Hutchison.
QPR: Parkes, Clement, Gillard, Busby, Mancini, McLintock, Thomas, Francis, Leach, Bowles, Givens (Abbott).
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