Nimely to make Coventry debut against Boro

by Philip Tallentire, Evening Gazette
Jan 20 2012

ALEX Nimely is set to make his Coventry debut against former club Boro tomorrow but Tony Mowbray is backing his defenders to keep him quiet.

City boss Andy Thorn brought the Manchester City striker in on loan once he knew Lukas Jutkiewicz was leaving.

The 20-year-old spent three months on loan at Boro before Christmas, failing to score in one start and nine substitute appearances.

“The players know enough about Alex from the three-month period he was here,” said Mowbray. “They trained with him every day and know what a threat he could be and how dangerous he is.

“They know that if they give him a chance he will probably stick it in the net.

“Let’s hope he has a quiet day.”

The Boro boss will leave it as late as possible before deciding who is going to play in goal at the Ricoh Arena. Danny Coyne will be given every chance to show he’s overcome a calf strain.

If he fails a fitness test, Connor Ripley will again deputize.

“Danny Coyne has got half a chance,” said Mowbray.

“But nobody should be surprised if Connor is between the sticks.

“He’s mature enough physically and has shown enough in development games to show he’s more than capable of standing between the sticks in the first team. As long as we’re not exposing him over a long period of time. To thrown him in every now and then to see how he reacts is not a negative, it’s a positive.”

THE meeting of Middlesbrough Official Supporters’ Club scheduled to take place on Monday night has been postponed until February 6.