Coventry fans made headlines for all the right reasons over the weekend as they spurred their team on to a dramatic comeback against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals. The Sky Blues came from 3-0 down to force a penalty shootout against the Premier League giants but ultimately came up short.
Despite losing the match, the Coventry fans stayed behind long after the final whistle to show their appreciation to their players after what had been a memorable FA Cup campaign that had featured another dramatic comeback in the quarter-finals against Wolves at Molineux.
Their fans were praised for their actions, while Coventry fans themselves were quick to go on social media to tell everyone how their behaviour, in comparison to the Man Utd fans who left as soon as the match was won, proved how loyal and brilliant they were.
This is the difference between a club who has passion, heart and real fans, compared to a club who’s only bothered about making money.
🩵🩵🩵 #PUSB pic.twitter.com/k49UgS01tX
— S K Y E (@Skye_Lloyd) April 21, 2024
Coventry fans fail to back up their Wembley claims
However, just three days after their Wembley display, Coventry fans have been left with egg on their face after failing to sell out their home stadium for a league match against Hull. The Coventry Building Society Arena has a capacity of 32,753, smaller than their Wembley allocation on Sunday, but videos and images circulated online show thousands of empty seats in what was an important game for the club.
Coventry still had a chance of making the playoff going into the game last night but needed a win over fellow promotion candidates, Hull. However, the match ended 3-2 to the away side which has left Coventry now unable to reach the playoffs so a return to Wembley this season is now off the cards.
Presumably the stadium was so empty tonight because the majority of fans are still at Wembley waving their flags. https://t.co/F4VqvDgx3V
— Doc (@Doc_Joshi) April 24, 2024
Man Utd fans, who were ridiculed by Coventry supporters at the weekend, were quick to jump on the empty seats at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Wednesday night. One fan posted on social media: “All the Coventry fans are still at Wembley waving flags clearly.”
Another said: “Presumably the stadium was so empty tonight because the majority of fans are still at Wembley waving their flags.” A third added: “Trying to find 36,000 salt of the earth loyal football fans. They must be walking back from Wembley.”