Frank Lampard barely smiled at the final whistle before hugging Middlesbrough’s defeated manager Kim Helberg. Lampard performed his customary three-pump celebration in the far corner of the South Stand, taking a quick lap of the pitch with his players before walking down the tunnel with his hands in his pockets.
It wasn’t a night for big celebrations, at least not on the field. In the stands, Coventry fans serenaded their manager with the strains of “Super Frank” as they reveled in a 3-1 victory over their nearest title rivals, restoring their confidence after a desperate two wins in eight games. Yet Lampard knows this is only a small step forward.
advertise
“There are a lot of points up for grabs,” he said after Coventry regained top spot from Middlesbrough. “We are already in this position and the game has begun. There is a lot to do and we must not get carried away.”
As recently as last Monday, Coventry fans booed their team after a 0-0 draw with struggling Oxford United, opening the door for Middlesbrough to usurp top spot. Fans complained as Hadji Wright missed a series of header opportunities. But a week is a long time in football and the American giant’s name echoed across the pitch after a hat-trick that may have changed the course of the season.
After a worrying few weeks, there is now confidence in CBS Arena again and Lampard seems to have no answer for it. He has changed his lineup and even dropped two centre-backs last week in a bid to inject new life into the team. The cunning and ruthless Coventry who took charge of the league in the autumn were replaced by a slow and impetuous team in the winter, losing their previous advantage.
Coventry’s Haji Wright (left) celebrates his team’s third penalty goal (Pennsylvania)
He hopes the win will spark new motivation. Coventry had to withstand intense pressure from Helberg’s free-flowing Middlesbrough, who swapped positions and made quick contact in tight spaces around the penalty area and generally tried to make a show with the ball. They dominated with over 70 per cent of the ball, as they have done in most games since Helberg took over, but Riley McGree’s superb second-half goal was all their attacking efforts had to show.
advertise
Maybe this is opponents sniffing out how Helberg likes his team to play. The familiar diagonal passing lane from the full-back to the attack is blocked like a blocked bishop on a chessboard. Middlesbrough had their greatest success down the flanks, with Tommy Conway often cutting into space, but his final pass missed the target and Middlesbrough squandered their best chance to hurt the hosts.
Helberg was always going to retain the line-up that impressively beat Sheffield United away from home last week, so the ball is in Lampard’s court: will he abandon the 4-2-3-1 system that got Coventry to this position but has stagnated for so long, or will he try something new? Lampard kept his composure and stuck to the same formation, although he made a few changes, bringing in winger Efron Mason-Clarke and giving Nigeria international Frank Onyeka his debut from the start, on loan from Brentford in January.
Helberg assured Middlesbrough they would never play any other way than the attacking, free-flowing style that propelled them to the top of the table, and his players delivered on his word. Their formation was a nominal 4-1-3-2, with Morgan Whittaker and the tenacious Conway at the forwards. But Middlesbrough’s efforts to pass the ball freely through midfield met with fierce resistance, particularly from the defense of Onyeka, who earned a yellow card after winning the match and taking on his new team forward, as well as a yellow card for a run-in with Middlesbrough playmaker Aidan Morris.
Haji Wright scores Coventry’s second goal at home (Getty Images)
Coventry took a well-deserved lead through winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto on the right, who spun away from two defenders before finding Jack Rudoni inside the penalty area. Rudoni sent a low pass into the middle and Wright scored with a first-time low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Saul Breen.
advertise
Middlesbrough started the second half brightly and were looking for an equalizer when a long kick from Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth forced Wright towards goal. The striker forced Luke Ayling away from goal before scoring first time past Breen for his second goal. McGree brought Middlesbrough back into the game under waves of pressure, but Matt Targett’s no-brainer handball handed Coventry a penalty 17 seconds after the restart, and Wright’s third goal caused deafening noise in the stadium.
“It sucks to concede a goal,” Helberg said. “They were better than us in the first half. In the second half we were good and excluded them from scoring twice. We created a lot of chances. They both scored because they didn’t do much. I know if we perform well enough we will be in a good position in the table at the end of the season.”
As a result, Coventry are back at the top of the table, one point above Middlesbrough and eight points ahead of Ipswich Town, who look to be the favorites to catch the top two with two games remaining. Lampard is yet to celebrate. But Coventry have halted their decline and their fans believe it again. Perhaps that’s as important as any win: winning a home game could be enough to return to the Premier League after an absence of 25 years.
