Sideways Sammy

Coventry City made it back-to-back wins with a narrow victory at home to Plymouth Argyle.

The Sky Blues looked the marginally more dangerous team throughout but neither side looked particularly convincing in the final third. After Haji Wright skied a Milan van Ewijk pull-back early in the second-half, it looked like the American had blown the game’s best scoring opportunity. That was until that same combination produced the game’s decisive goal, with Van Ewijk driving towards the byline and setting up Wright for a confident finish – albeit with the ball possibly having gone out of play before Van Ewijk was able to make the pass.

The solitary goal was clearly enough to win it in an exchange where both teams huffed and puffed to limited effectiveness. The final scoreline could have been made more comfortable with a couple of late chances that fell to Ellis Simms, but the substitute couldn’t quite find the technique to apply a final layer of gloss to the victory.

The Numbers Finally Add Up For Haji Wright

After missing some big chances in recent games, Haji Wright finally got on the scoresheet as he slotted the winning goal with an excellent finish from a Milan van Ewijk pull-back. It had certainly been coming for the American, who has the highest number of shots in the penalty area in the division per 90 minutes of anyone who has been regularly starting games this season. In this game, Wright continued to get into positions to score and finally got the reward for his persistence.

Persistence is definitely the word for Haji Wright right now as his methodology towards getting into scoring positions remains aesthetically pleasing. As mentioned after the Millwall game, Wright’s touch, use of his physical frame, and tendency to get caught offside can make him a frustrating player to watch, however, that continues to prove to be no barrier to him reliably being able to get into good areas. His goal in this game didn’t come out of the blue, in a game where the team often struggled to create good chances, he was repeatedly able to get on the end of opportunities worked by his teammates or drive into the penalty area himself. Wright is increasingly making himself the team’s attacking figurehead.

It is in his technique where Haji Wright needs to find some improvement if he is to become a more reliable goalscorer. The miss from a Milan van Ewijk pull-back early in the second half came from Wright leaning back instead of attacking the ball with venom as he scooped it over the bar. Those misses against Millwall also belied someone who looked uncertain of his ability to beat the goalkeeper. However, that could well be down to a lack of confidence.

The finish for the decisive goal in this game has to be seen as an encouraging sign of what a confident Haji Wright may be capable of. With the ball coming to him slightly behind his feet, Wright was able to dig out a beautifully arrowed effort into the top corner to take the goalkeeper out of the equation completely. It was pure and simple good technique, which, once again, came from Wright picking up an excellent position to score from.

Whether you believe in Expected Goals or the old maxim of ‘at least he’s getting in positions to miss’, there are strong reasons to believe that Haji Wright will become a reliable goalscorer for Coventry City. Now that he’s broken a luckless streak in front of goal, the challenge is for him to parlay that boost to his confidence into a concerted run of form. Sky Blues fans may have to accept, though, that some of the rough edges to his game are effectively part of Wright’s method.

Milan van Ewijk Finally Turns On The Afterburners

The experience of watching Milan van Ewijk for much of this season has been a frustrating one. The Dutch right-back’s talent, as well as his devastating pace, has been clearly apparent. However, he has had a habit of hesitating when in positions to cause problems for the opposition. In grabbing the decisive assist in the game – as well as in several other key moments – Van Ewijk finally demonstrated the impact that he is capable of.

The switch to four at the back seems to have benefited Milan van Ewijk in the two games that he has played as an orthodox right-back. While the change theoretically seems like a negative one, as it shackles Van Ewijk with extra defensive responsibilities and creates more distance between himself and the opposing final third, it has actually allowed him to attack the game from a deeper position. By gaining a teammate out wide alongside him to create overlaps and provide cover, Van Ewijk has appeared more threatening.

There were several moments throughout the game where Milan van Ewijk seemed to realize the greater freedom he had in attacking areas from full-back. In the first half, Van Ewijk went on a couple of exploratory raids down the wing in the knowledge that Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was there to cover for him. Van Ewijk remained forward for spells of this game, almost waiting for opportunities to show what he could do. When the moment came, he finally shook off any hesitation he had shown in a Sky Blue shirt and delivered the goods.

For the game’s decisive moment, Milan van Ewijk was being stood up by two defenders but managed to get himself to the byline via a devastating burst of pace and control. While he may well have gotten lucky over the decision as to whether the ball remained in play, Van Ewijk made his own luck with that surge to get himself into a dangerous position. Too often this season, the Dutchman has looked passive in similar situations, making this an especially encouraging moment.

It is not just Milan van Ewijk’s pace in forward areas that was so exciting to see in this game, but how he utilized it defensively. While the best defenders shouldn’t need to rely on pace, Van Ewijk’s ability to surge out of nowhere to cover when opponents get in behind the defensive line could prove invaluable as part of this move to a back four. There were a couple of moments throughout the game where Plymouth Argyle thought they were through, only to suddenly find Milan van Ewijk on their shoulders snuffing out the danger. That ultimately allows Coventry City to play further up the pitch and focus on their creative play without worrying about getting stung on the counter by the opposition.

Getting The Rub Of The Green

It would be remiss to reflect on this game and not mention that Coventry City may have got lucky with the winning goal – which ended up defining the performances of the aforementioned Haji Wright and Milan van Ewijk. While replays aren’t necessarily conclusive, it appears as if Van Ewijk may have run the ball out of play before his decisive cut back for Wright, which turned a frustrating performance into a winning one.

After a recent run in which the Sky Blues were not getting the rub of the green with decisions or key moments in games, this feels like a classic example of things eventually evening out. From the marginal offside call against West Bromwich Albion, the questions over the penalty decision against Preston North End to the sheer profligacy the team has shown over the past month, Coventry City fans can be forgiven for not worrying too much about a tight call in this game, or having scored two goals from rebounds against Millwall last time out.

The Sky Blues certainly needed a stroke of luck to make the breakthrough in what was a tight game of few quality chances. The team is clearly still adapting to the new 4-3-3 system, and that led to some awkward passages of play where the ball was worked into promising areas, but there simply wasn’t the quality or clarity of purpose to threaten with it.

A key issue with the new shape appears to be that Ben Sheaf and Jamie Allen are being asked to push up towards the opposing penalty area and look to make things happen in tight areas. While the duo had their moments in this game where they were able to do so, they often looked rushed and not quite able to execute what they were trying to do. This was perhaps made more difficult by Matt Godden struggling to link things up as the central striker, which was why the onus often fell to the wide players.

After taking the lead, the fact that Mark Robins had to keep using players in new positions, such as Callum O’Hare and Yasin Ayari in wide/advanced roles during a late switch to a 4-2-2-2 formation, highlights how difficult this system change is for Coventry City at the moment. It is clear that this squad was assembled for a variation of a 3-4-1-2 or 3-4-2-1 system, and the transition to a four-man defense will continue to require players to adapt to unfamiliar roles until adjustments can be made in January.

Securing a positive result in a close match like this is particularly crucial in giving the team some breathing room to figure things out. It allows Coventry City to enter upcoming challenging fixtures with less pressure to achieve immediate results, while also gaining confidence that they can still earn points if luck is on their side.