Sideways Sammy

Coventry City made it a memorable night for their first home game of the season in defeating Oxford United with a late winner in a pulsating, attack-minded display.

The Sky Blues went ahead in the 15th minute, when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto played Milan van Ewijk in down the right wing to chip an inviting cross in for Haji Wright to head home. Looking likely to add another, a mix-up between Ellis Simms and Joel Latibeaudiere from a set-piece allowed Ciaran Brown to fire in an equaliser for Oxford United. Coventry rallied to head into the break with the lead, thanks to skilful play from Haji Wright to create an opening for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to dummy the ball for Milan van Ewijk to score from.

Coventry City looked set to take charge from then on out, however, a loose pass from Victor Torp early into the second-half left the home back-line scrambling and unable to prevent Mark Harris from bundling the ball into the back of the net to level the scores again. It was a moment that threatened to spoil the party atmosphere at the CBS Arena, only for Haji Wright to pounce on a poor back-pass from Oxford’s Will Vaulks and round the goalkeeper to ensure the points would stay in Coventry.

It could have got even better in the final seconds of the contest, with Brandon Thomas-Asante leading a breakneck three-on-one counter-attack, only for Ephron Mason-Clark to force a final save from Oxford United’s star man, Jamie Cumming in goal.

The Coventry City™ Goal

The opening goal of this game is one that Coventry City should be aiming to replicate time and again throughout the course of the season. That Tatsuhrio Sakamoto/Milan van Ewijk combination down the right wing to set up Haji Wright at the back post is now a well-ingrained pattern of this team’s play with opponents unable to deal with that overload on the right and Wright being such a big physical presence on the other side.

It was that right-sided combination that was a key feature of Coventry City’s play in the first-half. Oxford United wanted to play with their wingers high and their full-backs tucked alongside the centre-backs, which provided Milan van Ewijk and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto with ample room in between to build momentum and isolate Oxford’s left-back, Joe Bennett. That overload was aided by Van Ewijk’s recovery pace, meaning the U’s couldn’t punish the Dutchman’s forward runs, making it all Sky Blue down that side of the pitch.

This was a Coventry City performance largely defined by being able to play the ball forward quickly and with purpose, that ability to overwhelm Oxford United on the right side was a key element in making that work. It meant that the Sky Blues could avoid passing the ball aimlessly in front of a settled opposing defence as they had an outlet out wide to stretch the U’s. It’s not just that Milan van Ewijk and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto are high-quality attacking players but that they dovetail so effectively to get each other into dangerous positions. It means that it’s not just a case of opponents doubling up on Van Ewijk and Sakamoto but having to triple or quadruple up on them, which naturally creates space elsewhere for the likes of Jack Rudoni, Victor Torp, Ephron Mason-Clark and Haji Wright to take advantage of. 

Of course, the down side of funnelling play out wide is that it doesn’t lead directly to goal. It requires both a final ball and players in the box to attack it to provide that direct goal threat. That is why the opening goal in this game was so encouraging, as it demonstrated that Coventry City can take direct advantage of the team’s strongest combination.

Haji Wright, as will be expanded on later in this article, is ideally suited to being the primary beneficiary of the Van Ewijk-Sakamoto axis. A physical presence and a direct goal threat, by drawing attention away from Wright, it makes him that bit more dangerous. There are not going to be many right-backs that are going to be comfortable in aerial battles with Wright, particularly in situations where he can get the run on them, as was the case with the opening goal.

This shouldn’t be the first time or a rare case of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Milan van Ewijk setting up Haji Wrigjht to score, in fact, it really should be the most common source of goals for Coventry City this season. While teams will look for ways to prevent it, the strength of the understanding between Van Ewijk and Sakamoto is going to be hard to stop, which will surely only lead to advantageous situations from which Haji Wright can score from.

The Late Show

Coventry City had to win this game three times over, with the ultimate winning moment coming in the final kickings of the contest. As exciting as it was, that it was necessary highlights this team’s killer weakness, its ability to defend. It is a trend which has lingered from the final month or so of last season.

At this point, it isn’t about personnel, it’s about a wider mentality that is leading to sloppy goals conceded. Mark Robins has already tried just about every combination of defensive players available to him in the three games thus far, but it has done little to stem the flow at the other end. Whether it was the inability to clear a set-piece for Oxford United’s first or loose play in midfield that saw the back-line quickly stretched for the second, there seems to be a lack of concentration and nous to prevent simple situations leading to opposition goals. Perhaps this isn’t something that will be solved via an extra signing or Ben Sheaf returning to fitness.

If it’s not about who plays in defence, the question is whether it’s possible for Coventry City to be more solid defensively without impacting on the team’s flow going forward. Having both full-backs bombing forward, plus the two deepest central midfielders encouraged to join in the team’s attacking play allowed the Sky Blues to overwhelm Oxford United for long portions of this game. If that’s taken away, the forwards become isolated and less effective.

The issue in this game was less whether Coventry City should, overall, have taken a less attacking mentality and more the ability to play more conservatively when in the lead. While the first Oxford United goal was a lapse in concentration that could happen at any point in a game, the second was a direct result of the team continuing to flood forward when ahead. That’s not to say that the Sky Blues shouldn’t look for further goals when ahead but it’s a situation when the approach can be tailored to become a little more responsible.

Things like having one full-back sit back when the other pushes forward, or instructing one of the central midfielders to sit in front of the defence would provide defensive protection while still allowing others to push forward. Furthermore, as was seen in the final seconds of this game, the sheer pace of this team’s attacking players – particularly, the ones that are likely to be on the bench – is perfectly suited to catching opponents on the break. While that would involve this Coventry City side having to soak up pressure to launch those counter-attacks, this team has the ability to be devastating against opponents who have to risk pushing forward.

This really should have been a very comfortable win for Coventry City. That it wasn’t highlights just how much this team needs to improve in its collective mentality when it comes to defensive situations.

Don’t Doubt Haji Wright’s Methodology

Haji Wright was a decent save away from claiming a hat-trick in this game, yet still came out of having endured more than his fair share of collective groans from the CBS Arena stands. The American forward can frustrate with occasional loose touches and a tendency to drift offside, but this performance once again demonstrated that those shortcomings are an effect of Wright’s ability to be so heavily involved in games.

That Haji Wright is so noticeable underlines the biggest strength to his game, his sheer relentlessness. Wright is clearly someone who is not deterred by making the occasional mistake or missing chances, he will keep plugging away for 90 minutes doing the same things that he would be if he had scored a hat-trick as he would if every shot he took ballooned all the way into Bedworth. That ability to remove the factor of the end product from his overall approach is why Haji Wright is someone opponents simply cannot afford to ignore and why it’s always a good idea to keep him on the pitch.

From the ability to attack the far post for the opening goal, the strength and skill he showed to effectively take four defenders out of the game in the build-up to Milan van Ewijk’s goal, to his anticipation to read the back pass for the winner, this game highlighted Haji Wright’s full suite of strengths. From aerial ability, to skilful wide play, to that ability to lurk off the shoulder of the last defender, Wright threatens in so many ways. If teams can deal with him physically, there is still that skill to get him in good positions, if they can deal with both, then Wright can still make testing runs in behind. He isn’t someone who waits for his moments, he actively forces them to happen.

Haji Wright is a player that simply cannot be ignored. While there remains an unrefined element to his game, Wright’s biggest strength is that he is willing to get things wrong in order to eventually get things right.