Sideways Sammy

Coventry City secured a top six finish with a comfortable win over fellow play-off contenders, Middlesbrough, at the CBS Arena.

The Sky Blues raced out of the traps and threatened to blow Boro away in the opening ten minutes. The home side carved out some excellent opportunities that they couldn’t quite take, with Ellis Simms and Ben Sheaf each spurning golden opportunities. As Middlesbrough began to threaten later in the first-half, it threatened to be a key opportunity missed.

However, a jack Rudoni header from a Tatsuhiro Sakamoto cross just before half-time gave Coventry the lead they probably deserved and went a long way towards setting the team up for the win. Middlesbrough threatened on a few occasions as they knew they had to win in the second-half, but Ben Wilson was on hand to make some key interventions to keep things relatively comfortable at the back for the Sky Blues.

The introduction of Brandon Thomas-Asante for the final 20 minutes helped swing the game back in Coventry City’s favour. The striker smacked the post with an well-struck effort shortly after coming on, was standing in front of an open goal ready for Haji Wright to pass to him not long after that, before he raced in behind the Middlesbrough defence and teed up Jack Rudoni for the crucial second goal.

In the end, it was a comfortable win for Coventry City, who know they face 4th-placed Sunderland over two legs next up.

Wilson Selection Pays Off

Just when it looked as if Frank Lampard had tied the fate of his first season in charge of Coventry City to the performances of Brad Collins in goal, Ben Wilson was brought in from the cold to sea the team through the final, and most important, game of the campaign. The goalkeeper produced exactly the kind of performance required, making some valuable saves while also timing some charges off his line adeptly.

The post-match interviews confirmed the rumours that the reason that Ben Wilson had not been in serious contention to start over the past month or so had been due to the lingering impact of the knee injury he picked up earlier in the season. As much as Frank Lampard will have wanted to have kept injury news close to his chest to avoid the opposition gaining some kind of advantage, perhaps if he had been more forthcoming over Wilson’s fitness, it might have eased the pressure on Brad Collins, with fans knowing there was little realistic alternative in goal.

As Ben Wilson demonstrated here in his use of the ball and willingness to come off his line, his inclusion in the team didn’t necessarily dictate a complete upheaval of the team’s overall style of play. Wilson has probably been aided by the defence having dropped a little deeper in recent weeks and being more disciplined in their offside line, which has prevented opponents repeatedly getting in behind in the fashion they had been for much of Frank Lampard’s time in charge.

Ben Wilson making the saves he did, especially in the second-half, was valuable in generating some confidence at the back. However, just as important was his passing and execution in coming off his line. Wilson was tested a few times on how quickly and decisively he could sweep up at the back, making some notable interventions both in the first and second halves to demonstrate he’s not just a goalkeeper who sticks to his line – in stark contrast to some of the wobbles Brad Collins has had in that regard recently.

As for his passing, it was largely functional and while he was clearly more willing – perhaps, under instruction – to go long earlier than Coventry City typically have done under Frank Lampard, being available as a passing option from the back was handy in allowing the Sky Blues to have some extended spells on the ball. The fear that Coventry would have to go back to the kind of deep-sitting, defence-first football that saw them make the play-off final two years ago with Wilson ago was not a legitimate one based on this display.

There will have been a strong level of relief from Frank Lampard that this decision to play a not quite fully-fit Ben Wilson in goal paid off in the season’s biggest game. Some tweaks at the back have meant that Coventry City haven’t been as reliant on goalkeeping heroics as they had been when Oliver Dovin was available, instead, the ask has been for competence. The hope is that Wilson can sustain that over however many games there are left in the campaign.

Jack Rudoni: King of the CBS

If there is one player who embodies how much Coventry City have come to relish playing at home under Frank Lampard, it’s Jack Rudoni. Since turn of the year, the Sky Blues have only lost twice at the CBS Arena in the league – to the two automatically promoted teams – and have gone from having the 19th-best home record in the division to the joint-best. As for Jack Rudoni, six of his nine league goals and eight of his twelve assists have come in Coventry, with the majority having been produced since Lampard’s appointment.

Contrast what were two pretty anonymous displays from Jack Rudoni against Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town to the all-action monster he was in this game. It would be hard to identify the player Rudoni was there compared to here based on anything other than physical appearance. Whether it was in winning aerial duels, receiving the ball under pressure, those incredible leggy runs he goes on where he wriggles away from opponents in seemingly impossible circumstances, Rudoni has started to completely dominate games at the CBS Arena.

Still, the one area where Jack Rudoni can come up a little short is in being able to pick accurate through passes to open the game up. He had a few opportunities to demonstrate that can be part of his game here but continued to struggle to find the right weight of pass, or timing of the release of the ball. From one that didn’t quite find Ellis Simms in the first-half to a great run in the second that saw Rudoni cough up the ball after he ran out of room around the half-way line, that ability to make things happen with limited time on the ball may well be why he is nowhere as impactful away from home at the moment.

As for this game, that really is nit-picking what was a dominant display from Jack Rudoni that embodied just what this team has become so good at doing in home games. Rudoni really was the one who led the intensity in that opening ten minutes that threatened to blow Middlesbrough away. Flying into the opposition with his energy levels and buzzing around the penalty area, Rudoni gave the team the oomph it needed to start a big game strongly.

Importantly, just when it looked like the failure to score in that opening spell could have been costly, it was Jack Rudoni who was there to get on the end of a cross just before half-time to give the team the lead they deserved. It was Rudoni who was getting chances later in the second-half and it was little surprise that he was there at the end to kill the game off.

Jack Rudoni may not be a perfect footballer, but he shows what can be achieved when playing with intensity and confidence. Given the contrast between both Rudoni and the team’s home and away performances, it feels as if winning the home semi-final, with someone who will surely win player of the year leading the charge, especially important.

Thomas-Asante Must Start The Semi

In a twenty-minute cameo, Brandon Thomas-Asante provided exactly the kind of energy, purpose and decisiveness at centre-forward that the team has been sorely lacking of late. At a key stage in the game, Thomas-Asante ran his opposing centre-backs ragged and was central to just about every chance the team created. Popping up with the assist for the crucial second goal and mustering a couple of efforts on goal of his own, he staked a strong claim to continue up top for the play-off semi-finals.

If there had been any hope that Ellis Simms could play himself into form for the final games of the campaign, that opportunity may well have passed him by in what was another tentative display from him at centre-forward. While it has to be pointed out that Simms was up against fresher centre-backs and with the game even for much of his time on the pitch, it was a performance summed up by his dithering over an early chance that passed him by despite having time to set himself in the penalty area.

Ellis Simms really struggled to make himself involved in the game, often looking to be a stride or two off the pace. He is someone who is very clearly a confidence player and while he cannot be accused of lacking effort, he looks to have run out of road in terms of being able to impact the campaign. Brandon Thomas-Asante’s positive, energetic cameo underlined Simms’ toils.

For someone who has often struggled to impose himself physically on games this season, it was particularly impressive of Thomas-Asante that he was so competitive in his duels with the opposing centre-backs. As mentioned, the state of the game clearly suited bringing on someone pacey and energetic up top later on to try and take advantage of Middlesbrough needing to come onto Coventry City, but it was in how Thomas-Asante forced things to happen that was encouraging.

While a two-legged play-off is going to provide a very different set of circumstances to the what Brandon Thomas-Asante was up against here, he has shown he can play with the kind of energy and intent that may well suit how Coventry City will look to attack over the coming games. That extra pace and desire to take risks that Thomas-Asante provides could be the kind of thing that helps open big games up in the Sky Blues’ favour.

If ever there was a 20-minute cameo that demonstrated what a team had been lacking in a position, it was this from Brandon Thomas-Asante.