Frank Lampard praised his Coventry City squad for their performance against Middlesbrough, where they secured a 4-2 victory at Riverside Stadium. The match saw Coventry take an early lead with goals from Ellis Simms and Liam Kitching within the first 14 minutes. However, Middlesbrough fought back with Morgan Whittaker scoring before halftime and Bobby Thomas's own goal equalising shortly after the break.
With new manager Kim Hellberg observing, Tommy Conway missed a crucial chance to put Middlesbrough ahead, shooting over from close range. This miss proved costly as Kitching scored again in the 85th minute, regaining Coventry's lead with a swift finish. Moments later, Simms sealed the win by heading in another goal.
The victory extended Coventry's
lead over Middlesbrough to 10 points and brought their total to 40 points after 17 games. They have now scored 47 goals, which is 19 more than any other team in the Championship. Despite having 20 shots, eight of which were on target, Coventry only generated an expected goals (xG) value of 1.4.
Middlesbrough managed to score with both of their shots on target. Lampard acknowledged the difficulty posed by Boro but was particularly impressed with his team's late-game performance. "It was two good teams," he stated. "Boro are where they are for a reason. "
Lampard noted that several factors made the match challenging for Coventry. He recognised Boro's strong start but praised his team's clinical finishing and counter-attacking threat in the first half. "We created some big chances beyond the goals," he said.
He also highlighted how his team adapted in the second half to counter Middlesbrough's threats, describing their performance in the last 20 minutes as outstanding. "When games go from 2-0 to 2-2, we've all seen that story before," Lampard remarked.
Other Championship Matches
Elsewhere in the Championship, Stoke City climbed to second place following a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic, with Sorba Thomas scoring twice in the first half from what appeared to be crosses. Ipswich Town also moved up to fourth after defeating Hull City 2-0.
Meanwhile, Vitor Matos had a disappointing start at Swansea City as they lost 2-1 to Derby County, who returned to winning form.
Lampard credited his players for reclaiming control of the game despite losing momentum when Middlesbrough equalised. He mentioned that tactical changes might have helped but emphasised that it was ultimately the players who took charge of the situation.
