Coventry’s alarming drop-off needs to be a wake-up call

Birmingham 3-2 Coventry

Coventry still have a reasonably healthy lead at the top of the Championship – but it could have been so much better by now.

The 3-1 win over Charlton on November 29 made it 11 wins from 12 and took them 10 points clear of Middlesbrough in second, as well as 15 clear of Hull in seventh.

Frank Lampard will, of course, have known such a run of form was going to be unsustainable across 28 further league games, but the drop-off over the last month has been significant.

The Sky Blues have won only two of the last eight games and picked up nine points across that run. Their points-per-game average across the first 18 was 2.39 – across the most recent eight, it has more than halved to 1.13.

In the most recent of those, they were beaten 3-2 by Birmingham, who had their own demons to exorcise, with a run of eight without victory putting manager Chris Davies under increasing pressure.

Both of their goals – scored by Josh Eccles and Ellis Simms – came within seconds of Birmingham restoring their lead. The reactions were impressive, but their ability to create chances of note in any other situation was absent.

While the pressure has eased on Davies for the time being, Lampard will be feeling it. Coventry have been within touching distance of the Premier League for three seasons now and they need to get this title charge back on track sharpish.
Dan Long

Middlesbrough end barren run with second-half revival against Saints

Middlesbrough 4-0 Southampton

Middlesbrough fans had waited four games to see their side score a goal – and then witnessed four in just 22 minutes.

It was a second-half blitz from Kim Hellberg’s side, who moved up to second in style despite being hampered by an injury-ravaged backline.

The goals had been coming, though – their failure to score in their past four games wasn’t for trying: an incredible 82 shots had failed to find the net…until today.

But with Hayden Hackney pulling the strings, Morgan Whittaker helped himself to a double – making it 10 for the season for Boro’s new talisman.

There was further good news for the hosts, who saw debutant Adilson Malanda put in a faultless display in the heart of the defence. He and his team-mates even stopped Saints from scoring on the road for the first time this season.

For the visitors, it could have been all so different had they taken one of their first-half chances. And they should have, with Tom Fellows and Flynn Downes both missing sitters. They now sit well outside the play-off places, and have a lot of work to do to catch up.

But spare a thought for Finn Azaz. The former Boro man was booed roundly throughout, having moved to Saints in a £12m move last summer. And if the booing wasn’t enough, the scoreline put the tin lid on an afternoon to forget.
Keith Downie

Stoke back on track despite ‘tough watch’ at Norwich

Norwich 0-2 Stoke

‘A tough watch’ were the words of Stoke City manager Mark Robins post-match – and it was hard to disagree. The opening 45 minutes lacked any real quality in the final third, with both sides struggling to create anything of note.

The game turned, however, on an inspired half-time change from Robins, as Sam Gallagher was introduced to the action. The striker marked his return to the scoresheet, his first goal in 10 months, by tapping home a cross from Sorba Thomas.

Eight minutes later, the roles were reversed. Thomas, the provider for the opener, became the goalscorer himself, adding a second to put the game beyond Norwich City.

Despite a recent resurgence under Philippe Clement, Norwich offered little in response, managing just one shot on target over the 90 minutes. Perhaps today proved one game too many in packed festive schedule.

Speaking to me post-match, Robins admitted his side had come through a difficult spell in recent weeks, but even with an ever-growing injury list, Stoke City’s promotion push appears to be firmly back on track.
Harriet Prior

Preston’s defence can be pivotal in promotion push

Bristol City 0-2 Preston

Preston’s 2-0 victory at Ashton Gate sends them up to fourth, with a promotion push very much at the front of Paul Heckingbottom’s mind.

From this display it was clear that the thing that could set them apart from other rivals this season is their defensive resolve. Jordan Storey’s work-rate was eye-catching and he denied several goal-scoring opportunities during a standout defensive performance.

Bristol City did their best to create chances, but were, in the main, forced to have attempts from outside the box they failed to keep on target.

Heckingbottom himself said post-match he felt his side had been the most consistent in the Championship. You’ll be hard pushed to find a better-drilled team at the back and that could be the difference-maker in their promotion charge until the end of the season, if they can keep Storey and Jordan Thompson, in particular, fit.
Lynsey Hooper

Blackburn, Charlton settle for well-fought point

Blackburn 2-2 Charlton

Going by the first 15 minutes, this looked set to be a drab, goalless game. Charlton headed into this one having not scored more than one goal in their last 13 games in all competitions; Blackburn hadn’t scored in their last three.

But Charlton broke the deadlock through Charlie Kellman, who then added a quick second from the penalty spot. Blackburn fans weren’t happy with that but their side continued to show fight in the first half and Todd Cantwell’s perfectly-executed cross was met by Moussa Baradji to put the comeback on.

Blackburn were the better side in the second half and always looked likely to get another goal. That eventually came when the superb Baradji pounced 13 minutes from time in front of the home fans.

Rovers also believed they should have had a penalty in the second half when the ball struck a Charlton arm and Valerien Ismael rued the flashpoint in his press conference, saying that repeated decisions were going against his side.

Nathan Jones couldn’t hide his disappointment but did admit that Ewood Park was a tough place to come and that was a game that had to not lose.

Ismael thought his side could have gone on to win – that was certainly the sense judging by the flow of the game but time ran away from the hosts. This was, in the end, a well-fought point for both teams.
Kyle Walker

All Championship results from Sunday