Report and free match highlights from Coventry vs. West Brom at the Coventry Building Society Arena, where Viktor Gyokeres struck a stoppage-time penalty to secure victory for the Sky Blues. West Brom’s five-match winning streak came to an end when the Baggies were defeated 1-0 at Coventry. Carlos Coberan’s club had risen from the bottom of the Championship to within touching distance of the top half during the run, which featured four clean sheets.
What a Championship clash
Gyokeres twisted and weaved his way into the area and was taken down by Erik Pieters in a game that was destined to be a goalless draw despite countless opportunities for either side. Coventry’s leading scorer rose to the occasion to send Alex Palmer the wrong way, delivering the Sky Blues’ first win since the international break.
Earlier, Jonathan Panzo almost scored the game-winning Championship goal after opening the scoring in Saturday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Swansea, in which the Sky Blues squandered a three-goal lead. The on-loan defender rose highest from a Gustavo Hamer corner, but his header ricocheted against the top of the crossbar and was deflected. Darnell Furlong’s close-range header from John Swift’s deep free-kick was superbly saved by Ben Wilson at the opposite end.
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Former Salford striker Brandon Thomas-Asante replaced Daryl Dike in the Albion XI before kick-off, as the only alteration to either starting lineup. After Gyokeres’ perseverance down the left, Callum O’Hare had the opening opportunity of the evening inside six minutes, but the former Aston Villa midfielder guided his strike wide from inside the box.
Gyokeres also tried his luck in the first half, shooting wide following Hamer’s layoff
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Callum Doyle’s outstanding defensive performance prevented Albion from taking the lead, initially stopping Thomas-cross Asante from reaching Jed Wallace. Following Jake Bidwell’s botched interception, the Manchester City loanee rose swiftly to knock Tom Rogic’s shot off the line. Gyokeres was sent clear down the right by Hamer’s wonderful delivery, but his attempt went straight at Baggies goalkeeper Palmer.
Wallace found himself bearing down on Wilson’s Championship goal from the subsequent corner and could have done better with his feeble shot that was easy for the Sky Blues keeper. After Connor Townsend’s cross made its way to the winger on the far side of the box, Matt Phillips set his sights on the game’s opening Championship goal, but he could only rocket his shot over. But Gyokeres would have the ultimate word, scoring his 11th Championship goal of the season and giving Coventry their first home league victory against Albion since 2003.
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What the managers said
What the managers had to say… Coventry manager Mark Robins: ” “There was no question in my mind that he was going to bury it, and happily he did, leaving us with three excellent points. If you look at what occurred, I believe (West Brom’s Dara) O’Shea began to scuff the penalty spot up, for which he received a yellow card. They attempt to slow things down, whether it’s right or wrong, that’s for their manager to decide.
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Ultimately, they’re trying to win a Championship game in any way they can, and it took a little bit of time, so there’s some thinking time for him, but one thing I know about Vik is that he’ll simply be cool, and he was. Carlos Corberan of West Brom: “It was a difficult game. We were suffering a lot in the first 30 minutes because they were better than us in attack and defense, we couldn’t stop them, and we couldn’t overwhelm them with our stuttering assault.
We began to dominate the positional assault in the final 15 minutes of the first half, we started to attack more, we started to attack better, and the team started to gain a little more control of the game. We didn’t suffer in the second half; I don’t recall any major defensive moves in the second half, but it’s true that we couldn’t generate enough opportunities in attack to unbalance the game.
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