Coventry City match analysis from CoventryLive as we take a look at some of the big talking points from Monday night’s 2-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion.
Carlos Corberan insisted there was not much to choose between his West Brom team and Coventry City when he shook hands with Mark Robins at the final whistle. But form and confidence seem to make all the difference.
The Sky Blues entered the match on the heels of consecutive away losses at Bristol and struggling Rotherham, while the Baggies entered the televised contest at the CBS Arena buoyant after winning three points at QPR the previous outing. They also contributed significantly to their own defeat that evening by letting Albion score a goal thanks to a mistake in goalkeeping, and they felt vindictive after the second goal, which manager Mark Robins thought should have been disallowed for off-side. Here are a few major talking points.
Return to the box
For the first time this season, Mark Robins went back to his tried-and-true box midfield and lone striker formation, which has worked so well for the Sky Blues in recent years. At times, it worked incredibly well, with Jamie Allen and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto being lively and fluid in the final third while the wing-backs, especially Jay Dasilva in the first half, were useful in City’s build-up. Sakamoto and Dasilva manoeuvred the ball in confined spaces, effectively utilising their technical skills to manoeuvre through and around the box in opposition to a well-organized and sturdy Baggies defence that has preserved six clean sheets in their previous seven league games.
Ineffective Sky Blues
However, the Sky Blues’ inability to score had more to do with their poor finishing than with their outstanding defence, as they drew blanks for the third straight game. With the exception of putting the ball in the back of the net, Haji Wright performed admirably that evening. As the lone striker, he was fast, energetic, and a decent outlet, but he lacked the one skill that separated the two teams greatly: the ability to hit a clinical touch. He was given three chances, two of which were really good, but on both occasions he put the ball on the wrong side of the post. However, most of his admirers could see how dedicated he was to his work and
Wilson’s wobble
City’s cause was not helped by gifting the Baggies their opening goal from a rare mistake by Ben Wilson who failed to hold a powerful shot from Nathaniel Chalobah, spilling it to allow Grady Diangana to pounce on the loose ball and poke it over the line from close range. Robins couldn’t hide his disappointment and frustration at the goalkeeping error from his No.1 who has pulled off plenty of decent saves in recent weeks.
“We all make mistakes and it’s how you deal with those and put them right as we move forward,” said the manager, who described the incident as “really poor.” It shouldn’t be enough to lose his place – he surely has far too much credit in the bank for that – but as Robins showed last season with Simon Moore, if one mistake becomes two and leads to a crisis in confidence and becomes three, he’s not afraid to change things.
‘Sacked in the morning’
Albion fans sang, “sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning…” after Brandon Thomas-Asante secured the points for his side with 20 minutes to spare, and consigned the Sky Blues to their third consecutive Championship defeat which leaves last season’s play-off finalists seemingly floundering in 20th place in the league. But the reality is that City haven’t been playing that badly – Rotherham aside – and Monday night’s result leaves them still six points off the bottom three and only eight away from the play-off places. Robins saw the funny side and even brought up himself the subject of the opposition supporters questioning his position when he got to the end of his post-match press conference.
Albion fans sang, “sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning…” after Brandon Thomas-Asante secured the points for his side with 20 minutes to spare, and consigned the Sky Blues to their third consecutive Championship defeat which leaves last season’s play-off finalists seemingly floundering in 20th place in the league. But the reality is that City haven’t been playing that badly – Rotherham aside – and Monday night’s result leaves them still six points off the bottom three and only eight away from the play-off places. Robins saw the funny side and even brought up himself the subject of the opposition supporters questioning his position when he got to the end of his post-match press conference.
