Middlesbrough 2 - 4 Coventry City

[dutchman]

Coventry beat 'Boro in thriller to go 10 points clear



Coventry City opened up a 10-point lead at the top of the Championship as they defeated second-placed Middlesbrough in a six-goal thriller.

Ellis Simms and centre-half Liam Kitching both scored twice as the Sky Blues recorded a 10th win in their past 11 games.

Frank Lampard's side have now recorded 40 points from 17 games, but even more impressively, they have scored 47 goals in those matches, 19 more than any other side in the division.

Simms and Kitching had both scored in the opening 15 minutes to put them two up, but Boro, with Adi Viveash in interim charge and new head coach Kim Hellberg watching in the stands, fought back impressively.

Morgan Whittaker reduced the deficit before the break and then a Bobby Thomas own goal made it 2-2 just into the second half.

Tommy Conway missed a great chance to put the hosts ahead and it was costly as Kitching in the 85th minute and Simms a minute later sealed a brilliant victory for the Sky Blues, while defeat meant Boro slip to third, below Stoke City on goal difference.

It is almost a year to the day since Lampard arrived at Coventry and, after finishing fifth last season, his side are on a turbocharge to ensure they do not need the play-offs again after their heartache against Sunderland last season.

It has been fuelled by firepower and they showed why with two goals in five first-half minutes to quell what had been a positive opening from the hosts.

The first was set up by a driving run from Danish midfielder Victor Torp as he skipped beyond Luke Ayling and fed Simms, who curled one over Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn into the far corner.

Having shown their skill in transition, they then ticked the set-pieces box.

A corner was only helped back to captain Matt Grimes, who volleyed over an inch-perfect cross which allowed Kitching to direct his header into the far corner.

Simms had a couple of chances to make it three, but Boro halved the deficit when Whittaker volleyed into the bottom corner from Alfie Jones' flick-on as they kept a corner alive.

Coventry's number nine was denied shortly after half-time by Brynn, but one thing the Teesside club have shown all season is spirit and it was in evidence here for new Swedish boss Hellberg.

They started the season impressively under Rob Edwards, until he departed for Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month, but Hellberg will inherit a team still well-placed.

Whittaker, a player reinvigorated from his early struggles at the club, had a piledriver brilliantly tipped over by Carl Rushworth, but his side were level from the following corner as Thomas inadvertently turned it into his own net.

Scotland forward Conway should have completed the turnaround, only to put the ball over from six yards after Callum Brittain's cross had opened up the defence.

They paid a heavy price as Kitching restored the lead, with an instinctive first-time finish after Brynn had denied Thomas from making amends for his own goal.

And before Boro could regroup, Simms headed in at the end of another slick attack to demonstrate what a tough job the rest of the Championship will have in reining in Lampard's leaders.

Coventry City manager Frank Lampard said:

"It was two good teams, Boro are where they are for a reason. There were lots of factors that made this a tough match for us tonight.

"They started the game well, but we were so clinical. We looked a big threat in our counter-attacking in the first half and we created some big chances beyond the goals.

"But they're a good team and they caused us problems and we changed in the second half to counter that and I thought we were outstanding in the last 20 minutes.

"When games go from 2-0 to 2-2, we've all seen that story before and how it pans out. Momentum is with the other team but we gripped the game back. The changes probably helped, but the players - they owned that today."