Wycombe Wanderers 1 - 2 Coventry City

[dutchman]

The Sky Blues recorded their first Championship win on the road at Wycombe



A Liam Kelly brace gave Coventry City their first Championship win on the road at second from bottom Wycombe Wanderers.

The Sky Blues skipper scored with a powerful shot and a close range header before the break when he had to go off injured before Mark Robins’s men took the full three points after late drama at Adams Park.

But the win was only secured after a nervous second half when City let the home side back in the game from the penalty spot, making for a tense end to the match when Wanderers had a controversial equaliser ruled out at the death..

City started off fairly positively with plenty of possession and a string of set-pieces in the first ten minutes before Wanderers began to have more of a say on the ball, enjoying three corners in quick succession to turn the pressure on the visitors.

There was a distinct lack of quality as Coventry were unable to get their passing game going in an increasingly scrappy affair where chances were few and far between until skipper Kelly took responsibility.

The midfielder hit a low shot just wide but minutes later in the 34th he found himself with loads of time and space just outside the box and hit a lovely strike inside the keeper’s right-hand post to give his side the lead.

Kelly then picked up what looked like a groin injury but limped on to the break in order to save the manager’s substitution options, and it played right into City’s hands as he put himself in the box for a late set-piece and promptly doubled City’s lead.

The captain would normally take up a position on the edge of the box but he found himself in the right place at the right time when a Gus Hamer free-kick found Leo Ostigard ina deep position, the defender heading the ball into the box where Kelly nodded home from close range as the ball bounced up kindly for him.

Amadou Bakayoko replaced Kelly at the break, adding pace and energy to help stretch Wanderers who made three changes themselves just before the hour.

And City gave the home side a way back into the game when Ben Sheaf fouled David Wheeler just inside the box, leaving Joe Jacobson to slot home from the penalty spot, making it 2-1 in the 61st minute.

Hamer almost added a third goal for the Sky Blues when he won the ball in the middle of the park and, seeing the keeper out of his area, attempted to chip him from the halfway line, only for his shot to bounce the wrong side off the post.

The Chairboys’ goal pepped them up and, urged on by the partisan 2,000 fans, pushed for an equaliser as City were forced to defend deep and play on the counter attack in a nervous last 15 minutes.

And the stress levels went through the roof in the fourth minute of added time when Scott Kashket turned the ball ito the back of the net after a brilliant Ben Wilson save, only for the linesman to flag and rule out the equaliser for off-side.

[dutchman]

Kelly leads Sky Blues to win at Wycombe



Liam Kelly's double helped Coventry City to a narrow win over strugglers Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park in the Championship.

Sky Blues skipper Kelly netted his first Coventry goal in over two years with a fine 25-yard strike after 34 minutes.

And he doubled his tally deep into first-half stoppage time, heading home after a well-worked free-kick routine.

Wycombe pulled one back from the spot in the 61st minute, as Joe Jacobson found the net after Ben Sheaf fouled David Wheeler in the area - and Scott Kashket thought he had crowned the comeback at the death, bundling home a rebound only for it to be ruled out for offside.

The result stretched the unbeaten run of Mark Robins' Sky Blues to seven Championship games.

Kelly had not scored since finding the net for Coventry in a 3-1 win over Stevenage in League Two in April 2018.

But the midfielder - who was replaced at half-time after picking up a minor knock - stunned the 2,000 home supporters in attendance as the visitors raced into a two-goal lead against the run of play.

Gareth Ainsworth's Chairboys started the day next to bottom but they rallied in the second half, deservedly halving the deficit through Jacobson's penalty - his second of the week after he scored in their midweek loss at Barnsley.

Coventry midfielder Gustavo Hamer nearly made it 3-1 in the 66th minute with what would have been a goal of the season contender, striking the post from 40 yards out after he spotted Wycombe keeper Ryan Allsop off his line.

The home side pushed for an equaliser with a late, off-target Wheeler effort and they nearly rescued a point moments before the whistle, but Kashket's tap-in after a fine Ben Wilson save was chalked off following a tight offside call.

Coventry's win puts distance between them and the drop zone, lifting them to 18th in the table, with Wycombe staying 23rd.

Sky Blues boss Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"It was a tough game, this is a really difficult place to go to. They got a soft penalty, but we got lucky at the end with the offside. They're a really competitive side.

"Liam Kelly, he just hits it and it goes in, it was pure belief. After the goal, he's injured but I ask him to stay on and then he turns out to get the winning goal.

"[It's] bittersweet because we'll miss him for a period of time now, but ultimately it's a really good three points for us."