Ostigard beauty as Sky Blues show mettle with huge three pointsLeo Ostigard gave Coventry City a magnificent victory in their epic relegation six-pointer at Rotherham United.
City pressed and battled from the first whistle in a terrific first half from the visitors who had five clear cut chances to score, three of which were denied by some brilliant goalkeeping, and should have been ahead going into the break – Callum O’Hare and Matty Godden somehow unable to beat Viktor Johansson with gilt-edged one on one chances.
The Millers, meanwhile, had nothing to show for their effort apart from a thumping shot off the inside of the post from one of several set-pieces – the home side’s only real threat.
Ostigard finally gave City the lead they deserved in the 70th minute, powering home a header from a Matty James’ free-kick ahead of 20 agonising minutes to the final whistle.
City sent an early warning shot across the bows when a cleared ball from a long Sam McCallum throw into the box fell to Liam Kelly who hit a lovely volley from the edge of the box that looked to be heading for the near top corner until the inspired Johansson tipped it acrobatically onto the bar.
And the Sky Blues looked well up for the challenge in the opening exchanges when they were highly competitive and battling for every ball against the big and physical Millers.
The visitors had another opportunity to score in the eighth minute when McCallum sent in a deep free-kick to the box which fell to Kyle McFadzean who could only shoot wide across the face of goal in a big missed opportunity.
But City were kicking themselves on 11 minutes when another free-kick into the box fell to Kelly who hit another shot that took a deflection and fell kindly to Callum O’Hare who had just the keeper to beat. But the nippy midfielder couldn’t squeeze the ball past him, Johansson making a block as the ball fell to Matty Godden for a second bite of the cherry, only for the striker to lift his shot over the bar.
City then had to weather a couple of Rotherham corners, the second of which saw Lewis Wing thump the inside of the far post with one hell of a shot that fortunately bounced clear.
But Mark Robins’s men were well up for the challenge, getting in their opponents’ faces fro the first whistle and incredibly unlucky not to be in front come the half hour mark after six attempts, two of which were on target, compared to just one chance for the home side.
Tyler Walker couldn’t believe his luck in the 35th minute when another long throw from McCallum fell kindly to him at the far post where he had time to meet and direct a firm header at goal, only to be denied by a brilliant save from the keeper.
The half ended with both sides fuming after a crunching 50-50 tackle between Dom Hyam and Jamie Lindsay, with both players going down hurt but former City skipper Richard Wood doing his best to get Hyam sent off, claiming it was a bad tackle, albeit no cards shown.
The Millers made a more determined start to the second half, again lumping long balls into the box at every opportunity, aided by Coventry who conceded far too many free-kicks in their own half to invite set-piece pressure.
Former Sky Blues wing-back Ryan Giles and striker Freddie Ladapo were thrown on just before the hour as manager Paul Warne looked to increase his side’s threat with more pace and switching to two up top.
But it was City who finally broke the deadlock when Ostigard connected with a Matty James free-kick from the edge of the area to the right of goal, powering a header over the line to finally beat Johansson and give Coventry a deserved lead.
Max Biamou, Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer added fresh legs to help see out the game as City held their narrow lead in a nerve-racking end to the game when Rotherham pushed and City played on the counter attack.
The referee indicated six minutes of agonising stoppage time as Robins’s men defended as if their lives depended on it.