Sky Blues leave it late as Fab Tav finally gets onA dramatic stoppage time winner from Dom Hyam secured Coventry City a hard-fought three points against bottom club Barnsley at the CBS Arena.
The Sky Blues had created 12 attempts on goal and six on target by the 70 minute mark as their finishing let them down time and time again.
Viktor Gyokeres had three decent attempts after being played through in each half in a performance that lacked the team’s usual spark and high tempo.
But Mark Robins’s men got a bit of luck from a deflection late on and Hyam was there to capitalise with a well taken goal.
City took just a minute and 20 seconds to carve out their first chance on goal when Gyokeres picked up the ball on the left and ran at the Tykes’ defence, cutting inside his marker and across another defender before hitting a low shot that lacked power to trouble Brad Collins in goal.
The big Swede was that through on goal again in the fourth minute when Callum O’Hare sent him racing down the left channel again, the striker this time opting to shoot with his left but, disappointingly, straight at the keeper.
Martyn Waghorn then played sublime one-two with Gyokeres, only for the experienced striker to hit the pull-back first time and send it wide of the frame of the goal as Coventry dominated the first 20 minutes, after which the game fell a bit flat as the home side laboured a bit as Barnsley pressed them back towards their own goal.
The visitors, meanwhile, were limited to set-piece opportunities from two corners and a free-kick in the opening 35 minutes, none of which troubled the largely redundant Simon Moore who was well protected by his defenders, none more so than Kyle McFadzean who threw himself into a brilliant block to deny striker Carlton Morris.
City lacked energy and tempo but a good old fashioned half-time team talk appeared to re-energise them with a lively start to the second half with plenty of approach play but little to show for their efforts .
Ben Sheaf went close on the hour when he turned smartly in the box and hit a half volley to test the keeper, while Waghorn was snuffed out at the near post as he raced to get on the end of a Todd Kane cross.
Sheaf then turned provider as he played Gyokeres through the off-side trap, only for the striker’s shot to lack power and accuracy to test the keeper as City’s frustrations continued in front of goal.
With six minutes remaining the fans got their wish when Fabio Tavares was finally handed his City debut, replacing Waghorn, before the game ran into nine minutes of stoppage time.
City kept plugging away and finally got the goal they had been looking for when Sheaf played the ball into the box following a corner and it hit a Barnsley player and fell kindly to Hyam who swivelled and tucked it away inside the post to give the home side victory.
ATTENDANCE: 17,104 (605 away).