If ever validation is needed for attack being the best form of defence, Frank Lampard can call this game up on Wyscout. Coventry climbed out of the relegation zone to the heady heights of 14th place after their second successive win showcased the benefits of their manager’s willingness to balance risk with reward.
Jack Rudoni’s early penalty underscored a sense of positivity that was enhanced by an even quicker goal at the start of the second half from Sidiki Cherif and not unduly dimmed by Sven Botman’s howitzer making it 2-1.
Late goals from the substitutes Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni allowed promoted Coventry to pull away from a Newcastle side who, after a strong start to the season, also lost their last away game at Leeds by this scoreline.
Newcastle could have gone fourth in the Premier League with victory but despite missing several chances they could not argue with the defeat. As their manager, Matthias Jaissle, said: “There were elements in both boxes where we need to step up and do better. Those fine margins can make all the difference.”
Even when Botman had reduced the deficit with 20 minutes remaining and Newcastle threatened to take charge, Coventry left two or three players up on the halfway line. It could be perceived as a bold and brave move and Lampard, who wants supporters to be entertained throughout this first season back in the elite since 2000/01, deserves credit. On other days they might come unstuck but here it was a case of he who dares wins.
Not that he was ready to take the plaudits. “It probably means I didn’t manage to scream well enough to tell one or two of them to get back,” the Coventry manager said. “But at times we do certainly leave one or two players up the pitch because I think it will occupy their defenders. And in this [kind of] game of transition, sometimes you can defend with eight players.”
It was 25 years since John Hartson had last scored a home Premier League goal for Coventry. So there was a momentous feel to the occasion when Rudoni stepped up to take his penalty in the sixth minute.
After three weeks of international football had left Sky Blues fans longing for more following their victory at Nottingham Forest, the atmosphere went up another notch when Lukas Hornicek, hesitant when coming out to palm the ball away from Ephron Mason-Clark, brought Cherif down as they contested the loose ball.
Coventry, for all their summer signings, feel very united after 18 successful months under Lampard, culminating in their Championship triumph. This sense of community was underlined as Rudoni lifted his shirt to show the message “Get well soon Nan” after scoring his penalty.
Rudoni’s grandmother is in hospital after suffering a heart attack. “He’s such a great lad,” Lampard said. “I’ve been there for him. He’s so close with his family. So I’m pleased he could have that moment for them.”
Newcastle had plenty of space and ball just about every time they attacked. But the risk-and-reward strategy meant Coventry were dangerous in the extreme on the transition.
They had Bobby Thomas to thank for denying Newcastle twice shortly before the interval. Firstly the centre-back headed off the line after Jacob Murphy turned Harvey Barnes’s superb cross past Carl Rushworth.
Then when Matias Fernandez-Pardo raced clear, rounded Rushworth and shot goalwards, Thomas had recovered sufficiently to clear.
On his first Premier League start since signing from Fenerbahce for £21m in the summer, Cherif deputised for the suspended Taiwo Awoniyi.
The 19-year-old forward is evidently not the finished product but he has raw attributes from which Coventry can build. When Malick Thiaw headed out a long throw-in, Cherif swivelled to strike a crisp drive that swished through four pairs of plum-coloured stockings and beyond Hornicek’s grasping fingers.
Then Cherif should have made the game safe. Botman miscued Brandon Thomas-Asante’s cross but unmarked from six yards out Cherif clunked his shot wide. That miss briefly appeared crucial as Botman was allowed to wander forwards unchallenged before belting a shot into the top corner of Rushworth’s goal.
Simms made it 3-1 in the 81st minute, however, after the excellent Thomas-Asante nicked the ball on the edge of the area for the striker to shoot home. There was still time for Thomas-Asante to fire against a post before victory was emphatically sealed when Mfuni twinkle-toed his way into the penalty area to strike in left-footed.
