Sky Blues show heart to come back twice in seesaw encounter
COVENTRY City battled back twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Rotherham United at the CBS Arena last night.
Late goals from Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres – with an injury-time penalty – ensured the Sky Blues kept up their unbeaten run as they try to climb away from the bottom of the table.
Mark Robins made three changes to the side that beat Stoke City 2-0 on Saturday, with Martyn Waghorn, Callum Doyle and Ben Sheaf coming in to replace the injured Matt Godden, Jonathan Panzo and Kasey Palmer.
The Sky Blues were aiming for four wins on the bounce in the second division for the first time since 2002 after putting together impressive victories against Sheffield United, Stoke and Cardiff City.
It was a fast-paced start with both teams threatening in front of goal in the opening moments. Hamer’s keen eye for a pass was dialled-in from the early stages as the midfielder found Jamie Allen in the box, who failed to test the goalkeeper as he wriggled round the penalty area.
The attack came at a cost however, with Waghorn going down off the ball before being swiftly replaced by Robins due to the injury. Rotherham continued to mount pressure on the hosts as Gyokeres struggled to hold the ball up against the physical Millers backline, as Robins quickly called upon Palmer to ready himself for an early introduction. As the first half progressed, so did Coventry’s attacking play with Gyokeres being played through on goal just after the 20 minute mark, only to be brought down after a collision with Viktor Johansson. His claim for a penalty was quickly waved away by referee Andy Davies.
The best chance of the opening half for City fell to captain Mcfadzean, who looked as if he had an easy header at the back post following a wellworked Hamer set piece. He would see his effort sail over the bar with Rotherham bodies left behind him as he trundled back up the pitch.
Coventry looked the most likely to open the scoring in the first 45 minutes, until Palmer gave the ball away with a loose pass in the Rotherham half which triggered a swift counterattack, ending in Cohen Bramall lashing his effort past Ben Wilson to give Matt Taylor’s side the lead just before the break. It was a frustrating end to what was a promising half.
Robins uncharacteristically opted to take a seat in the dugout for the opening moments after the break, until his side sparked into life with a quick counterattack spearheaded by the neat link-up play of Allen and Gyokeres. He returned to the touchline to bark his orders as the game passed the hour mark.
Allen remained influential in the game as Coventry pushed for an equaliser. Although as time went on, the calls from the home crowd for Callum O’hare began to grow. Robins eventually obliged, with the playmaker making his second appearance
since returning from injury with 20 minutes to go.
They were changes that had an instant impact after Hamer slotted his effort home just seconds after the triple change to bring Panzo, O’hare and Kane on. Sadly, it was short lived for the Sky Blues with Conor Washington restoring the lead for Rotherham minutes later, as he tapped his effort home into an open goal.
The game looked to be all but over until O’hare drove into the box and was brought down by the Rotherham defender, with Gyokeres stepping up and making no mistake in front of goal. Coventry weren’t done there, as they went on and pushed for a winner.
Time unfortunately ran out for Robins’ men, who were forced to settle for a draw on this occasion.