Clayton’s calamity gives Hamer last laugh for Sky Blues

HAMER TIME: Gustavo Hamer scores Coventry’s goal

HE was born in Brazil, brought up in Holland, and now he’s pulling the strings for Coventry City.

Gustavo Hamer became the Sky Blues’ top scorer after his fifth of the season delivered a point in the battle between landlord and tenants.

But flip the coin and Hamer also leads the way in bookings and dismissals.

His yellow card yesterday was the seventh of the season – and there is a red card in there too.

Devil or angel, the playmaking midfielder was key in the comeback which left Birmingham boss Aitor Karanka seething and his counterpart Mark Robins purring.

Karanka was incensed by Adam Clayton’s mistake which allowed Hamer to finish off a classy move and cancel out an earlier penalty scored by Jeremie Bela.

Clayton was substituted at half-time by Karanka along with Jon Toral.

A fuming Karanka said: “It is difficult to understand.

“If I analyse every single mistake we made this season then maybe I get suicidal.

“We are working well on the pitch, we start well and instead of keeping going we concede a stupid goal again.

“It was tactical at half-time. We lost confidence with the ball, arrive two seconds later to the second ball and I wanted to change something. We were much better.”

In contrast, Robins said: “I thought our goal and our reaction to giving away the penalty was brilliant.”

The teamsheet said Birmingham were at home but it still needed a double check when the landlords took the lead at St Andrew’s.

Birmingham had six straight defeats at home, a total of nine games without a win on their own turf and a measly eight-goal haul from 13 matches before this fixture.

Admittedly the opener was not from open play.

Bela showed poise to convert after Ivan Sanchez was brought down by Sam McCallum to give away the penalty.

The pep in the step did not last long, though, for the Blues. Clayton took a little nap just at the point he needed to clear the ball and Callum O’Hare nipped in to set up Hamer.

Their first meeting of the season in November ended in a 0-0 draw, when Birmingham had the treat of the portable showers as the away side.

This was just as tight an affair with Bela squandering the chance to make the most of Sky Blues keeper Ben Wilson going walkabout.

Scott Hogan saw a couple of headers go awry for Birmingham.

And substitute Lukas Jutkiewicz came within a whisker of an injurytime winner only to be foiled by Wilson.

3

4

6

0

11

8

1

0

66

19

58

53

BIRMINGHAM:

Etheridge 6;

Colin 6, San Jose 6, Dean 7, Pedersen 5; Clayton 5 (Roberts (46th)

6), Sunjic 7 (Harper 78th); Sanchez 7 (Leko (71st) 5), Toral 5 (Gardner

(46th) 6), Bela 7; Hogan 5 (Jutkiewicz 84th)

COVENTRY: Wilson 6; Pask 6, Ostigard

7, Hyam 6, McCallum 7; Hamer 8, Sheaf 6 (Shipley (66th) 5), James 6; Gyokeres 6, O’Hare 7, Biamou 7

Gustavo Hamer G Eltringham