HAMER TIME
Ice-cool Gustavo is Wembley bound
FIVE years ago Coventry were playing Luton in League Two.
Next week the rejuvenated clubs will face off for a place in the Premier League and £200m of TV riches.
Gustavo Hamer fired Mark Robins’ robust side into the Wembley play-off final a week on Saturday, with the only goal of a two-legged tie.
Robins signed a new four-year deal to stay as manager hours before kick-off, and he has built a tough, well-drilled defensive outfit, with the excellent Viktor Gyokeres leading the line alone and touches of class from Hamer, Jamie Allen and Ben Sheaf.
They will be a handful for Luton, and next season the Premier League will have an unexpected guest.
Boro have ended the season with a whimper without a win in their last five games, and only two goals scored.
Their fans will hope that Michael Carrick’s revival of the club, taking them from 21st to fourth, will continue next season. But the Championship will be stronger next time around.
This was the third encounter between these two clubs in 10 days, with three hours of football producing stalemates and just two goals. This was just as tight.
The Riverside Stadium was rocking like days of old and their noisy European campaigns under Steve McClaren. The same sort of magic was needed to overcome stubborn Coventry whose fans claimed the turf by hurling blue flares on to the pitch pre-match.
After meandering to the season end with just two wins in nine games, Boro lost their cutting edge.
It took until the last touch of the first half for either side to muster a shot on target – Darragh Lenihan nodding into Ben Wilson’s arms.
Coventry seemed intent on fouling their way to the final as they dished out punishment to Boro’s players early on, before ref David Coote got his yellow card out in the first half.
Then the Sky Blues woke up and exploited the first big opening of the match on 57 minutes.
Boro left-back Ryan Giles played a sloppy pass which was intercepted on the half-way line and clipped forward by Sheaf. Gyokeres challenged Zack Steffen and bundled the ball to Hamer, who shimmied and struck a brilliant shot into the top corner.
Cameron Archer scooped over in the dying minutes and there was a late scramble that came to nothing. The striker also struck the bar but was ruled offside.
It was a scrap, and City had the edge, soaking up pressure and winning with just 33 per cent possession and two shots on target.