Then came the chaos. Dewsbury-Hall charged down a clearance and while Bobby Thomas got their first to cannon the ball back against the City midfielder, his follow-through saw him connect his studs with the midfielder’s thigh, and a penalty was awarded. Dewsbury-Hall picked himself up to convert into the bottom corner.
But as soon as City had a goal advantage, they gave Coventry a man advantage. Fatawu slid in late and at speed, Darren England deeming the tackle to be reckless, sending off the Ghanaian.
The second half started with a chance apiece as Justin scuffed a cross that forced Brad Collins into a save, and then Matty Godden headed an effort straight down Hermansen’s throat. But then for a good while, there was very little goalmouth action, with City’s 10 men keeping the hosts at arm’s length. The only drama was a yellow card for Maresca that means he’s got a touchline ban for Ipswich.
But with just over 10 minutes to play, Coventry equalised. In their first effort for some time, O’Hare dug the ball out from under his feet to find the bottom corner. They raced back to the halfway line looking for a winner.
It came with a few minutes to go. City cleared a corner to the edge of the box where Van Ewijk took a touch and then bounced a shot into the far corner, beyond Hermansen’s reach. Then, with the final kick, O’Hare volleyed in a rebound to seal the victory for the hosts. Here’s how we scored the players.
Mads Hermansen: Given how he performed for the first 75 minutes, he didn’t deserve to concede three times. He made a great save to deny Sakamoto and claimed crosses even with the sun in his eyes. Then came the goals, the Dane conceding three in a match for the first time. 7
Ricardo Pereira: Solid if unspectacular on the ball, playing it back to the defence often. He didn’t have the biggest impact in City’s defensive effort though. 5
Wout Faes: He defended really calmly for much of the game, and that helped compose City at times when the game threatened to become basketball. He was strong in the second period too, but didn’t make himself big enough for O’Hare’s first goal. 7
Jannik Vestergaard: His passing was good for the first half, playing a few nice balls through the lines, albeit there was one dodgy ball back to Hermansen that nearly caused problems. He had a lot to do in the second half, and looked uncomfortable at times, but never overwhelmed. 6
James Justin: Sakamoto is one of the trickiest wingers in the league, so it’s no shame to be beaten by him, but the Japan international really did give Justin a torrid time. It didn’t help that there was miscommunication between the full-back and Casadei over who was watching who. Justin did put in the effort to get forward and back though. 5
Harry Winks: For the most part, he was classy in possession and in how he turned out of danger, skipping away from his markers to get City going forward. He won the ball back a few times too. 7
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: He wasn’t as involved as he usually is, playing on the right of the attacking midfielders. But when it did come his way, he carried the ball really well through the challenges and got the passes off at the end as well. His pressure and composure won and finished the penalty. 7
Cesare Casadei: When the space was afforded to him, he carried the ball forward with endeavour. But he also lost it a few times and was half a second off the pace in the second period, which limited his ability to impact the defensive effort. Him and Justin weren’t on the same wavelength either, and he put a big chance wide. 5
Abdul Fatawu: Early on, he worked really hard defensively, but with nothing working at the top end. Then he let the atmosphere get to him and he flew in recklessly. You can’t make tackles at that speed and with that little control and not risk a red card. Silly. 4
Tom Cannon: His link-up play was nice early on, with his first-time passes finding his team-mates’ feet. But he got worse as the game went on, and looked tired as he chased shadows at the top end when City were down to 10 men. 6
Stephy Mavididi: There were two lazy passes early on that set up Coventry attacks, but he picked up his game when he became the pantomime villain, getting pelters from the home fans. Still, he didn’t threaten to the extent he usually does. Subbed at the break. 5
Kasey McAteer: He did a good job defensively for the most part, watching runs well. When he was moved up front, he couldn’t press effectively to make an impact. 6
Hamza Choudhury: He looked confused by his position and didn’t who to mark and who to press. He didn’t help the defensive cause. 4
