Mayenda punishes enormous Coventry error to place Sunderland on high in playoff | Championship

Who ever believed within the type e book for the playoffs anyway? No group has ever entered the English playoffs in worse type than Sunderland, after their 5 successive defeats, however Wilson Isidor’s first aim in 14 video games and Eliezer Mayenda’s late capital enabled Regis Le Bris’s group to earn their first victory over Coventry Metropolis since 2007 and grow to be favourites to succeed in the EFL Championship playoff last on 24 Might.

Jack Rudoni, who grew up a Chelsea fan, Frank Lampard his hero, had headed Coventry stage inside two minutes of Isidor breaking his lengthy aim drought. However then, within the 88th minute, Mayenda was gifted a transparent run on Coventry’s aim by Milan van Ewijk’s disastrous again move and rounded Ben Wilson, the Sunderland academy graduate in Coventry’s aim, earlier than turning within the aim that has turned expectations on their head. The two,400 travelling Sunderland followers reprised the Roker roar of their small nook of the CBS Area.

Lampard has exceeded expectations since taking up Coventry in November and he’ll nonetheless imagine his group’s superior type over the second half of the season will give him the prospect of repeating his feat when he took Derby County to the 2019 Championship playoff last by beating Leeds United. However, after a wretched run of 14 factors from 14 video games, this was Sunderland’s evening.

The house crowd, having damaged the membership’s report attendance determine at this stadium for the earlier sport in opposition to Middlesbrough, had been in full voice once more as the sport kicked off with a full moon peering down from a superbly blue night sky, mirroring Metropolis’s white shorts beneath their shirts. “The assist on the day and the environment was among the best I’ve ever skilled on the CBS [Arena],” Ben Sheaf, the Coventry captain, wrote in his programme notes. “That noise that you simply generate doesn’t go unnoticed by everybody on the membership.”

Every little thing appeared in Coventry’s favour. They’ve been in very respectable type, profitable 9 of their final 11 residence video games, whereas their guests’ mediocre run stretches again effectively earlier than the 5 successive defeats with which they ended the regulation season. Nor had Sunderland overwhelmed Coventry in any of their 10 conferences since 2007.

With computerized promotion successfully out of their attain since not lengthy after the fold of the season, Sunderland had solely scored three objectives within the 9 video games since they misplaced 3-0 right here in March. Their main marksman Wilson Isidor, disregarded of final week’s residence defeat by QPR, had not scored for 13 video games.

So it was no marvel the CBS Area was awash with optimism. From the primary of 5 Coventry corners within the opening half, Antony Patterson, the Sunderland goalkeeper, barely helped issues as he struggled to make his punch rely, and the ball needed to be scrambled away.

For all their dominance of possession, nonetheless, it was not till the center of the half that Matt Grimes, their January signing from Swansea, had a few makes an attempt at aim: after slicing the primary effectively broad, he neatly sidestepped his man from Haji Wright’s pullback from the second however noticed his shot bravely blocked.

Sunderland had been restricted to uncommon breakaway, actually within the first half. When Mayenda did flip and get away from the bottom of Coventry’s midfield within the centre circle, Isidor’s poor run off the ball obliged him to go all the best way on his personal. His last shot from the sting of the penalty space was an excellent effort however broad.

From the fitting wing, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was continuously inflicting Sunderland issues, not least after Dennis Cirkin was booked for a reasonably crude foul halfway via the half. He appeared in a position to lower inside and swerve over his in-swinging crosses at will, and once more Patterson didn’t gasoline Sunderland’s 2,400 travelling supporters with nice confidence when he flapped one such supply broad for a nook.

Of their third playoff in 4 seasons, Sunderland got here again into this contest after the interval. A nook routine had ended with Enzo Le Fée delivering a effective diagonal cross for Trai Hume, the unique taker, to volley exhausting however broad.

Though Rudoni, the jewel in Coventry’s crown, snapped a shot broad, there was a way of unease infiltrating the house ranks. Three Coventry gamers had been cautioned in eight minutes.

Certain sufficient, Sunderland went forward halfway via the second half. Le Fée picked up the ball within the centre circle and this time the 2 forwards cut up their runs fantastically. Isidor was picked out fantastically, as Coventry appealed in useless for offside, and the Frenchman lower inside to fireplace his shot into the far backside nook for his thirteenth aim of the season.

This served to wake Coventry up. Inside two minutes Milan van Ewijk crossed from the fitting wing and Rudoni – who else? – rose on the close to publish to move powerfully residence, his twelfth aim involvement in his final 13 video games.