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Coventry City's infuriating bad habit, Torp's selection edge & EMC transformation begs Haji question
Coventry City had to come from behind again – this time against bottom club Hull City at the CBS Arena as Frank Lampard enjoyed his second win in four games and first on home soil as the new Sky Blues boss.
It’s become a bit of a bad habit having to come from behind – City having done so five times in their last ten games now – and when the Tigers grabbed the lead completely and utterly against the run of first half play thanks to Joao Pedro converting a rebound off the post, they had it all to do yet again.
But Coventry turned it round as they levelled through Ephron Mason-Clark seven minutes after the break and even had a Victor Torp penalty saved before Mason-Clark crossed for Jack Rudoni to head in a 72nd-minute winner. Here are some of the big talking points and hings learned from the 2-1 Championship victory.
READ MORE: Coventry City player ratings v Hull
More tepid than Torpedo
Victor Torp emerged as City’s latest designated penalty taker in the absence of Haji Wright when he coolly slotted home to give Frank Lampard a point in his opening game in charge, hitting the ball hard and low to the bottom left-hand corner and sending the Cardiff goalkeeper the wrong way.
Fast forward a fortnight and the fans were in confident mood singing his song as the Dane shaped up to attempt to give the Sky Blues the lead from the spot, only for his shot to lack the same power – more tepid than torpedo – as he aimed for the opposite corner, enabling Ivor Pandur to get across at full stretch and make the save, the keeper having guessed the right way.
Fortunately it didn’t matter in the end as Jack Rudoni headed home six minutes later with what turned out to be the winning goal for the Sky Blues. Torp has such a good shot in his locker that you couldn’t help but feel disappointed about the wasted free hit, but City’s head coach refused to be critical, saying: “I said to Torpy at the end that we’re brave to take them and I have never thought anything bad about someone who has the personality to take them and take it properly, which he did, and it was a good save.”
He added: “Again, it’s a reflection of the character of the team to keep going and get something out of the game. And let’s not forget he put in a great ball for Ephron’s goal.”
Dane gets edge on Eccles
It was indeed a terrific cross for the equaliser – one of a number of excellent deliveries both from set-pieces and open play from the midfielder who was preferred to Josh Eccles on the day and, certainly, on this showing now has the selection edge over the Academy graduate who replaced him late on in the game.
It’s taken Torp a while to really stamp his mark in the team, and only consistency will ensure that he finally cements his place in the starting line-up, but a few more performances like this one and he’ll be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Operating more as a box-to-box midfielder than a holding role, the 25-year-old linked the play well and showed the quality in his boots with several decent balls into the box.
His presence and slightly different role added an extra attacking dimension to the side, which went some way to improving City’s stats.
City’s incremental number gains
The team’s numbers have improved slightly, game by game, during Lampard’s opening four games in charge. Against Cardiff, they created 12 attempts on goal, including six on target amid 21 touches in the box. City had more attempts but fewer on target against Millwall (14/3) from 27 touches in the area – the same number as at West Brom when they created 17 attempts, albeit only four on target.
But against Hull they managed 18 efforts on goal, seven of which were on target from 37 touches in the box. They may be incremental gains but it is, hopefully, a sign that the players are beginning to take on board what the new coaching regime has been trying to instil in them over a relatively short period of time.
Collins’ welcome boost
Brad Collins has come in for a bit of stick in some quarters this season – a remarkable campaign in which City are on their third senior keeper before the halfway point. Starting the term as third choice behind Oliver Dovin and Ben Wilson, it looked like the writing was on the wall for the former Barnsley stopper who was restricted to three games as an unused sub in the Carabao Cup before injuries to his rivals combined to open the door for him to get back in.
Many fans have failed to be convinced by him and some may have questioned how static he was, along with Bobby Thomas and Luis Binks, to be fair, when Joao Pedro steered home a rebound off the post to give the Tigers the late first half lead. However, for the first time in a while, Collins made two really good saves to keep City in the game when, first, he dived to his left to push a Ryan Longman shot wide and then dropped to his right to deny Mason Birstow.
Confidence can be a powerful and yet fragile thing, but hopefully those two saves will do wonders for Brad’s in the coming weeks.
EMC transformation begs Haji question
Talking of confidence, it’s amazing what a couple of goals have done for Ephron Mason-Clark who looks like a transformed player under Frank Lampard. Given a decent run of games in his best position on the left wing, largely due to the absence of Haji Wright through injury, the 25-year-old has grown in stature over the last few weeks.
He has a knack of drifting into the back post, where two of his three goals have come, and the way he beat two players – Lewie Coyle and Marvin Mehlem – to send in a pinpoint cross for Jack Rudoni to head home the winner was a joy to watch. Lampard has described him as a “raw” talent, but that particular bit of magic upgraded his post-match assessment to “top level play”.
What will be interesting is what happens when leading scorer Wright returns to fitness. Initially, the USA international is likely to work his way back into the team from the bench, given how long he will have been out, but if Mason-Clark continues to flourish in his current role then we might just see the striker fitting in down the middle.
