What Frank Lampard 'didn't like' about Coventry City's away win at Blackburn Rovers
Frank Lampard was more than happy with his Coventry City players’ win from a performance that he said was far from their best, particularly in a drab first half at fifth placed Blackburn Rovers.
Ellis Simms gave the Sky Blues the lead just before the break at Ewood Park and then Brandon Thomas-Asante – a January target for Rovers – scored a second three minutes into the second period as City ran out 2-0 winners on the night.
“I’m delighted with the result, for sure, the performance and elements of it, particularly seeing out the game well and taking chances which have been things that we’ve previously bemoaned," said the head coach in his post-match assessment.
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“We weren’t at our best, certainly the first 20 minutes or so when I didn’t like us. That can happen but it’s important that you stay in the game at those points and get something that we deserved, which we haven’t maybe been getting lately when we have been creating chances and not scoring.
“I am really pleased in the circumstances, difficult place to come, a Tuesday night away from home and there was a really good spirit about the team. There’s a lot still to improve but overall I am happy.”
Chances were few and far between in the first half with only one attempt and Simms’ goal coming as the first on target in the 41st minute while Oliver Dovin made two important saves to keep City in the game.
“Yeah, we weren’t moving the ball well enough and we wanted to be confident on the ball and play it forward," said Lampard. "We handed it over too many times and gave them momentum that we didn’t need to. The pitch is not fantastic but that’s no excuse, we have to play better than we did in the first half an hour.
“But the goal really helped and gave us the feeling of confidence and we get another clean sheet that we’re looking for. That’s four in our last seven now and Ollie gets a special mention because he played his part in that, but it’s a collective. The attitude of the team to defend was good. Sometimes you can be lucky but the defensive structure was good in the box, and there was quite a lot of that.
“But I’m not getting carried away, it’s more the feeling of what this night means, the details weren’t perfect but when you come away with a win against a team who are in the play-offs then that means something and helps carry it forward.”
