Frank Lampard stamping his mark but will quick Coventry City fix lead to permanent solution?
Two goals from Victor Torp ensured that Frank Lampard continued his unbeaten record at the CBS Arena as Coventry City beat Watford 2-1 in a feisty Championship contest.
The Dane converted his first from close range just after the half hour mark as the Sky Blues dominated the opening 45 minutes, and secured the three points – the head coach’s fifth home win in all competitions – 15 minutes from time with a superbly struck free-kick.
The result moved City up one place in the table to 12th, just six points off the play-off places. Here, Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner looks at some of the big talking points from the game.
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Just one grumble
The Sky Blues came so close – eight minutes to be exact – to another clean sheet and the fact that they couldn’t manage another shutout was the only disappointment on the day, the late Watford reply making for a tense end to the game rather than seeing it out with the luxury of a two goal cushion.
But, overall, City have tightened up since having four put past them by Portsmouth, keeping four clean sheets and conceding just four goals in their last seven league games since the horror show at Fratton Park. It’s a collective effort from front to back, of course, but a back three/five certainly seems to be a system that suits the players right now as Lampard has tightened up his team.
The centre-backs are working well together, reading and snuffing out the danger early and playing an effective off-side trap, while goalkeeper Oliver Dovin is full of confidence and again made a couple of key saves to play his part against the Hornets.
Will quick fix lead to permanent solution?
As effective as the current system is working, and all credit to Lampard for finding a way to stem the flow in the goals ‘against’ column, one can’t help thinking that it’s more of a temporary fix than permanent solution to the way City play.
The head coach is a huge fan of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto who has been a victim of the 3-5-2 formation's success, to a degree, having come out of the starting line-up in recent weeks and had to be content with going on as a second half impact sub. But as well as the exciting Japanese star, Lampard likes wingers and has talked openly about wanting to add to that area of the pitch during the January transfer window.
Added to that is the fact that Haji Wright, who has largely been deployed off the left, is due back early next month and Ephron Mason-Clark not much longer after, it will be really interesting to see how things pan out as the season goes on. The beauty of having a couple of systems that work well, of course, is being able to adapt and change to suit the circumstances and threats of the opposition with relative ease, able to morph seamlessly from one to another from one game to the next, or even within the same match.
Vic steps up
Victor Torp was the clear man of the match for the Sky Blues, not just for his game winning brace but his all-round game. He played two delightful balls into the box for a couple of early opportunities for Brandon Thomas-Asante and worked hard, getting up and down throughout the 90 minutes in his best game to date in a City shirt. It’s interesting that Lampard is now effectively playing with two number eights, with Jack Rudoni being the other and operating more to the left to balance off the Dane’s work on the right while the excellent Jamie Allen sits and patrols a bit deeper.
Rudoni had been deployed more as a ten, certainly earlier in the season, but the current system is proving really effective to make both him and Torp effective in the final third, whether that be providing assists or getting goals themselves.
The timing of Torp’s run for the first was impeccable and the technique for his second, outstanding as he lifted the ball over the wall and had the power to beat the Watford keeper in the top corner. Coming as his fourth consecutive start, the 25-year-old is finally starting to show his quality on a consistent basis and it couldn’t come at a better time with Ben Sheaf out injured.
City show their edge
It’s clear that Frank Lampard is beginning to stamp his mark on the team, and as well as the tactical and technical detail fans are beginning to see a bit more of an edge to the players in terms of their character, determination and aggression. There were one or two flashpoints in the game, as there was at Ewood Park in midweek where Jake Bidwell had a spat with Tyrhys Dolan.
Seeing Bobby Thomas steam across the pitch to go shoulder to shoulder at full pelt with a Watford player and get up off the deck and be congratulated by Liam Kitching – who loves a scrap – was a joy to behold. It kicked off later on, too, when Jack Rudoni spilled off the pitch resulting in another coming together and Norman Bassette wasting no time at all in getting involved as he was warming up on the sidelines. There just seems to have been a bit of a shift in attitude with the players really having each other’s backs now and refusing to be bullied.
Frank shaping up nicely
In terms of Lampard’s overall record to date, he’s guided the Sky Blues to seven wins (six Championship and one in the FA Cup ), three draws and three defeats, taking 21 points from a possible 36 from his first 12 league matches in charge – not a bad return at all. The victory over Watford comes as the first time City have strung three league wins together since March last season. It’s actually four straight wins, including the third round cup success over Sheffield Wednesday.
The team achieved the feat of four consecutive wins, including a cup game, on two occasions in 2023/24 but we have to go back to the previous season – the Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer inspired 2022/23 play-off final campaign – for the last time Coventry strung four straight wins together in the division. That has to be the challenge now, can the players equal that sequence at Swansea next weekend?
Although the Swans are going through a miserable run of form, City haven’t got the greatest record in South Wales where they have failed to win in their last 12 visits (six defeats and six draws), albeit dating back 75 years, with the last time the Sky Blues managed to take maximum points at their place coming in January 1950. Over to you, Frank, to buck that particularly unwelcome trend.
