What made Frank Lampard 'happy' as Coventry City put hardy souls through full gamut of emotions
Coventry City’s character and fighting spirit returned for almost the full 90 minutes at Carrow Road. Sadly, for the players and the 1,814 hardy souls who braved the trek east in freezing conditions to cheer on their team, they went through the full gamut of emotions.
Overall, they witnessed plenty to be proud about but five manic minutes of stoppage time put paid to any joyful return back along the A14 from a day that was going so well until the game ran into overtime. A narrow 1-0 win looked increasingly on the cards as the clock ticked down but, as deflating as Norwich’s equaliser was, a point away from home wouldn’t have been that bad considering it was an outstanding top corner finish from Canaries’ sub Amankwah Forson.
But to then switch off and crumble in the final few minutes when more experienced players would have managed the game and seen out the point, was pretty hard to take. Here, we take a look at some of the big talking points from the 2-1 defeat at Carrow Road.
READ MORE: Frank Lampard rues two key moments as Coventry City suffer stoppage time defeat at Norwich
READ MORE: Coventry City player ratings v Norwich
What made Lampard happy
Lampard’s game plan to tighten up and limit the threat from Norwich, particularly from Borja Sainz and Emiliano Marcondes down the left, seemed to be working reasonably well for the most part as the Sky Blues boss switched to a 3-5-2 formation with Joel Latbeaudiere at the right of the back three and working well with Milan van Ewijk at wing-back. There was a good shape to the side and the defence kept a far more disciplined line than at Cardiff where the off-side trap was breached far too freely.
They also showed plenty of aggression and determination to stand up against a decent side who like to dominate possession and knock the ball about well to create openings – the home side enjoying 24 goal scoring opportunities, including nine efforts on target. Despite their mid-table position from a disappointing start to the season by their recent standards, Norwich are still a very good side and City did really well to soak up the pressure and defend stoutly for the most part. That made the final goal all the more infuriating and deflating, having done so much and worked so hard throughout most of the game, only to throw it away at the death. A horrible way to lose a game of football.
Taking a pragmatic and positive overview of the game as a whole, Lampard said: “We showed lots of things that I really liked today in our performance and the nature of our performance. So we’ll take pluses from that. It’s a long season so when I see a performance like that it makes me happy. The result doesn’t but I’ll certainly deliver the positives to the players as we go through this week because as a base, the way we played today and the character we showed has to be the baseline, and then we can improve.”
Pivotal moments
Frank Lampard has often talked about his players not taking their chances in games in his first few weeks in charge. And while chances were few and far between for the Sky Blues who managed just six attempts on goal and two efforts on target, there was one glaring miss that proved to be a pivotal moment in the game.
It came in the 83rd minute when Brandon Thomas-Asante wriggled his way into the area with just the keeper to beat. Angus Gunn made himself big and narrowed the angle, seemingly enough to put off he striker who put his shot wide at the near post when he looked favourite to score to secure what would have been a brilliant away victory.
The summer signing from West Brom worked really hard in what was a rare start for the lad but it’s clear that he’s lacking confidence and still yet to show what he was brought to the club to do.
Another big moment came just before the winning goal when Joel Latibeaudiere went to ground, clearly looking for a foul, with Onel Hernandez bearing down on him outside the box, to the left of the goal. Alhough he had a decent game overall, the defender has to do better there, has to deal with the situation.
Confidence boost
One player, in contrast, who continued to grow in confidence and stature was goalkeeper Oliver Dovin who made two or three excellent saves to keep his side in the game. He had no chance for the equaliser – a pinpoint top corner finish – and the winner which took a deflection.
But overall he had a decent game and is starting to look the talented stopper the club recruited in the summer. He’s starting to add consistency to his game – something the team have been crying out for in that position since Ben Wilson’s stellar campaign from a few years back.
Returning pair give Frank food for thought
Lampard handed starts to both Liam Kitching and Jamie Allen for the first time since taking charge of the club, and both will have impressed the City boss. Centre-half Kitching was aggressive and no-nonsense in his approach – qualities that have been sorely missed at the back this season – and also reminded us of his goal threat when he sent an early diving header to test the keeper, albeit from an off-side position.
He arguably helped Bobby Thomas lift his game and it will be interesting to see whether the big money signing from Barnsley did enough to keep his place, if, as expected, the head coach reverts to his preferred back four next time out. The fact that the next game is in the FA Cup may well play in his favour, but his performance will certainly have given Lampard food for thought.
Midfielder Allen, meanwhile, showed his value in terms of his impressive work-rate, tactical discipline and football brain. Allen may not be a fan favourite but his contribution is always recognised by his managers, whether that was Mark Robins or now Lampard. And his return to prominence after a spell as an unused or bit-part sub couldn’t have come at a better time given the fact that Ben Sheaf left he field with a calf injury, the extent of which we are yet to learn.
