Mark Robins delighted to see off Southend in testing conditions
Posted Sunday, February 16, 2020 by PA
Coventry manager Mark Robins was pleased to get the better of the conditions and Southend to move into the League One automatic-promotion places.
City surged up to second in the table, level on points with leaders Rotherham, with a 2-0 win at Roots Hall following goals from substitutes Callum O’Hare and Maxime Biamou.
And Robins was happy to grind out a deserved victory.
“It’s a great result,” said Robins, whose side have now won their last four league games.
“The conditions weren’t great but we got the job done. We hit the post and bar three times and we were knocking on the door.
“The tempo wasn’t there to begin with so we needed to up the tempo but also try to carry on probing.
“They got on top a little bit in some of the early exchanges of the second half but the changes made a difference by coming on and killing the game off.
“So I’m delighted with the three points and that we’ve sent the fans home happy.”
The Sky Blues were denied by the woodwork on three occasions.
Robins’ side came close to opening the scoring in the 28th minute when Jordan Shipley struck the outside of the left post.
Liam Walsh then curled a 25-yard free-kick against the crossbar before City broke the deadlock on the hour mark when O’Hare ran from deep before sending a low effort into the bottom right-hand corner.
With City remaining on top, Sam McCallum curled a free-kick against the top of the crossbar before the visitors doubled their lead in the 79th minute with Biamou on target.
The Frenchman shrugged off the attentions of Shrimpers defender Miles Mitchell-Nelson before firing a 12-yard shot into the bottom corner.
Second-bottom Southend rarely threatened at the other end of the field and were unable to register a single shot on target.
But boss Sol Campbell felt his young Shrimpers side, which included five academy products in the starting line-up, gave it their best shot.
“We had a really good go at it and got into some good positions,” said Campbell.
“We had some really key moments and good chances but we wanted to make it too perfect it seemed.
“We should be troubling their keeper but we didn’t. In the end Coventry’s extra quality told.
“We have so many players who are under 20 but they’re playing their socks off and working really hard.
“They stood up for the majority of the game but Coventry brought on more players and have good quality which told.”
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