Matt Godden returns to Coventry starting line-up with equaliser in Luton draw

Posted Sunday, February 12, 2023 by PA

Matt Godden marked his first start since October with a first-half equaliser as 10-man Coventry battled to a 1-1 Championship draw with Luton at the CBS Arena.

The striker had been sidelined for almost four months with an ankle injury but stepped up to score a penalty to earn the Sky Blues a point.

Luton, who were aiming for a fourth win in succession, had taken the lead through Tom Lockyer inside the first minute.

Meanwhile, Manchester City loanee Joshua Wilson-Esbrand was sent off in the closing stages on his first Sky Blues start.

The Championship high flyers were ahead after just 38 seconds when Lockyer stabbed home his first league goal of the season.

A short throw-in gave Alfie Doughty the chance to whip in a left-footed cross from the right and the Wales international stuck out a leg to divert the ball past Ben Wilson.

Coventry started to move the ball with much more ease after the opening 10 minutes and Godden’s dummy freed Viktor Gyokeres to work an opening, but Ethan Horvath sprawled away to his right to parry his effort to safety.

From the corner, Kyle McFadzean hooked the ball wide on his first appearance since November.

It was a refreshed Sky Blues line-up that included skipper McFadzean, alongside a first Coventry start for wing-back Wilson-Esbrand and a first start since 10 December for Josh Eccles.

But it was Godden who had been out the longest and capped his first start since mid-October by levelling on the stroke of half-time.

The striker took down Callum Doyle’s cross-field pass and crossed for Gyokeres, who looked like he was about to tap City level before he was hauled down by Gabriel Osho.

Osho was issued just a yellow card by referee Stephen Martin as punishment before Godden stepped up to score for the first time since a brace against Hull in August.

It was a bruising first half in which neither side took a backward step, as a crowd of over 20,000 fans enjoyed both teams going toe-to-toe.

The hosts came agonisingly close to a second home victory in a row when Kasey Palmer’s curling effort hit the crossbar with Horvath scrambling across goal.

Wilson’s heroics prevented the Hatters from taking all three points back down the M1 when he threw himself to his right to prevent Cauley Woodrow’s goal-bound header, before thwarting the striker seconds later when he was allowed time and space in the box.

And after a difficult afternoon, Wilson-Esbrand was then shown a second yellow card inside the last five minutes for an ugly, mistimed challenge on substitute Fred Onyedinma.