Mark Robins: Viktor Gyokeres hungry for more goals after scoring Coventry winner

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2023 by PA

Mark Robins says Viktor Gyokeres is hungry for more goals after the Sweden international marked his 100th Coventry appearance with the winner as the Sky Blues beat Sunderland 2-1.

Gyokeres teed up Jamie Allen in the first half before scoring for the third consecutive game as Coventry made it three wins on the bounce.

Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo scored a late consolation for the Black Cats but Sunderland could not prevent a second defeat in as many outings.

“He is not finished there, that’s for sure,” said Coventry boss Robins. “He is going to be hungry for more goals between now and the end of the season.

“He deserves everything he gets because he works really hard. You’ve got a squad that is working hard to create chances for him.

“It’s a team game. You can’t do it on your own but sometimes he can turn a game and do something out of nothing.”

After wins against Millwall and Rotherham in their previous two games, a third consecutive success on Saturday lunchtime took the Sky Blues to within two points of the play-off places before the 3pm kick-offs.

Robins said: “We thoroughly deserved the three points. They had the lion’s share of possession but we worked really hard to create the chances.

“It was a really tough game and a hard-earned three points. They are one of the best sides we have played here.

“From our perspective, this result puts us in a really good position. It has been a long time coming, trying to get consistent wins.

“In possession they are one of the best teams we’ve played with Clarke, Roberts, Diallo and Gelhardt. They are physically strong players, really hungry to do well.

“We were really good at limiting their chances and we waited for our moments and there are quite a few really good chances that have fallen to Viktor.

“The second goal is a brilliant goal. Viktor deserves the goal for the way he has worked.”

A frustrated Tony Mowbray claimed there were plenty of positives for his side, who could have taken the lead when Danny Batth hit the bar inside the opening 10 minutes, while Ben Wilson beat away Trai Hume’s well-struck effort.

“There were lots of positives for us but you’ve got to put the ball in the opposition net,” said Mowbray. “Negatives were that we probably weren’t positive enough around the opposition box.

“We came up against a team who play transitional football, they’ve probably got one of the best strikers in the league, you can feel his threat on the transition but there’s no pressure on us, we’re happy enough that the team perform at the level.”