Mark Robins labels last two matches ‘must-win’ as Coventry move into top six
Posted Sunday, April 23, 2023 by PA
Coventry manager Mark Robins believes his side have put themselves in an enviable position after a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Reading moved them into the Championship play-off places.
For the first time since relegation from the Premier League in 2001, Sky Blues fans can dream of a return to the top flight, with their team in the top six going into the final two weeks of the season.
They arguably made life more difficult than it needed to be against the Royals, as they had plenty of opportunities to add to the goals scored by Matt Godden and Gustavo Hamer.
Fortunately for them, their wastefulness did not prove costly against a Reading side who are still one point adrift of safety and running out of time in their efforts to avoid the drop.
Robins said: “I think others would swap results with us today. At this stage of the season, you’ve got to win.
“Today was must-win, next week (against Birmingham) will be a must-win, and the one after that at Middlesbrough will be a must-win, no doubt.
“There are other teams there that have still got an advantage, but we’re in there with a shout, which is brilliant going into the last home game of the season.
“It’s all to play for, recovery is very important and we’ll wrap them up in cotton wool.
“I think in the first half we played pretty well, we moved the ball, we created chances, we should have been ahead before we were.
“We kept playing, kept creating chances, Viktor (Gyokeres) hit the post before half-time and it should have been more – he’s had a few chances today where he’s gone through and had too much time to think about it.”
Gyokeres had a great opportunity for Coventry after 18 minutes, but he took himself too wide before his eventual shot was blocked by Joe Lumley.
But the breakthrough arrived for the Sky Blues in the 36th minute when Hamer lofted the ball into the area for Godden, who hooked a neat finish into the bottom corner.
After Gyokeres struck an upright just before the break, Lucas Joao levelled for Reading six minutes into the second half with a superb curling effort from outside the area.
However, Hamer restored the hosts’ lead just three minutes later, with both him and Gyokeres going on to spurn chances that would have made the result more comfortable.
Reading’s efforts to find a second equaliser were not helped by a pitch invader from the home end during stoppage time, which frustrated interim boss Noel Hunt.
He said: “Some idiot came on to the pitch and football doesn’t want to see it, really.
“If you want to get on the pitch, work hard every day like these boys do, put their bodies on the line and make yourself a career. Otherwise stay in the stand and clap and cheer.
“I don’t understand how you can have 10 stewards with one man and they can’t get him off the pitch – it was absolutely pathetic to be honest.”
On how his team performed, Hunt said: “I thought we were the better side in the second half.
“They got a couple of breakaways because we’re trying to get back into the game.
“But if we stay on that page of front-foot football, it gives us a good chance for next week (against Wigan).”
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