Coventry City vs Bristol City. Sky Bet Championship.
The Coventry Building Society ArenaAttendance19,855.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Coventry and Bristol City at the Coventry Building Society Arena as the 10-man Sky Blues came from behind twice before Matty Godden struck a late winner
Saturday 6 November 2021 20:14, UK
Matty Godden's double earned 10-man Coventry a last-gasp 3-2 win at home to Bristol City.
The forward scored an added-time winner as the Sky Blues twice came from behind, having seen Ian Maatsen sent off in the first half.
Godden's two goals were accompanied by Callum O'Hare's first goal of the season, the former Aston Villa midfielder levelling things up at 2-2 after Chris Martin and Andreas Weimann had scored for the visitors.
It meant a first win in three home games for Mark Robins' side after defeat to Swansea in midweek, while Bristol City have now lost five of their last six in the Sky Bet Championship and conceded three goals in each of their last three away games.
The home side could have opened the scoring inside the first minute after George Tanner gave the ball away to Gustavo Hamer and the Brazilian forced an acrobatic save from goalkeeper Daniel Bentley from long range.
Coventry were the better side throughout the first half, Bentley saving Michael Rose's header, while Hamer, Maatsen and O'Hare also saw their shots well blocked by the Bristol City back-line.
The match exploded into life at the end of the half when Maatsen hauled down Callum O'Dowda as the winger tried to connect with Martin's through-ball and was sent off for the first time in his career.
Martin stepped up and dispatched the penalty by sending former Robins 'keeper Simon Moore the wrong way and the Coventry man saved brilliantly before the half was over to prevent Martin doubling the lead before the break.
Robins switched to a back four for the second half and it paid immediate dividends when Viktor Gyokeres was bundled over in the box by Zak Vyner.
Coventry were adamant the defender should have suffered the same fate as Maatsen, but referee Jeremy Simpson disagreed.
Godden squeezed his penalty under Bentley to equalise, but the visitors were in front again after 68 minutes.
Moore could not hold on to Tyreeq Bakinson's long-range effort and experienced campaigner Martin was on hand to square the ball for Weimann to tap home from two yards.
The lead lasted just six minutes as a corner fell to O'Hare inside the box and the midfielder found the bottom corner through a crowd of bodies to net his first goal of the season.
The visitors almost went ahead for a third time when Martin's shot whistled wide, while Tyler Walker threatened Bentley's left-hand post.
But it was Godden who sent the home fans into raptures when he latched on to Liam Kelly's through-ball and fired into the far corner to seal the Sky Blues the three points in the second minute of injury-time.
Coventry's Mark Robins: "It's a phenomenal, phenomenal performance and a fantastic result at the end of it. Second half we were talking about not being out of the game and making sure they knew we could win the game. They were in good spirits and they were really brave, stuck at it and grew into the game with quality."
"The fact Liam Kelly came on shored us up and gave us scope to get Callum (O'Hare) and Ben (Sheaf) higher up the field. When it got back to 2-2 we said, 'Don't consolidate, let's go for the jugular and see if we can get something'. I thought we were decent first half until the last 30 seconds of it. We were good and had control of the game, moving the ball really well at times, but we were scruffy and didn't create a massive amount."
Bristol City assistant Curtis Fleming: "At the moment it's a bit of anger, a bit staggered. Probably a little bit raw, so you're trying to keep the emotions inside, but the emotions came out in the dressing room after the game. For me, it was disappointing because we were 2-1 up against 10. We can talk about age and inexperience but it doesn't matter.
"We should have really enjoyed that today, been strong and confident, but we seemed to sit back 2-1 up against 10 men and they looked the better team. It's something we need to keep working on - how much do we really want it? How much do we want to be professional footballers? Because this is what it is, this is the game - there is no hiding away from it. You have to walk out in front of 25,000 people and you've got to put your soul, head and body on the line."
