Coventry City vs Tranmere Rovers. Sky Bet League One.
St. Andrew's StadiumAttendance5,658.
Report and highlights as Tranmere climb out of the relegation zone with first away win of the season
Sunday 13 October 2019 14:55, UK
Corey Blackett-Taylor struck a dramatic late winner as Tranmere stunned Coventry 1-0 with a smash-and-grab victory at St. Andrew’s.
Blackett-Taylor punished Coventry's wasteful finishing when he hammered a stunning winner - Tranmere's first and only shot on target - home seven minutes from time.
Coventry dominated throughout but could not convert any of their 19 attempts on goal, with captain Matt Godden going closest when he struck the post in the second half.
And Coventry paid the price as Blackett-Taylor's strike condemned them to back-to-back League One defeats for the first time this season, while Tranmere moved out of the relegation zone and opened up a three-point buffer between themselves and the drop zone.
It took just four minutes for Coventry to carve through struggling Tranmere's defence as Liam Walsh's lofted pass released Jordy Hiwula through on goal, but his sliced first-time volley nestled on the roof of the net.
Coventry posed the greater attacking threat but their lack of quality at the crucial moments allowed Tranmere to bed themselves in and frustrate. And the visitors were nearly given a helping hand on 29 minutes when Michael Rose's overhit back pass nearly caught goalkeeper Marko Marosi out, but he adjusted his feet in the nick of time to prevent the opening goal.
Coventry turned the screw before the interval, but Godden failed to convert two heading opportunities in quick succession before the hosts saw strong appeals for a penalty declined, despite Walsh's ball in from the right clearly striking Liam Ridehalgh's arm in the box.
The Coventry pressure continued after the break and it appeared only to be a matter of time before they made the breakthrough. Godden blazed a volley over on 49 minutes and then had another claim for a penalty turned down when Kieron Morris' challenge was deemed to be outside of the area.
Coventry created four chances in a four-minute frenzy on the hour. Godden steered the first wide with a header before his curling shot struck the post. Hiwula then fired a shot wide and just when it seemed the hosts had finally made the breakthrough, Hiwula had an effort chalked off for offside.
And Coventry were made to pay on 83 minutes when Blackett-Taylor latched onto Morris' flick and drilled a fine left-footed effort past goalkeeper Marosi that knocked the wind out of Sky Blue sails.
Micky Mellon: "The finish is a fantastic finish. It stayed hit, as they say, and flew into the bottom corner. It was a terrific goal for us. The result is massive. We believe if we keep improving the players, they will get results like they have today which are needed to stay in League One."
Mark Robins: "If you don't take your chances, there is always a danger of that happening. It's a great finish, outstanding. We were in control of the game up until that point and we are hurting because we are better than that. There were elements of the game that were really good and elements that weren't, so there is plenty to work on."
Picked up a knock moments before Blackett-Taylor's winning goal but produced a flawless display in defence and attack that would have yielded a hatful of assists had his Coventry team-mates had their shooting boots on.
Tranmere host Southend on Friday at 7.45pm and Coventry travel to MK Dons on Saturday at 3pm.
