Coventry returned to the top of the Championship as Haji Wright's hat-trick saw them beat Middlesbrough 3-1.

Having been knocked off top spot last Monday night after spending the previous four months at the summit, Frank Lampard's side responded brilliantly to see off in-form Boro and move a point clear of their promotion rivals.

The Sky Blues are, more importantly, six points clear of Millwall in third, and eight ahead of Ipswich in fourth - the latter of whom have two games in hand.

For Middlesbrough, it is the end of their six-game winning run under Kim Hellberg, and comfortably the most comprehensive defeat of his tenure so far.

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Wright the star as Coventry return to form

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It was a night that didn't start quite so spectacularly for Wright. Less than two minutes in and he missed a glorious opportunity to give Coventry the lead as he headed against the post.

But he made up for it on 21 minutes as he steered Jack Rudoni's cross past Sol Brynn, before beating the Boro goalkeeper again on 52 minutes - when Carl Rushworth's long punt upfield found the striker.

Boro responded on 67 minutes as Riley McGree emphatically fired in after the ball fell into his path in the box. But any nerves that may have been building at the CBS Arena were dispelled just 17 seconds after the restart when Matt Targett handled a cross in the box.

It was up to Wright again to step up, and he buried his penalty into the bottom corner to seal a vital win for Coventry in their bid to reach the Premier League.

Lampard: 'That was a big one for us'

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Coventry boss Frank Lampard on Sky Sports:

"It's a massive performance from the lads. They are a good team which is why they've done what they've done recently. We worked all week off the ball. We wanted to press and be very high, and the lads followed that brilliantly.

"Second half we went into more of a block and gave them problems that way. That was a big one for us tonight.

"It was a real team performance. The effort, the tactical discipline, the way we played off the ball, that was something we worked on all week. I felt it was important to get that back into our game."

'When you're being questioned, score a hat-trick!'

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Sky Sports' Clinton Morrison:

"An unbelievable performance. There was big pressure on Coventry coming into this evening.

"We spoke about the strikers struggling beforehand but Wright was outstanding. That's the best way to respond - when people are talking about not scoring goals, you go and score a hat-trick.

"They were brilliant from the off. A thoroughly deserved and huge three points."

'A fantastic night for Wright'

Sky Sports' Andy Hinchcliffe:

"It was a brilliant hat-trick on a fantastic night for him. Composed finishing. He didn't let that early missed chance impact him. He showed incredible mental strength.

"It's all about Coventry, how they approached it differently from half to half and got it right in both as well. Wright takes all the credit for his hat-trick, but Coventry - to a man - were outstanding.

"They deservedly win the game, go back to the top of the table and that's a massive psychological boost for them."

Hellberg frustrated but says Boro will go again in promotion race

Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg on Sky Sports:

"They were a little bit better than us in the first half. We don't get out with the balls, they can get into duels, we don't take the ball forward when we have the chance so it goes with a lot of duels and they're getting out with some.

"We started the second half brilliantly, then we conceded a goal from nowhere for 2-0. We continued playing good football for 2-1 then we get the penalty directly after that so it's a little bit tough.

"We should do some things better, we should take the ball forward more in the first half. We invited too many duels and with the home crowd and other things, that gets out with some more balls.

"It's not many chances but they score one and then the goals in the second half come in a bad situation for us.

"It's a long way [in the promotion race], there are 14 games left, I think, and there will be a lot of ups and downs. We know that and talked about it in the locker room - go again."

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