Coventry 0-1 Burnley: Nathan Tella seals win for Clarets
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Coventry and Burnley at the Coventry Building Society Arena as Nathan Tella scored the only goal of the game in a narrow Clarets win.
Saturday 8 October 2022 19:01, UK
Nathan Tella's fifth goal of the season moved Burnley within two points of the Championship promotion places after a 1-0 win against Coventry City.
The Southampton loanee struck in the first half to give the Clarets just their second win in six games, but maintained their record of losing just once this season.
Meanwhile, Coventry remain bottom of the table as the Sky Blues tasted defeat for the first time in five league games.
The most notable of Burnley's three changes were in goal, where Bailey Peacock-Farrell started for the Clarets for the first time since May 2021 in place of the injured Aro Muric, whilst summer signing Anass Zaroury was handed his first Clarets start in place of Manuel Benson.
Ian Maatsen returned at left-back for Vincent Kompany's men against the side where he spent last season on loan from Chelsea, meaning Vitinho switched to right-back whilst Connor Roberts dropped to the bench.
Coventry's sole change saw Tyler Walker given his second start of the season in place of Matty Godden.
In the first meeting of the sides since 2012, Burnley took early control of possession and had the first half-chance through Josh Cullen, who scuffed his half-volley wide after Maatsen's cross was cleared by Kyle McFadzean.
Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis looked to be a threat from set-pieces for the visitors, the defender getting on the end of corners from both Maatsen and Josh Brownhill as the Dutch defender spent the afternoon being booed by the home faithful.
Burnley arrived at the CBS Arena with seven draws to their name in their opening 12 Sky Bet Championship games, six of which had come by means of a 1-1 scoreline.
It was Brownhill who was next to try his luck, firing high and wide before the visitors became the first side to beat Coventry's defence in over six hours of football.
Cullen received the ball in his own half and clipped a forward pass in the direction of Tella. The Southampton loanee skillfully took the ball in his stride before firing across Ben Wilson, who conceded for the first time since a 2-2 draw with Luton despite getting a hand to the winger's effort.
Mark Robins' side had themselves drawn three of their last four games and almost provided an instant reply when Jonathan Panzo met Kasey Palmer's header but his corner bounced back from the underside of the bar and away to safety.
The relegated Premier League outfit enjoyed 67 per cent possession in the first half and mustered eight shots as they came out looking to double their lead.
Top scorer Jay Rodriguez fired into the side netting when Zaroury looked a more appealing option for a square pass at the back post.
Robins rang the changes on the hour mark, introducing Michael Rose, Josh Eccles, Fabio Tavares and Godden, opting for a 4-3-3 formation to get back into the game.
But it was Burnley who looked more likely to grab the second and avoid adding to their tally of 10 points dropped from winning positions this season.
Zaroury's cross found Vitinho at the back post, whose header did not quite fall cleanly enough for Rodriguez to get a shot off inside the six-yard box.
Goalscorer Tella then found Brownhill in the centre of the pitch before the midfielder slipped in Belgian winger Zaroury, but summer signing could only curl past Wilson's far post.
Todd Kane came on for his first Sky Blues appearance since the final day of last season and came closest for the home side with five minutes to go but his effort sailed wide of Peacock-Farrell's goal.
What the managers said...
Coventry's Mark Robins: "It's one ball over the top, we can't get done like that. We make mistakes, every team makes mistakes but if you make a mistake it doesn't cost everybody a goal - but when we make a mistake it seems to cost us a goal or a big chance. They're a good side, they were exactly what we expected but our performance was actually pretty good.
"They pin teams in and put a lot of players in your back line. They've got loads of pace, if you counter against them they've got pace to run back, they're a really good side. But to concede the goal we did against them was really disappointing from our perspective. We've been okay and limited them to not a lot, we've hit the underside of the crossbar for the second time in two games and it hasn't gone over the line."
Burnley's Vincent Kompany: "It was the ideal script. I'm not saying that's what I wanted before the game. I would have preferred again to have put the game behind us and we weren't capable of doing it today. But then given what happened midweek (conceding a late equaliser to Stoke), it was the ideal script, the last 10 minutes you have to battle it out.
"That is what the Championship does for you. You don't get any time to dwell. You've got to take the learning, learn from your pains, put it behind you and move on. I spoke a lot about the habit of leading and it is a good thing rather than being in the habit of chasing games."
