Coventry City’s impressive comeback in the final minutes surprised top-ranked Leicester City, who were ultimately defeated despite having one player advantage. Callum O’Hare’s two goals and Milan van Ewijk’s goal led the Sky Blues to a 3-1 victory.
O’Hare’s 79th-minute strike hauled them level, after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s controversial penalty gave the visitors the lead, before the midfielder netted late following Van Ewijk’s effort two minutes from time.
The Sky Blues were livid about the penalty call, but found some solace in Abdul Fatawu’s red card just before halftime.
Leicester suffered their first loss in 11 Championship matches as Coventry continues to fight for a spot in the playoffs.
Previously, both teams denounced individuals who displayed banners on the M69 highway that mocked the passing of former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and harassed supporters of Leicester.
Since December, the hosts had only suffered one loss and went on a seven-game undefeated streak, bringing them close to qualifying for the play-offs. The Sky Blues capitalized on this confidence and attacked Leicester early on, nearly scoring after six minutes. O’Hare was actively involved in regaining possession for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, who skillfully got past James Justin before Mads Hermansen’s shot hit the post.
One minute prior to the shot from Matty Godden, the ball was curled towards Hermansen, while Kasey Palmer’s shot went wide soon after. The Foxes had not yet found their momentum. Leicester had not lost a game since November, but they were recently defeated by Leeds and Middlesbrough and had only dropped four points since then. However, they were caught off guard by Coventry’s energetic playing style.
Godden’s shot was deflected and went wide as the Sky Blues kept up their pressure. However, Leicester gave a warning just 10 minutes before halftime. Dewsbury-Hall did some good work to help the Foxes break, and when he passed to Mavididi, who then passed back to him, he set up Casadei for a shot. Unfortunately, the shot was just inches wide.
In the latter part of the first half, there was a moment of excitement when O’Hare had an opportunity, but was unable to make a connection. Van Ewijk made a mistake and Dewsbury-Hall took advantage by chasing after the ball. Bobby Thomas then aggressively went in for the challenge, ultimately winning the ball, but accidentally catching the Leicester player with his follow-through.
The referee, Darren England, signaled for a penalty and Dewsbury-Hall successfully fooled Brad Collins in the opposite direction at the 44th minute mark.
If the guests believed that they would easily make it through the first half, they were wrong. Fatawu, who had been cautioned by Wout Faes to calm down earlier, fouled Jake Bidwell in stoppage time and received a red card.
Coventry attempted to take advantage, but Godden squandered a great opportunity by heading Van Ewijk’s cross at Hermansen 10 minutes into the second half.
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Coventry had difficulty posing a threat while Leicester had to rely on them to create opportunities, however, despite having an extra player, Mark Robins’ team had trouble finding motivation until O’Hare scored with only 11 minutes remaining.
Ellis Simms and Jay Dasilva, who replaced other players, worked together to assist O’Hare in scoring a low curling shot from 12 yards.
Coventry aggressively pursued a win and managed to take the lead in the 88th minute. Sakamoto’s corner was not fully cleared and van Ewijk was able to score from the edge of the box, finding the bottom corner.
There was enough time remaining for O’Hare to score a third goal during stoppage time, completing the comeback.
Source: theguardian.com
