Sunderland ends Coventry curse to edge ahead
Sunderland ended an 18-year hoodoo at Coventry City in the first leg of their EFL Championship play-off semi-final, coming away from CBS Arena with a 2-1 advantage ahead of next week's decisive second leg.
After a cagey first half of few clear cut chances, the game exploded into life in the second period, but ultimately Frank Lampard's Sky Blues were made to pay for not doing enough with the 75 per cent of possession they held across the 90 minutes.
Sunderland, which came into the match on the back of five straight defeats, defended resolutely throughout, and twice caught Lampard's side on the counter to earn its victory.
Wilson Isidor broke the deadlock in the 68th minute with a cool finish on the break, sending the travelling Black Cats support into wild celebrations.
That jubilation came to an abrupt end, however, when Jack Rudoni powered a header home at the other end just two minutes later to level matters, and his goal seemed to have given the hosts the momentum they'd been looking for.
But with just two minutes of normal time left, a catastrophic mistake from Milan van Ewijk gifted Sunderland the lead again.
His weak backpass was pounced upon by Eliezer Mayenda, who carried the ball towards Coventry's goal and calmly rounded goalkeeper Anthony Patterson to slot into an empty net.
The result was Sunderland's first win over Coventry in almost two decades, and gives it a handy advantage ahead of the Sky Blues' visit to The Stadium of Light next week, when a place in the Wembley final against either Sheffield United or Bristol City will be decided.
