Coventry City match analysis from CoventryLive, as Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner covers some of the main talking points from Boxing Day.
The Sky Blues won their eighth consecutive home game at the CBS Arena, putting them 13 points clear of third place halfway through the season.
Frank Lampard’s side took all three points when Mason-Clark swiveled cleverly in the box to slam home after Milan van Ewijk sent one of his trademark long throws into the danger zone.
The victory extended Coventry’s lead over second-placed Middlesbrough, who were held at home by Blackburn Rovers. Here are some of the major talking points from the holiday triumph.
Coventry defeated Swansea 1-0 on Boxing Day, marking their first victory in the West Midlands in ten games since the early 1980s.
The tide began to change last season when Frank Lampard led the Sky Blues to their first win in South Wales in 13 years, dating back to January 1950.
And they followed that up with a hard-fought victory at CBS Arena.
Sky Blues smokescreen
After scoring an astonishing 50 goals in their first 18 games, City managed none against Ipswich and only one in each of their past four, as finding the back of the net has suddenly become much more difficult at the halfway point of the season.
Instead, the focus has shifted to the defensive end of the pitch, where the Sky Blues have demonstrated amazing grit in securing close victories, most notably clinging on for a point with 10 men at Southampton last week. However, the past two home games have resulted in narrow 1-0 victories over Bristol City and now Swansea, in which the home team has had to defend tenaciously amid nerve-racking moments.
“It might have been a bit of a smokescreen of winning games and scoring loads of goals in the early part of the season,” pointed out Lampard.
“Everyone anticipates that, and it is not football because teams aim to make things difficult for you. They’ll stay in the game, and if you’re not clinical at one end, you’ll constantly face a threat, just like Swansea did against us.
“So I’m glad we worked things out the way we did. If we want to be successful this year, we’ll have to attempt to get results in those types of games, which I believe we’ve done here and at Bristol City recently. So, sure, I’m happy with that feeling, and now we just need to heal well.”
Simms-Wright discussion
Ellis Simms scored five goals in four starts in November before losing his place to fit-again Haji Wright at Preston, and he also appeared on the bench against Bristol City and Southampton in the following two games.
However, he was back in the starting lineup against Swansea, where he had one clear-cut chance to add to his eight goals this season, but was denied by a good stop from Swansea goalie Lawrence Vigouroux.
Some argued that his selection was warranted after Wright’s energy/commitment levels declined against the Saints, but when asked about his reasoning for the change, Lampard replied: “Just pure rotation at a hectic period. It’s significant in all four games. I don’t have as many rotations on the flanks in terms of true wingers, but I do in some areas, and we’ll have to attempt to manage minutes here throughout this period because the games will come and go. I know everyone is doing the same thing, but we will have to control them as we go.”
Lamps laughed aside the January question.
The Sky Blues have 51 points after 23 games, marking the halfway point of the season following an outstanding first half of the 2025/26 campaign.
However, with illness, injuries, and a three-game suspension to deal with, Lampard’s team appears thinner than ever and in dire need of assistance to secure the second half of the season.
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