Slow start costs Sunderland against Coventry City as Cats suffer 1-0 defeat

A narrow defeat serves as a significant blow to their automatic promotion hopes. Matty Godden gave his side the lead inside two minutes and from thereafter his side defended resolutely, holding onto the lead that takes them top of the League One table and six points clear of the Black Cats.

They also have a game-in-hand still to play.

Sunderland piled on the pressure late on but could find no way through, seeing an effort ruled out for offside after Luke O’Nien deflected a Max Power strike into the bottom corner.

Both sides had come into the game knowing that it had the feel of a seismic afternoon in the race for promotion from League One.

Oxford United had squeezed the gap and increased the pressure from below the play-offs by continuing their fine form with a crucial win over Southend United on Saturday.

Elsewhere, however, the majority of teams at the top had dropped points and so in terms of the automatic positions, the door was firmly open.

Sunderland knew that three points would take them into the top for the first time since their 1-1 draw with Burton Albion at the Stadium of Light back in early April last year.

Parkinson had urged his side to play on the front foot and seize the initiative at St Andrews, but as had been the case against Fleetwood days previous, a slow start left them chasing the game.

A sloppy pass from Tom Flanagan allowed Coventry to launch an early attack, and when Max Power and Chris Maguire missed the chance to clear their lines, the pitch had opened up for the home side.

Flanagan and Alim Ozturk were drawn towards the ball, with Jamie Allen looking certain to shoot from the edge of the area. The midfielder showed terrific composure to instead play a pass into the box, and Matty Godden needed just one touch to compose himself before firing into the top corner.

Godden’s return to fitness has been crucial in Coventry’s surge towards the box, and it was that clinical edge that left Sunderland with a huge amount of work to do.

They did begin to settle, getting up the pitch and attempting to disrupt the passing game of their opponents.

It made for an exciting game initially, the home side determined to play out from the back, Sunderland taking their own risks by committing bodies to the press and hoping to catch them out.

They went close when Wyke nicked the ball near the edge of the area, flashing an opportunistic effort just wide of the far post.

They should have equalised 20 minutes in when Maguire floated a good free kick towards the back post. Flanagan had made a good run and was left completely unmarked, but could only volley his effort well over the crossbar.

Though they were seeing more of the ball and the better of the territory, it was only at set pieces that the Black Cats were offering a serious threat.

They went close again after half an hour when Maguire this time whipped a corner to the near post, where Wyke headed it over.

Coventry were creating little, a couple of hopeful long-range efforts from Callum O’Hare their only other meaningful efforts in the half, but they went into break relatively comfortable, dealing easily with many of the long balls that were fired up towards their three centre-halves.

A frenetic beginning to the second half left Parkinson urging his side to settle down on the touchline.

The Black Cats had stepped up the tempo but some poor decisions in possession had left Coventry with some promising openings to break into dangerous areas. They had a good chance to extend their lead when a free kick from the right flank dropped for Liam Kelly at the back post, but his connection was poor and the ball flew harmlessly wide.

The game was finely poised, Sunderland pushing forward with Coventry happy to try and absorb the pressure, breaking at pace when the opportunities arose.

Sunderland were applying plenty of pressure but it was again Kelly who had the best chance to score, firing over after a good move from his team-mates.

Coventry broke again shortly after, the superb Allen again finding space in a dangerous area. His effort was well saved by McLaughlin, and Parkinson then moved quickly to introduce Kyle Lafferty. His impact was immediate, playing an excellent pass to free Power down the right. His cros to the centre of the box was good, but Wyke could only head straight at Marosi in the Coventry goal.

Lafferty was causing problems for Coventry and the Black Cats thought they were level when an effort from Max Power was deflected into the bottom corner.

Sunderland celebrated wildly but after consulting with his linesman, the referee ruled it out for offside, judging that O’Nien had been the player with the crucial touch.

The away side were knocking on the door, but were lucky not to fall further behind when a clearance from deep ran through to Godden, the forward missing the chance to double his tally as he fired an effort wide.

Sunderland fired numerous balls into the box but Coventry held on for a huge result.

Sunderland XI: McLaughlin; O’Nien, Willis (Semenyo, 77), Ozturk, Flanagan, Hume (Lafferty, 69); Power, Dobson; Gooch, Maguire, Wyke

Subs: Burge, McLaughlin, Lynch, Grigg, Scowen

Coventry City XI: Marosi; McCallum, Rose, McFadzean, Hyam, Dabo; Walsh, Allen (Bakayoko, 79), Kelly, O’Hare; Godden (Shipley, 90)

Subs: Wilson, Biamou, Pask, Giles, Westbrooke

Bookings: Marosi, 31

Attendance: 10,055