Coventry City 1-0 Stoke City: Viktor Gyokeres gives Sky Blues narrow win
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Sweden international Viktor Gyokeres hit his 10th goal of the season and his first since 2 October
Coventry City closed the gap to the Championship play-off places with a deserved win over a below-par Stoke City at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Viktor Gyokeres hit the winner midway through the second half, looping a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner as the hosts took advantage of sloppy defending from the visitors.
Potters goalkeeper Jack Bonham denied Gyokeres three times in the first half, including a point-blank stop just before the break.
Coventry almost added a second when substitute Martyn Waghorn drove a long-range shot past the post, but they comfortably saw out late Stoke pressure.
Both sides went into the match within range of the play-off places, but without form, with Coventry managing only a second win in nine league matches and Stoke suffering a fourth defeat in five in the Championship.
The Potters had conceded only once in their five previous away trips, but had Bonham, and a wasteful attack, to thank for not falling to a heavier defeat.
As well as a hat-trick of saves from Sweden forward Gyokeres, the Stoke keeper also had to be alert to tip over Gustavo Hamer's corner as Coventry gradually upped the pressure in a goalless first half.
The momentum remained with the hosts after the break as Josh Eccles headed Hamer's corner just wide, and it finally took a mistake from the visitors to give Mark Robins' side the winner.
Trying to play out from the back, the visitors gave the ball away to Ben Sheaf who slid in Gyokeres to end a goal drought that had stretched back to early October.
Callum O'Hare also fired a late chance wide, but Coventry easily held on to move up to ninth, four points off the play-off spots, while Stoke drop to 11th.
Coventry boss Mark Robins told BBC CWR:
"It was a very controlled performance, I thought we were really good.
"He (Gyokeres) needed it. You could see he was frustrated when he missed his first chance and it's difficult then when your confidence starts to go and you could see it.
"I just said to him 'don't worry your chance will come', and it came and he scored. Hopefully that's a big lesson for him and a big weight off his shoulders."
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke:
"We had some really good play, particularly in the first half, but it never amounted to anything. The final ball was poor and when we looked in a good shooting position they blocked the shot or we didn't find the right pass.
"We're in the game all the time, but ultimately we just don't seem to be able to sustain it for long enough to get ahead in the game and then we go behind.
"That was the most disappointing thing, we couldn't create anything. We couldn't have had any more attacking players on the pitch, but we didn't work their keeper anywhere near enough."