Coventry City 1-0 Middlesbrough: Viktor Gyokeres strike gives Sky Blues first win of season
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Viktor Gyokeres' third goal of the season proved enough for Coventry
Bottom side Coventry City picked up their first Championship win of the season as they beat fellow strugglers Middlesbrough.
Fankaty Dabo's long ball sent Viktor Gyokeres away to slip a shot under Boro goalkeeper Zack Steffen for Coventry's first home goal of the campaign.
The hosts were good value for their half-time lead, but Matt Crooks was inches away from meeting Ryan Giles' cross as Boro responded after a second-half double change.
Chuba Akpom volleyed straight at Sky Blues goalkeeper Ben Wilson, but the hosts saw out the game for a deserved victory.
Coventry remain at the foot of the table but move to within four points of safety with three games in hand, while Chris Wilder's Boro stay 22nd after their fourth away defeat of the season.
In a meeting of two sides who narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, it was the hosts who dominated the first half, with Gyokeres at the heart of it.
The Swede teed up Kasey Palmer who put an early gilt-edged chance wide, and then had an effort blocked by goalkeeper Steffen before he finished off a counter-attack sparked when Boro lost possession from their own throw-in.
Middlesbrough have picked up just one point on the road this term and struggled before the break, prompting boss Wilder to bring on Akpom and then wing-backs Giles and Isaiah Jones.
The changes gave the Teessiders momentum, with Akpom firing straight at Wilson from Jones' cross and moments later heading a corner narrowly over the bar.
But Gyokeres had bullied the visitors' back four all afternoon and almost doubled the lead late on when his goalbound shot deflected off Dael Fry into the side-netting.
Who's next?
Coventry are next in action at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night against 13th-placed Bristol City, while Boro play again 24 hours later at home to Birmingham City.
Coventry manager Mark Robins told BBC CWR:
"It was a brilliant performance, a performance we deserved really. We started brightly and should have put the game to bed in the first half.
"We played some really decent football, we created opportunities and we opened them up.
"It was the first game we've played at home on a Saturday in the season and it's the first of October, but now you can feel things changing because the players know we're going to be playing.
"The pitch is in really good nick - we have to give them credit for that - so that's fantastic and we can get on with things. It feels like the first game of the season for us."
Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Tees:
"I'm not expecting it to be an entirely positive environment at the Riverside and I understand that because of the results, I get that.
"This is part and parcel of being a professional footballer. They can play, but can they play when the pressure's on?
"We'll try and help the players, but it's stand-up time really and it's up to us to ignite it, to show what we're about.
"I won't accept anyone who doesn't try and the stats today will back that up. The lads have tried and run about all game and it would be too much criticism regarding the players if anyone levelled that at them."