Eliezer Mayenda with arms aloft after his Sunderland goalGetty Images

Eliezer Mayenda has scored nine goals for Sunderland this season

Adam Lanigan
BBC Sport England

Eliezer Mayenda scored an 88th-minute winner to give Sunderland a crucial advantage over Coventry City after the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.

The Spaniard, who turned 20 on Thursday, capitalised on a poor backpass by Sky Blues right-back Milan van Ewijk to round goalkeeper Ben Wilson and settle the game.

It was the decisive moment from an encounter that came to life in the final quarter as the sides shared goals less than two minutes apart.

The visitors had taken the lead for the first time when French striker Wilson Isidor ended a three-month wait for a goal, firing a low effort through Wilson.

But the Sky Blues' response was almost instant - 110 seconds to be exact - as in-form midfielder Jack Rudoni headed in his seventh goal in his past 11 games from Van Ewijk's cross to bring his side level.

It was a first win for Sunderland in eight games after their wretched finish to the regular season, but everything is still to be decided in the second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday (20:00 BST).

The winners of the tie will play either Sheffield United or Bristol City at Wembley on 24 May, with the Blades holding a 3-0 advantage after the first leg.

The pairing of these two clubs with a potential top-flight place at stake stirred up history which was in the Sky Blues' favour.

In 1977, Coventry and relegation rivals Bristol City were able to play out a 2-2 draw at Highfield Road knowing a point would be enough to relegate the Black Cats after their game had finished a few minutes earlier in a defeat at Everton.

Such was Sunderland's unhappiness about how events had played out that they officially complained to the Football League, but with no joy.

Then 20 years after that, the Black Cats lost again on the final day - this time at Wimbledon - to allow the West Midlands club to leapfrog them to Premier League safety with a win at Tottenham Hotspur as Peter Reid's Sunderland went down.

Jack Rudoni heads Coventry City's equaliser against SunderlandRex Features

Jack Rudoni's header had looked set to earn Coventry a draw in the first leg

Stark contrast in play-off arrivals

In terms of the present day, no side has ever entered the play-offs in worse form than Sunderland following five consecutive defeats.

They have been stuck in fourth since late November and effectively waiting for the play-offs for three months.

However, head coach Regis Le Bris was confident in the build-up that having something "to chase" would reawaken the team that was so consistent for the first six months of the season.

Coventry, ultimately one place and seven points below their opponents, had only locked in their spot six days ago, when they beat Middlesbrough.

But 52 points from 29 games under Frank Lampard indicated a team full of momentum that has been on the rise since the former Chelsea legend walked through the door in November to replace Mark Robins.

Tears and cheers

Chasing a Premier League return for the first time since 2001, the home side dominated the ball and had a number of long throws and corners but that did not translate into any genuine chances.

In fact, it was the visitors who had the half's most exciting moment as Mayenda carried the ball over half the field, but he scuffed his low effort a couple of yards wide from just outside the area.

Sunderland were content to sit in and soak up any pressure in a disciplined display, and that plan looked set to come to fruition when playmaker Enzo Le Fee released Isidor, who drove into the box and found the net to end a barren run of 13 games without a goal.

The striker's struggles were in contrast to Rudoni, who has been in stunning form in the run-in and he arrived at the right time to head past Anthony Patterson.

Coventry were pushing for a winner, but van Ewijk erred badly when he got his back pass wrong and Mayenda showed real coolness to punish the Dutchman to the maximum.

Van Ewijk was in tears at the final whistle, but the Sky Blues will have 90 minutes on Wearside to try to put matters right.

And while Sunderland will be favourites, arguably the most famous result of Lampard's managerial career remains when his Derby County side overturned a first-leg deficit to knock out Leeds United in the Championship play-offs at Elland Road in 2019.

'No time to drop heads' - Lampard

Coventry City manager Frank Lampard told BBC CWR:

"It was a good performance. I don't need to dwell on the mistakes too much but the performance was good.

"We couldn't break the deadlock because they defended their box so well, but we did everything we could for large parts of the game without maybe that little end bit.

"It didn't happen and so we go again. The game may look different on Tuesday and it may feel different at their stadium whether they play the same way.

"But I'm proud of the players, we obviously didn't get the result we deserved and we didn't deserve to lose, but we can't drop our heads and understand there's loads to play for."

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris told BBC Radio Newcastle:

"It was a tough game, Coventry played really good football.

"We decided to play with two forwards, so we accepted their domination in midfield.

"We felt early in the second half they played different kinds of balls and it was now possible to escape the pressure and create the link with our strikers and it worked well.

"We'll have another tough game at home, so it's not done.

"It's really clear the mindset in the dressing room. No complacency. We know we'll have another tough game, another scenario, difficult opponent, so let's reset."

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