Coventry City

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Coventry City forward Brandon Thomas-Asante made his first senior start for Ghana as they were beaten 2-0 by Japan in an international friendly in Toyota.

The 26-year-old played 75 minutes for the Black Stars before being replaced by Christopher Bonsu Baah.

It was Thomas-Asante's sixth appearance for Ghana and he has scored one goal, which came in a 2-1 Unity Cup defeat by Nigeria in May.

Ghana, who have qualified for next year's World Cup, will face South Korea in another friendly next Tuesday.

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Alongside his commanding presence, Brighton loanee Carl Rushworth's "outstanding character" also "shines through", says BBC CWR's Coventry City commentator Rob Gurney.

The 24-year-old goalkeeper has impressed on his loan spell so far with the Sky Blues, helping them to the top of the Championship table and breaking a club record along the way for the number of minutes without conceding a goal.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast, Gurney said: "One of the things that Oggy [former Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic] likes about him is his presence and the fact he takes command of situations.

"You rarely see these days keepers coming for crosses and trying to catch crosses. Modern keepers try to punch everything instead of catching it. Carl is excellent at taking and catching crosses, and holding on to them, rather than trying to just clear his penalty area with punches.

"He has also made some tremendous individual saves. There was one in the Blackburn match, while it was still 0-0, when the ball was arcing towards the top corner and he made a miraculous save to claw it out.

"We were sitting with the perfect view of it and Oggy was purring watching it because it was a tremendous stop. That has been peppered throughout his performances so far.

"He is such a likeable person too. For 24 years of age he is incredibly mature. He will talk to you as though he is 34, never mind 24. We have done two or three interviews with him and what an outstanding character he is as a person, as well as a footballer, has shone out.

"If you asked 99.9% of Coventry fans right now, they would love to sign Carl Rushworth permanently, but clearly Brighton have got a lot to say in what happens going forward and he will have a lot to say on what happens going forward. If Coventry do get promoted, it will be interesting to see what happens.

"After a slightly sticky start, he is doing magnificently well in goal and has endeared himself to the fans already."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

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Championship leaders Coventry City must "stay hungry" in their pursuit of promotion this season says full-back Jay Dasilva.

The in-form Sky Blues maintained their five-point cushion at the top over Middlesbrough after beating Stoke City - who were in second before kick-off - at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

Ephron Mason-Clark's 86th-minute strike was enough to edge out a dogged Potters side, revitalised this season under former Coventry boss Mark Robins.

"We acknowledge that we've had a great start but it's something we need to keep striving to do," Dasilva told BBC CWR.

"There's a lot of football still to be played and stay focused and hungry to keep winning games."

Coventry, who are attempting to return to the Premier League for the first time since dropping out of the top flight in 2000-01, have won 10 of their 15 games and are now seven points clear of third-place Stoke.

"He's someone who's been there and done that and knows exactly what we need to do," Dasilva added, of head coach Frank Lampard.

"He keeps us focused and reminds us there's still a lot of football to play and for us to stay hungry, stay professional, keep our standards and keep going."

Coventry are next in action in another Midlands derby against West Bromwich Albion on 22 November (12:30 GMT) after the international break.

"If Patrick Bamford is still a free agent in November, there's probably a reason why.

"If he was good enough, I don't know why he's not with a club."

The Sky Blues Fancast team discuss a victory over Stoke City, an impressive beginning to the season, and whether Coventry City might have former Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford among their ranks in January after joining the side for training.

Listen to the full episode of the Sky Blues Fancast and more Coventry City content on BBC Sounds.

Will Perry
BBC Final Score

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Those 3,000+ Coventry supporters at Stoke were celebrating like they had sealed promotion at the final whistle as Frank Lampard ran over and punched the air in front of them.

Fair play to them - they are not there yet but there is so much belief in that Sky Blues squad.

Lampard has got them cooking on gas and what a reaction after losing their first game in the Championship this season at Wrexham - a 3-1 win over Sheffield United and then coming to the bet365 Stadium and stealing the points late on at a huge promotion rival.

It is amazing to think it's been 24 years since Coventry last played in the Premier League, so long ago it was called the Premiership.

They have had to endure time in Leagues One and Two as well since then but they lead the way in the Championship by five points and face second-place Middlesbrough a week on Tuesday.

Let's be Frank, it could not get any better right now Cov fans, could it?

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Boss Frank Lampard said Coventry City were "brilliant" in their dramatic 1-0 victory over Stoke City, thanks to Ephron Mason-Clark's late winner.

Lampard told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire: "It's a great feeling to win like that because it's a tough fixture.

"The work of the players and togetherness and the tactical approach was amazing, particularly off the ball. We thoroughly deserved it against a very good team.

"We dealt with the game brilliantly from start to finish.

"Ephron has a big bang on his face. It was an outstanding goal for the skill level of it. Not every player can do that. He was really good today. He came up against a really good opponent but Ephron kept going at him.

"They try to play. We pressed and we stopped them getting any form of control. The threat of their wingers is always there but our full-backs were amazing but it's hard to single our players.

"We can't get overexcited we are winning a lot of games but we can't think we have cracked it."

Frank Lampard says Coventry will need to rely on their strength of character if they are to achieve their ultimate goal of promotion.

After suffering a first defeat of the Championship campaign at Wrexham last Friday, the Sky Blues fell 1-0 down to Sheffield United at the CBS Arena on Tuesday, only for three second-half goals to turn the game on its head and move City four points clear at the top of the table

Lampard told BBC CWR: "We've had a good start to the season and a lot of games we've made them go our way, but it's not realistic to say everything will go your way all the time.

"You cannot get to where we want to get to without having games when you are tested, you go down, you find it hard to break a team down - those challenges are there for a reason.

"The players can take a good feeling out of turning the game around, they showed a lot of strength of character and quality to do it, and we'll need that."

Coventry head to closest-challengers Stoke on Saturday (15:00 GMT) with Mark Robins guiding the Potters to three straight wins, with nine goals scored and just one conceded, a year to the week since he departed the Sky Blues after more than seven years at the helm.

"They are a strong team, had a great week, playing well, scoring goals, a position we have been in before," Lampard said.

"Absolute credit to Mark, his legacy and status at this club remains no matter what because of the context and the difficulties at the club in that time. Time moves on but that never gets lost.

"There is full respect between myself and Mark and both clubs, we just have a game to play.

"Nothing is given, we have to go and fight for it, we have got ourselves in a really good position to this point but they are a really good team and it's going to be tough."

Lampard revealed midfielder Jack Rudoni is back on the grass following his calf injury and should be back to face West Brom on 22 November after the international break.

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Game of the weekend? Not many would argue. Table-topping Coventry head to closest challengers Stoke City, managed by their former boss Mark Robins on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Sky Blues bounced back from their first defeat of the season at Wrexham last Friday by coming from behind to beat Sheffield United 3-1 at the CBS Arena on Tuesday night.

Frank Lampard's men sit four points clear of Stoke, who moved into second courtesy of a 3-0 win at Oxford United on the same night, the Potters' third straight win, with nine goals scored and only one conceded in that run.

Stoke have the best defence in the division, with only nine goals against them in 14 matches while Coventry are the leading scorers, by a mile, with 39 and a goal difference of +26 - more than double any other side in the division.

• Stoke have won just one of their past six home league games against Coventry (D1 L4), though it was a 1-0 victory in this exact fixture last season.

• Since their return to the Championship in 2020, Coventry have lost just two of their 10 league meetings with Stoke (W5 D3).

• Stoke have won their past three league games – they last won four in a row in August 2024 (the 4th game of which was against Coventry), while they last did so in the same season in December 2011.

• Coventry have scored at least twice in each of their past eight league games – only once have they ever done so in nine in a row, with that run coming back in March/April 1932.

• Coventry's Brandon Thomas-Asante is the highest scorer in the Championship this season, with his 10 goals already just one short of his best return in a Football League campaign (11 in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24).

Coventry City's comeback win against Sheffield United was an example of how they can fight back from adversity, says defender Bobby Thomas.

The Championship leaders went 1-0 down after former Coventry defender Sam McCallum scored for the struggling Blades in the 25th minute.

That was only the second time this season City had conceded the first goal in a league game but Frank Lampard's side responded in style after half-time.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto equalised after 49 minutes, Thomas headed in from a corner on the hour before the Championship's top scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante scored his 10th goal of the season in injury time to seal victory.

"Through the season we're not going to be coming in two, three-nil up every time, we are going to face adversity and today was an example of that," Thomas told BBC CWR.

"Coming in at 1-0 down, we managed to react to that and put what happened in the first half behind us and changed our view on the game. I thought we did that very well.

"Once we got the first goal, the game kind of flipped and we were on top. It seemed to change the game."

The win - Coventry's ninth in 14 games - kept them four points clear of Stoke City, who they face at the bet365 Stadium in a mouth-watering prospect on Saturday.

"Should be a good game, first v second, hopefully we'll come out on top," Thomas added.

"It'll be tough. They're flying at their place - let's see what happens."

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard praised his side's character after they came back from 1-0 down to beat Sheffield United 3-1 and go four points clear at the top of the Championship.

"I'm delighted with how the players have managed to win that game. It was absolutely deserved of course but it was brilliant character and when you think of the details of the game and how it went we were outstanding," he told BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire.

"I know there was a personnel change [at half-time] but it was more like the feeling of the team and can we come out with a load of force and energy. A tactical change is one thing but can we as a team run a bit more, play forward a bit more and be a bit more threatening and we absolutely did do that.

"It was great to get an early goal because that gives the players and the stadium a real belief.

"They're no mugs at all. They're a good team regardless of their league position and they wont finish anywhere near where they are because they've got good players."

Coventry City will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering their first loss of the season at Wrexham on Friday. They welcome struggling Sheffield United to the CBS Arena on Tuesday (20:00 GMT).

The Sky Blues remain top of the table by three points over Middlesbrough. Meanwhile, Sheffield United are 22nd in the Championship after back-to-back defeats by Preston and Derby.

The Blades are three points adrift of safety as they head south to face the league leaders.

• Coventry City have lost only one of their past 10 home league games against Sheffield United (W6 D3), a 2-1 loss in December 2016 in League One.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in their past three league meetings with Coventry City (W2 D1), last going four without loss against the Sky Blues between December 2007 and March 2009 (W3 D1).

• Coventry City are unbeaten in each of their past nine home league games (W7 D2), last going 10 without defeat at the CBS Arena between October 2019 and September 2020 (run of 11).

• Sheffield United have lost exactly half of their 18 away games in the Championship in 2025, winning the other half – the Blades last suffered 10+ defeats outside of the top-flight on the road in a calendar year in 2013 (13 in League One).

• Sheffield United's Gustavo Hamer has either scored (1) or assisted (1) in both of his two league appearances against former club Coventry – he also grabbed an assist in his final appearance against the Blades for Coventry on Boxing Day 2022, meaning he has been involved in a goal in each of the past three fixtures between these two sides.

Coventry City owner Doug King says the decision to set ticket prices for the Championship game against West Bromwich Albion later this month and the Boxing Day match with Swansea City at £45 is down to the club "optimising where we can optimise".

Adults will be charged £45, seniors £40 and under-18s £35 to watch the games against the Baggies on 22 November and the Swans on 26 December, both at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Currently, there is no cap on away ticket prices in the Championship, meaning costs can vary.

The Premier League has had a £30 cap in place since 2016-17 and voted unanimously to keep that for 2025-26.

It has led to calls from some West Brom fans to boycott the trip to the CBS Arena.

"We think local derbies are great experiences - Leicester, Birmingham, West Bromwich Albion... We think our local derby partners are big games," King told BBC CWR.

"Boxing Day is a critical game and has a lot of history. We always have a huge turnout and we need to optimise where we can optimise.

"When we need to discount and get people there on a cold midweek game in January, we'll do the same."

King said he knows people highlight the presence of the top-flight cap on away ticket prices but added there are other factors that make that decision easier - namely the new £6.7bn TV rights deal that sees the club finishing bottom of the Premier League this season receiving around £120m.

"People say the Premier League is capped at £30 but I say, 'Yeah but the Premier League has got £120m broadcast revenue and I've got a pittance'.

"We're not printing money in the Championship."

Coventry have sold just under 24,000 season tickets and around 3,000 for their family zone in the stadium with King saying the club makes "a couple of quid" from the youngsters that go there.

King says it remains a tough balancing act to keep club finances healthy and fans happy, on and off the pitch.

"I am aware of these things and also that we want to watch great football and get to where we want to get to," he said.

"There are sacrifices - that's the nature of the game - and it's getting more difficult in our league to be competitive and be sustainable."

Unbeaten leaders Coventry go in search of a club record seventh straight win as they kick-off the Championship weekend with a Friday night trip to Wrexham (20:00 GMT).

The Sky Blues are three points ahead of second-placed Middlesbrough and with a goal difference of +25 after 12 games - more than double any other side in the division.

The Red Dragons drew 1-1 at Boro last Saturday to make it four points from their past two games and climb to 16th, five points clear of the drop-zone, though they did go down 2-1 at home to Cardiff in the EFL Cup fourth round on Tuesday night.

• This will be the first league meeting between Wrexham and Coventry City since February 1964, a third tier match which ended 1-1 between the two sides.

• Coventry City have won five of their eight league games against Wrexham in club history (D1 L2), scoring 3+ goals in four of those five victories.

• Wrexham have won just one of their six home league games so far this season (D3 L2), though that sole victory did come last time out at the Stok Cae Ras, beating Oxford United 1-0.

• Coventry remain unbeaten after 12 matches in the Championship this season (W8 D4), only the second time that they've reached this stage of a campaign without defeat after 1937-38 (first 15).

• Brandon Thomas-Asante is the Championship's top scorer so far this season with nine goals, one ahead of teammate Haji Wright; the last Coventry player to reach double figures for league goals prior to matchday 15 was Callum Wilson in the 2013-14 League One campaign who did so after 11 games.

"This season is pretty much done. It's about a reset, getting someone in who can come and get the club [Sheffield Wednesday] to kick on and start again fresh."

Ex-Hull City boss Phil Brown joins the 72+ podcast to talk head coaches under the cosh, the highs at Coventry City, the lows at Hillsborough after the Owls enter administration and managerial changes at Reading and Peterborough.

Listen to the full episode of the 72+ podcast and more on BBC Sounds.

"We're top of the league. Comfortably. Who is not loving life at the moment?

"The one thing I am scared of is it's going to end sometime. I'm scared it's going to happen eventually. This never normally happens to Cov."

BBC CWR's Lorna Bailey and Will Oelrich are joined by Sky Blues fans Adam, Lily and Lee to reflect on unbeaten Coventry's 3-1 home win against Watford, the club's fan zone, Jamie Allen, tattoos, Milan van Ewijk's suspension, ticket prices for West Brom and of course, Name that Game...

Listen to the full episode of the Sky Blues Fancast and more on BBC Sounds.

Coventry City midfielder Jamie Allen says the Sky Blues "tried to put their foot down" following a quick start in their 3-1 victory over Watford on Saturday.

Allen scored Coventry's second goal in the opening seven minutes after Brandon Thomas-Asante fired in the first just three minutes into the game at the CBS Arena.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto added a third, moments before James Abankwah was sent off for the Hornets.

The win gives the Sky Blues a three-point gap at the top of the table as second-place Middlesbrough could only draw at home to Wrexham.

"They had a few chances just before the third goal, Rushy [Carl Rushworth] made some unbelievable saves," he told BBC Radio CWR.

"They were good at the counter-attacks so we had to be very wary of that. We grafted to get the three points.

"We've started really well, all we want to do is keep this run going. Our focus is to take each game at a time."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.