Captivating Coventry City shine in Staffordshire against Stoke City

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Coventry City stole all three points from the Bet365 Stadium, leaving them just a single point away from survival.

It was impressive strikes from Tyler Walker, Maxime Biamou and Viktor Gyokeres that decided the contest and made it three successive victories for the Sky Blues.

Stoke City struck back twice through Jacob Brown and Sam Clucas, but their defensive fragilities were exposed by Mark Robins’ side.

Potters boss Michael O Neill made four changes heading into the contest, with Angus Gunn, Jordan Thompson, Jacob Brown and Danny Batth replacing Adam Davies, Harry Souttar, John Obi-Mikel and Steven Fletcher.

The Sky Blues on the other hand made a pair of changes following their win against promotion-chasing Barnsley. Matt Godden and Callum O’Hare were preferred to Maxime Biamou and Matty James.

Before 15 minutes had elapsed, Coventry were appealing for a spot-kick. Angus Gunn tripped Godden after failing to deal with a menacing Julien Dacosta cross. To the 29-year-old’s dismay, the referee waved the claims away. Gustavo Hamer then had a go from distance but could only hit the grounded goalkeeper.

The Dutch midfielder then shot from range once again – this time from a dead ball situation. He floated his right-footed effort across goal and forced Stoke’s shot-stopper into a good save to divert the ball away from danger.

Michael O’Neill’s side finally began to grow into the game with two chances in quick succession. Their deliveries from wide positions almost paid dividends after Brown was inches away from converting.

The Potters threatened from the wings once again with Connor Taylor nearly netting a dream debut goal, after replacing the injured James Chester 15 minutes earlier. The tall defender towered above the Sky Blues’ defence just to be matched by Ben Wilson. Coventry’s goalkeeper flew across his goal to make an outstanding fingertip save.

The visitors then converted, minutes before the interval. Diminutive O’Hare attracted the Stoke defence with a mazy run through the middle. Once their gaze was fixated upon the 22-year-old, he squared the ball to Walker who powered his right-footed effort beyond the helpless Gunn.

Just prior to the hour mark Stoke pegged the Warwickshire outfit back. The ball escaped Hamer on the edge of his 18-yard area and Brown rifled his shot into the top left-hand corner.

Coventry immediately began to press for the lead once again as Walker forced a fantastic save from Gunn, who had to get down quickly to stop his volley.

The pressure then intensified and culminated in the visitors retaking the lead from Stoke’s former speciality – the long throw. The launch deceived the Potters as it was flicked on by Leo Ostigard and volleyed home from close range from substitute Biamou.

However, their lead only lasted two minutes. Clucas was found by Smith at the back post and subsequently volleyed home his second goal of the campaign.

The attacking onslaught continued, and Coventry’s determination shone through. Second-half substitute Gyokeres caught the Potters by surprise and fired past Gunn who reacted late.

Despite their lacklustre performance, the Staffordshire outfit nearly snatched a point from the grasp of the Sky Blues within the final five minutes. Talisman Nick Powell picked out a free Steven Fletcher, but the 34-year-old couldn’t direct his header beyond Wilson.

The triumph propels Coventry into 16th in the Championship and all but secures their safety in their first second tier term since 2012.

On the other hand, this result drops Stoke into the bottom half of the league following four outings without a win.

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