Seven heaven for Coventry City in ground-breaking home win

Seven goals, a stadium secured, and a night that will live long in Sky Blue memory. On the very day that Coventry City announced the historic purchase of the Coventry Building Society Arena, Frank Lampard’s side celebrated in the most emphatic fashion, dismantling Queens Park Rangers 7-1 on their official new home turf.

Haji Wright set the tone early with a clinical finish after twelve minutes off the back of a sharp Milan van Ewijk ball, with Coventry pressing their advantage relentlessly. The lead doubled when Jack Rudoni intercepted a woeful ball from QPR midfielder Kieran Morgan, then setting up Brandon Thomas-Asante for a composed finish. Rudoni added a deflected strike of his own to make it 3-0 by the 35th minute, and Coventry continued to run riot. Before half-time, Thomas-Asante’s clever footwork and pinpoint accuracy created two more goals, allowing both Haji Wright and Jack Rudoni a brace each, and leaving Coventry 5-0 up at the interval.

Despite changes by QPR’s new head coach, Julien Stéphan, the attempt at rejuvenation was stifled by an early Coventry goal, this time Victor Torp wanting in on the action. The ball fell to him just inside the box and, with a deft touch, he curled it into bottom corner. The pick of the bunch came in the 66th minute when Torp found his second, bending a screamer into the top corner from 25-yards out to cap off Coventry’s relentless display of goalscoring.

For Coventry so far, stability has paid dividends

QPR managed to grab a consolation goal in stoppage time as Richard Kone headed home from a set piece, but by then the damage was done. Coventry’s dominance was absolute, their attacking cohesion and clinical finishing on another level from last season.

What makes this victory more impressive is the continuity within Coventry’s squad. While other Championship sides have spent big in the summer window and overhauled their teams, the Sky Blues maintained their trust in the core group that reached the play-offs last season under Lampard. The lack of transfer activity may have been a thing of concern amongst fans, but the club has succeeded in keeping nearly all of their star players on the books, after rumoured interest from Southampton in Jack Rudoni, and from Wolfsburg in Milan Van Ewijk.

For Coventry so far, stability has paid dividends. Wright and Torp are amongst the league’s top scorers after three games, Van Ewijk leads the assists chart, and Rudoni and Thomas-Asante are flourishing in an attack that clearly knows each other’s movements to a tee.

It was a game that perfectly captured the promise of the season ahead

The win follows another free-scoring performance against Derby where Coventry were on the right end of a 5-3 scoreline, and a goalless draw to Hull on the opening day. A midweek EFL Cup exit to Millwall with some rested players may be disappointing, but it could allow Coventry to focus their attentions fully on achieving promotion to the Premier League this season. Looking ahead, and following on from a 2-2 draw against Oxford United, the Sky Blues will make a trip to Norwich, before a subsequent testing fixture away at the King Power stadium to Leicester City. Performances like the 7-1 win against QPR suggest the team has the cohesion to compete at the higher end of the table, but the game against Leicester, another promotion contender, will be a real test of how far Coventry will go this season.

For now, Coventry fans have every reason to celebrate. Their stadium is officially theirs, their team came close to a record win with a seven-goal masterclass, and they are currently sitting fifth in the Championship. It was a game that perfectly captured the promise of the season ahead, and hopefully Coventry can keep it up.