Frank Lampard makes Sunderland admission after Coventry defeat
Sunderland successfully navigated the challenge of Frank Lampard’s Coventry City with a 2-1 win in the first leg of their Championship playoff semi-final.
The Black Cats headed to the CBS Arena in poor form after losing the last five games of their regular season.
However, Sunderland showed their quality on the counter-attack, with breakaway goals arriving from Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda either side of Jack Rudoni’s equaliser.
The Sky Blues controlled large spells of the game, but Regis Le Bris’ men will head to the second leg at the Stadium of Light with a precious one-goal advantage.
Frank Lampard compliments Sunderland’s defence as Black Cats beat Coventry
Lampard witnessed Coventry’s largely successful season take a significant turn for the worse when they were beaten by the North East giants on Friday.
| Opponent | Result |
| Luton (A) | 1-0 L |
| Middlesbrough (H) | 2-0 W |
| Sunderland (A) | 1-2 L |
Speaking on BBC CWR [9 May] after his side’s defeat to Sunderland, the 46-year-old said: “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. 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.”
Sunderland should be confident of getting to Wembley
Sunderland will know that they still have a long way to go to book their spot in this season’s Championship playoff final at Wembley.
However, the Mackems took a major step forward when they defeated Lampard’s men at the CBS Arena on Friday.
Le Bris will be pleased with his side’s defensive performance, which was very strong as alluded to by Lampard, while Isidor and Mayenda caused enough problems up front.
With home advantage on their side in the second leg, Sunderland will be thrilled that they are heading to the Stadium of Light with a 2-1 lead to their name.
The Championship playoffs are unpredictable, but the Black Cats have given themselves a significant push towards Wembley via an away win at Coventry.
A draw on Tuesday will do for Le Bris’ men as they look to reach Wembley, where they could likely face Sheffield United for a spot in next season’s Premier League.