Middlesbrough vs Coventry City. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance28,409.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Coventry City at the Riverside Stadium on New Year's Day | Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scores twice as Mark Robins' Sky Blues come from behind to win
Monday 1 January 2024 18:15, UK
Coventry's climb towards the Sky Bet Championship play-off places continued as they claimed a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough.
The Sky Blues beat Boro in last season's play-off semi-finals, and they enjoyed another successful day at the Riverside thanks to a double from the in-form Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and a close-range finish from Haji Wright.
Josh Coburn opened the scoring for Middlesbrough in the first half, but the hosts were unable to make the most of their early superiority as Coventry stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches.
Middlesbrough went into the game on the back of a morale-boosting win at Huddersfield on Friday night, and Michael Carrick's side dominated the early exchanges, carving out a succession of good chances.
Isaiah Jones must have thought he had scored when he raced on to Morgan Rogers' fourth-minute through ball and rounded goalkeeper Brad Collins, but while his shot from an acute angle was heading in, back-tracking centre-half Bobby Thomas produced a superb flicked clearance as he raced towards his own goalline.
Jones had another decent effort blocked by Jake Bidwell a few minutes later, before Collins denied Sam Greenwood with a scrambled save down to his left. The ball broke to Rogers, but his follow-up effort was blocked by a combination of the Coventry goalkeeper and Luis Binks.
It felt like only a matter of time before Boro scored, and the deadlock was duly broken in the 31st minute.
Jones crossed from the right-hand side, and having been restored to the starting line-up after scoring as a substitute at Huddersfield, Coburn made it two goals in four days with a powerful header.
Coventry had not threatened at all at that stage, but just four minutes after falling behind, the visitors struck back to equalise.
Thomas' header from a corner was saved by Tom Glover, but Lukas Engel's clearance only found Sakamoto, and the Japanese winger threaded a fine low finish through a crowded box.
Collins made good saves from Greenwood and Engel to keep the scores level at the break, and Coventry should have claimed the lead when Ellis Simms hooked over from the edge of the six-yard box in the early stages of the second half.
A minute later, however, and the Sky Blues were celebrating making it 2-1. Simms' shot from Callum O'Hare's cross was saved by Glover, but when the ball rebounded to the striker, he slipped a square pass to Wright, who was left with the simple task of tapping home from close range.
Coventry were much the better side in the second half, and they added a third goal in the 69th minute.
Bidwell crossed from close to the byline, and Sakamoto stole in at the back post to net his second goal of the game with a close-range header.
Sakamoto almost claimed a hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining, but his low shot from inside the area cannoned against the base of the post.
Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick:
"I think it's understandable. It felt like the tank just emptied at the wrong time for us today, in terms of their energy.
"I can't fault them. It's such a small pool of players we've had to pick from a patch-up game to game over recent weeks. It probably just caught up with us at the wrong time today because first half I thought we were fantastic.
"I thought we played some fabulous football and should have, could have, been up at half-time. In the end, they are a good team, they're dangerous and they're on a good run as well."
Coventry's Mark Robins:
"He's [Sakamoto] been really good, and the confidence is coming. We've been waiting for it. He's got the ability, and now he's got the confidence and belief too.
"That's really good for us, and really good for him. He also creates. He's technically outstanding, and to get through the games that he has done is a real credit to him.
"They've got some really good players. The Japanese are outstanding, you could see that in the World Cup last year.
"They've got some excellent players, and there's more and more of them playing in Europe and the UK. Tatsu is a brilliant outlet for us, and you can see the connections that are being made and that he's starting to form. That's pleasing for us for the second half of the season."
