Football Dec 07, 2025

Ipswich Town 3-0 Coventry City: Frank Lampard's Sky Blues miss chance to extend lead at Championship summit

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Ipswich Town 3-0 Coventry City: Frank Lampard's Sky Blues miss chance to extend lead at Championship summit

Coventry's five-match winning run was brought to an emphatic halt as the Championship leaders slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Ipswich at Portman Road.

Goals from Sindre Walle Egeli, George Hirst and Ivan Azon lifted the hosts up to fourth place as Coventry suffered only their second away defeat of the season.

But the Tractor Boys had to be thankful to goalkeeper Christian Walton, who produced two outstanding saves from Josh Eccles and Ephron Mason-Clarke to keep the visitors out.

Egeli shot straight at City goalkeeper Carl Rushworth from just outside the area in the 10th minute before Town striker Hirst became the first player booked for a foul on Liam Kitching.

A further yellow card followed from referee Paul Tierney for Coventry midfielder Eccles two minutes later for kicking the ball away.

Eccles fired into the side-netting, while at the other end Dara O'Shea picked out Jaden Philogene on the left with a searching cross-field pass, but Coventry right-back Milan van Ewijk managed to steer the ball back to Rushworth.

The visitors had a great chance to take the lead after 27 minutes when Mason-Clarke's cross found an unmarked Kaine Kesler-Hayden, but he headed wide.

Then Walton produced an acrobatic diving save to push a shot from Eccles on to a post and moments later he got a hand to a Mason-Clarke effort to turn the ball over the bar.

City skipper Matt Grimes was booked for a foul on Egeli in the 40th minute before a cross from Marcelino Nunez had to be clawed away by Rushworth.

Town took the lead in the 43rd minute through Egeli, his second goal in as many games.

The ball pinballed around the Coventry six-yard box before Philogene picked out the Norwegian on the edge of the penalty area to rifle a shot into the corner of the Coventry goal.

A 30-yard effort from Jack Clarke was gathered safely by Rushworth and Walton was then adjudged to have come just out of his area to claim the ball, but the resulting free-kick from Eccles went wide.

Town went further in front through Hirst on the hour mark.

Nunez spotted the striker and played a pass through for him to run on to and slam the ball past a helpless Rushworth.

Mason-Clark struck the side-netting for Coventry when well placed, while a mazy run from substitute Jens Cajuste ended with him just failing to find an Ipswich attacker.

But substitute Azon put the icing on the cake for Ipswich by scoring their third five minutes into added time.

Clarke put him through on goal and, after his initial shot came back off Kitching, he converted at the second attempt.

Ipswich's Kieran McKenna:

"We stuck together and stuck in there. We know the first goal is so, so important in every game, especially in the home games here, and from that point on I thought we showed some real confidence on the ball, played through the pitch, broke the press really well and defended well and counter-attacked.

"It was a really good result and it's been a good challenge this week. The group's really stuck together I felt in the last couple of days and I thought it was a really resilient performance and we showed quality as well.

"The result was important today, but it's more about the week to be honest.

"When we get the first goal and the confidence grows in the team I know how well we can play and teams then leave a space and it was more about sticking in it in the first part of the game before the goal when we weren't smooth at that point.

"We were struggling to impose ourselves on the ball…the ball's hardly in play and it's not a very good game.

"But there lots of games like that in the Championship. In those moments you have to stay tough and stay strong."

Coventry's Frank Lampard:

"I think our play in the first half, we were the strong team for me in the game and you could feel the stadium feeling it.

"We were very clean and winning second (balls) with good confidence, our press was spot on and they struggled to play through us.

"That bought some angst to the stadium…but when the goal comes it's scrappy and it gives you that different feeling when you go in at half-time.

"But the players had to understand how they approached that first half and then in the second half probably a similar effect, they score and Hirst runs through and scores that goal it's obviously difficult.

"There's no real unhappiness with the way the players approached it. It just wasn't our day."

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