Coventry City return to their East Midlands base on Tuesday night following back-to-back clashes with Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, earning three points for their second-tier total and a place in the FA Cup fifth-round draw, although a replay between the sides is pencilled in for next month.
A mild Friday evening in Yorkshire hosted the debut of Dane Victor Torp for the Sky Blues, and the 24-year-old midfielder netted a sensational long-range strike to put the visitors in control of the tie, but the Owls managed to force a draw thanks to Djeidi Gassama’s late equaliser.
A tasty-looking clash with sixth-tier Maidstone United will be the reward should Mark Robins’s men win their fourth-round replay in early February, but for now Coventry must refocus on Championship matters, with Tuesday’s hosts enjoying a nine-game unbeaten run in the second tier.
Following the summer departures of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer to Sporting Lisbon and Sheffield United respectively, the Sky Blues struggled to immediately continue their promotion-chasing pace at the beginning of this campaign, but the upturn in form from signings such as Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has allowed Robins’s side to hit new heights in recent months.
After three-straight Championship victories since New Year’s Day, Coventry have moved up to sixth in the second-tier standings, ahead of Michael Beale’s Sunderland due to their inferior goal difference, while lying just two points behind West Bromwich Albion in fifth place.
City booked their place in the draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup courtesy of a goalless draw against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest on Friday night, with the Tricky Trees’ Matt Turner being the busier shot-stopper during a contest from which the Premier League visitors were arguably fortunate to escape unscathed.
The Robins have been largely promising since a three-game winning streak in the Championship over the festive period against Sunderland, Hull City and Watford, but a run of four matches without victory in the second tier has halted their charge towards the playoffs.
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Making his debut after signing on loan for the remainder of the campaign from Burnley, Scott Twine drew Bristol City level during their last Championship fixture against the Hornets of Hertfordshire following Tom Dele-Bashiru’s penalty, but the hosts at Ashton Gate were unable to collect maximum points.
Finding the back of the net has proved the main cause of frustration for Robins supporters since the turn of the calendar year, with Liam Manning’s side scoring just three goals in seven matches across all competitions – albeit three of those games have seen the West Country side go toe-to-toe with Premier League opposition.
After selling attacking midfielder Alex Scott to Bournemouth in the summer for £22m, Bristol City are focusing their January business on young talents possessing the potential to be sold on for profit in the future, with Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Josh Stokes arriving at
