Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner examines some of the major talking points from Good Friday’s 3-1 victory at Huddersfield in this Coventry City match analysis from CoventryLive.
With a victory over Huddersfield Town on Good Friday, Coventry City maintained their momentum and moved up to seventh place in the Championship, four points behind sixth-place Norwich – their main rival for what appears to be the final play-off spot, unless fifth-place West Brom has an incredible collapse.
The Sky Blues grew increasingly isolated after the break as goalkeeper Brad Collins gave up a goal to the home team with a careless pass outside of his area during a game in which he made several good saves. Ellis Simms had continued his scorching goal scoring streak with an early brace, making for a comfortable first half.
In front of 2,223 travelling supporters, Haji Wright sealed the full three points in the 94th minute with a fantastic left-foot finish. Rhys Healey’s response, 11 minutes from time, created a tense finish to the game. These are a few of the main talking points from the John Smith’s Stadium victory, which was 3-1.
Oh, you who lack faith
Throughout the first half of his City career, Ellis Simms faced plenty of skeptics. The 23-year-old scored his third brace of the year to help Huddersfield lose, and with 13 goals in 18 games—12 of which have come in his last nine—he now has more goals in all competitions in 2024 than any other player in England’s top four divisions!
He has now closed the gap on Haji Wright, who increased his total at the John Smith’s Stadium, and the two are level on 16 across all competitions. Give that a moment to settle in. With nine games remaining, City has two strikers with 16 goals apiece (including the FA Cup). Wright has 14 in the league, compared to Simms’ 11; both players have made outstanding returns and are currently the talk of the Championship. Every team wants to have a striker who scores 20 goals a season, but with these two, City has a great chance to finish the season with both of them hitting that mark.
Milan is adjusting nicely
When Milan van Ewijk filled in for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto high and wide on the right, Robins stuck to his winning formula from the Wolves match, and it again worked well, allowing City to stick with their 4-2-3-1 formation. The well-liked Dutchman, who originally joined the team as a full-back/wing-back but is now developing into a capable winger, is playing in a relatively new role.
The 23-year-old helped set up the second and third goals against the Terriers and could have even scored if the keeper’s legs hadn’t stopped him. He’s obviously developing into the role, and he has the skills necessary to perform well there—not to mention his quick speed, which allows him to outpace opponents. All he has to do is improve his game with goals, which he most likely possesses.
KP is playing well going forward
In addition to setting up Haji Wright for the game’s first opportunity and playing Simms down the left for his first goal, Kasey Palmer continues to be a key player for the Sky Blues. In the second goal, he set up Van Ewijk for freedom on the right before the Dutchman pulled it back, allowing City’s number nine to finish precisely and slot the ball into the bottom left corner.
It’s interesting to note that, as the team gets used to life without the equally popular attacking midfielder, the 27-year-old has started the last four games (all victories) ahead of Callum O’Hare. Although Palmer is now taking center stage ahead of O’Hare, who hopefully still has a big role to play this season, this must be encouraging for next season, when it is unlikely that the former Villa prospect will still be with the team. Palmer was warmly greeted by both sets of supporters upon his substitution shortly after the hour mark, which was a nice gesture from the home crowd. Palmer had previously had a successful loan spell with Huddersfield seven years prior.
Because he played for a top team here, Jakey is a top player and highly regarded at Huddersfield, according to Robins. “I am thrilled to have him; he is a top talent.”
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