Coventry City match response from CoventryLive as Frank Lampard provides his post-match appraisal to today’s match at Cardiff.
Frank Lampard expressed dissatisfaction and fury as Coventry City began 2025 with a New Year’s Day draw at Cardiff City.
The Sky Blues were terrible in the first half, conceding early from the Bluebirds’ first attack due to poor passing and defending, before the game turned on its head in the first few minutes of the second when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored the equaliser, and the home side were reduced to ten men when Callum Robinson was sent off for an elbow to Bobby Thomas’ face.
When asked if it was a typical game of two halves, Lampard agreed: “Yeah, there are a lot of conditions in a game, I believe, but from our point of view, the first half wasn’t good enough. It was too slow, there were too many blunders, and we simply weren’t doing it, so we must recognise that this isn’t enough.
“We discussed it at halftime, and our reaction at the start of the second half resulted in a goal. I wanted them to play forward more quickly and to use what you have in this league, which is physicality and some form of directness, which resulted in our goal. And, of course, the red card means we only have 40 minutes to win the game.
“We created enough to win it, but it’s been a similar tale since I’ve been here, with our expected goals each game being two or more, and we didn’t capitalise on those opportunities. So there’s a lot to think about, and it’s all part of our little story right now to keep trying to develop, improve, and learn things we can do better.
When asked if the slow start was due to the hectic seasonal schedule, he replied, “It’s the same for Cardiff, isn’t it? I don’t blame anything because, while I should have all of the answers for you here, you do the preparation correctly, and sometimes it’s up to the players to perform. If you’re going to be technically off your game, you’d better be physically on it. You cannot be both.
Lampard commented on the game’s turning point, when City scored and Cardiff lost a man shortly after, saying, “Yeah, it does, you know, and you want to play, and you’re grateful for the opportunity at that point – because I believe it was a red card – to play against ten men.” But you have to make the most of it, as I believe we did at times.
“We made enough to score. I know they had a nice chance on the break as well, but we didn’t take those chances, and I don’t believe we were as effective as we might have been in maintaining momentum, prolonged attacks, and making the proper decisions.”
He elaborated: “We were aggressive with the subs trying to bring attacking players on but we couldn’t find the breakthrough, and the longer the game went on, to be fair to them, they defended in big numbers and made it difficult for us.”
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