Coventry City match analysis from CoventryLive as Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner looks at some of the big talking points from Good Friday's 3-2 win over Derby County
06:00, 04 Apr 2026
Coventry City head coach Frank Lampard (right) speaks with Jack Rudoni (left)
Coventry City head coach Frank Lampard (right) speaks with Jack Rudoni (left)
Coventry City took another leap towards securing automatic promotion to the Premier League with the club’s 25th win of the season – setting a new all-time club record.
Sky Blues substitute Jack Rudoni scored twice in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Derby County to move Frank Lampard’s side to within eight points of ending their 25-year top flight exile, with 91 the magic number.
Rudoni netted the winner ten minutes from time to extend City’s Championship lead to 11 points after Ben Brereton Diaz had twice pegged them back.
Frank Onyeka opened the scoring with a sepctacular first goal for the club before Rudoni restored their lead after Brereton Diaz headed in the first equaliser. The Rams – who are themselves pushing for promotion via the play-offs – thought they’d snatched a point when Brereton Diaz made it 2-2 from the penalty spot before Rudoni settled it with his fifth goal in four games.
The victory makes it eight wins from nine for Coventry and they could secure promotion back to the top flight within the next fortnight.
What Lampard asked Rudoni
Lampard asked match winner Rudoni to give him 30 minutes from the bench on his return from his latest injury set-back that had kept him out for four games, having also missed a chunk of fixtures earlier in the season.
He’d scored three in three in the lead up to suffering a calf strain against Stoke but got straight back to finding the back of the net with two well taken goals, just 12 minutes apart, to earn man-of-the-match. His half hour cameo also signalled to Lampard that he’s going to be fit enough for the final six encounters.
“Not all players can you have that kind of light-hearted thing of, are you ready to give me 30 and all the chat as he’s coming on,” said the City boss.
“Some players are in the zone but with Rudy, I know we’ve got a good relationship. My only concern was is he fit enough, because I didn’t want to risk him to maybe losing him for the last six games. But he showed me that he’s alright.”
Frank Lampard manager / head coach of Coventry City reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Coventry City and Derby County at The Coventry Building Society Arena on April 03, 2026 in Coventry, England
Frank Lampard's side are so close to winning the Championship - but there are still many battles ahead(Image: 2026 Catherine Ivill - AMA)
Two big calls
Lampard is an advocate of the much-maligned VAR that is in place in the Premier League – his stance having been strengthened during his time in the Championship when he’s felt his team has been on the wrong end of far too many big refereeing decisions.
His latest gripe was referee Tom Nield’s decision to award the Rams a penalty when Ben Brereton Diaz went to ground as Carl Rushworth dived at his feet. Replays showed that the City goalkeeper clearly got his hand to the ball first, before the Derby forward made contact and went to ground.
“I don’t think it’s a penalty,” said the head coach, “but I understand why it was given because without VAR at the speed of the game and the way Brereton Diaz went down, my instinct was to worry straight away.
“But when you see the touch on the ball, then I think it’s not a penalty. Maybe VAR would have changed it. I’m neither here nor there with it, I understand why the ref gave it.
“There’s been some penalties, some big ones we haven’t got this year but that one, I think the speed that it happened is why it was given.”
The visitors, meanwhile, were arguably lucky not to have finished the game with ten men after a nasty tackle by Patrick Agyemang on Bobby Thomas, for which the USA striker received a yellow card which could easily have been a red.
Coventry City players celebrate Jack Rudoni's winning goal
Coventry City players celebrate Jack Rudoni's winning goal
'Absolutely not done yet'
As much as the excitement and anticipation of securing promotion went up another notch with City’s latest victory, Lampard insists that “it’s not done yet” and remains determined to keep his players focused for the final six games, starting with the quick turn-around for Easter Monday’s trip to play-off chasing Hull.
The key thing is that promotion is very much in their own hands and the players’ look more determined than ever to get over the line as quickly as possible.
“Yeah, it’s a mentality, it’s behaviours, it’s like stick together everybody, whether it’s players who are starting or players that come in or aren’t there,” said the 47-year-old Sky Blues boss.
“Just be together because we’ve got an opportunity. Hull’s going to be another tough match and it’s not done yet. The fans are excited, I get it. But for us it’s absolutely not done yet. We have to go and make it happen with a ruthless idea of every game, like we’ve been doing.”
Injury latest ahead of Hull
Lampard confirmed after the match that Joel Latibeaudiere sat out against Derby purely due to the circumstances around his international duty with Jamaica.
“Lati played 90 minutes and then 120 in his two games and then arrived back yesterday (Thurs) on two different flights and all that stuff, so it was a very difficult for him," explained the City coach.
"Lati would play on one leg but it was a decision to make because it was difficult."
As for Brandon Thomas-Asante, who was back in training this week after missing out on duty with Ghana with a hamstring issue, Lampard said: “He has this small hamstring injury that we just want to be careful with. Brandon’s chomping at the bit. He’s not far off maximum training but we just have to be a bit careful. So we’ll see Monday whether he’s back for Hull or whether it’s Saturday.”
He added: “I think hamstrings with a player like Brandon are the worst because he’s a powerful player and he does a lot of explosive stuff, and he’s got a small injury there.
"As I say, he wants to play, he always does, but sometimes we just have to take the decision on medical grounds that if we’re going to get him to sprint 100% max at this point it might be a risk for him. We’ve got more games coming, hopefully he has a World Cup coming so we’re just in that little moment with him.”
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Every day, the CoventryLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Coventry City content.
Our dedicated reporter Andy Turner - who you can follow on X - follows the Sky Blues home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
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