Now here was a Sky Blue victory built on honesty and decades of endurance – unlike the one at Anfield 24 hours earlier.
Coventry City are not Manchester City, on the pitch or off it. During the years when Manchester City cheated their way to Premier League and European titles, Coventry were playing in all three divisions of the Football League.
Their ascent to the top tier has not been particularly pretty, and neither at times was this first home win of the season. It lacked, for the large part, the silk and skill of Manchester City’s dismantling of Liverpool.
But Frank Lampard’s side have different qualities – and Newcastle were no match for that hard work, grit and collective will. The goal that confirmed elevation to 14th in the table did not arrive until the 81st minute – on the back of a nervy period in which Newcastle threatened to steal a point – but when it did it was entirely deserved.
Substitute George Simms slammed into the bottom corner after an error from Joelinton and then, just to confirm their superiority, fellow substitute Stephen Mfuni lashed an even better goal four minutes from time.
‘You’ve seen the City, now **** off home’ chorused the home crowd, and Newcastle did just that. They have more problems than their opponents right now – a lack of leaders and identity, for starters.
Coventry secured back-to-back Premier League wins by earning a 4-1 victory over Newcastle
Coventry secured back-to-back Premier League wins by earning a 4-1 victory over Newcastle
Sidiki Cherif scored the pick of Coventry's goals with a driven effort from outside the box
Sidiki Cherif scored the pick of Coventry's goals with a driven effort from outside the box
Matthias Jaissle has seen his Newcastle side concede four times in their last two away games
Matthias Jaissle has seen his Newcastle side concede four times in their last two away games
Even before kick-off, this did not feel like a stadium that had witnessed two defeats without a goal on their team’s return to the Premier League, such was the noise. The 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest before the break had clearly restored belief.
But there is nothing quite like a home goal to raise spirits – and the volume – still further. Twenty-five years on from Coventry’s last, and just six minutes into this game, Jack Rudoni brought relief to that particular quest.
The midfielder had Newcastle goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek to thank for the opportunity to score his first Premier League goal from the penalty spot. The Czech looked like he was gathering a bar of soap when Ephron Mason-Clark’s low shot ran through bodies and into – and out of – his grasp. Hornicek should have cut his losses but instead chased redemption. His team were soon chasing the game when his recovery dive sent Sidiki Cherif skyward at the expense of the spot-kick.
What followed for the remainder of the opening half was low on quality. It was more fitting of Saturday 3pm than the post-weekend audience of Monday Night Football. Not that Coventry cared. They missed a couple of chances to extend their advantage – a lack of composure was their undoing – but that was also the case at the other end, and preservation of the lead was always Lampard’s chief concern.
Matthias Jaissle’s concern, meanwhile, should be his £51million forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo. The young Belgian wants to play as striker and he used that desire as part of his bargaining when agreeing to join from Lille last month. Except, he does not look nor play like a Premier League centre-forward. At least not yet. And so, in the short term, the head coach needs to ignore the wishes of the player and pick a better option in such a key position.
Fernandez-Pardo did have a chance to perhaps prolong his use in his favoured role when running clear just before half-time. He did everything right – skipping around Carl Rushworth – but, crucially, he got the finish all wrong, firing tamely into recovering defender Bobby Thomas in the goalmouth.
The second half began as badly as the first for Jaissle’s side. Milan van Ewijk’s long throw-in was headed only as far as the edge of the penalty area by defender Malick Thiaw and, when the efforts to close down Cherif slowed, he very quickly blasted back into the bottom corner.
If only the Guinean teenager had shown that conviction a few minutes later then Coventry’s win would have been all but confirmed. This time, though, he snatched at an easier chance at the far post after a scuffed clearance from Sven Botman and the lead remained at two.
That was soon one – and it was Botman who gave Newcastle some barely deserved hope with a 20-yard rocket into the top corner. It was short-lived. Coventry’s stay in the Premier League, you suspect, might not be.