Frank Lampard hails ‘massive win’ for Coventry against Leicester

Frank Lampard hailed Coventry’s win against Leicester as “massive” after Haji Wright’s first goal since early October secured a 2-1 victory.

Jordan James had opened the scoring for the visitors before Ellis Simms equalised shortly after half-time.

Wright came off the bench to grab an 85th-minute winner as Coventry claimed a much-needed three points after a run of two victories in eight.

“It was a massive win because it was a tough match,” said Lampard. “They’re a quality team, you can’t get fooled by their league position because if they turn up and play well they give you problems.

“They gave us problems in the first half which makes us happier that we had half-time, dealt tactically with the problems and the feeling of the game and owned it in the second half.

“It was tense in the first half, they played well but we grabbed it back. Over the course of a season of course you’ll have games like this and full credit to the lads.

“We’ve set really high standards here and we’re used to having a lot of momentum in games and it’s normal that you don’t always have that. It’s my job to remind players because there was tension in the stadium.”

Lampard was also full of praise for American striker Wright after he ended a three-month goal drought.

“It was a really powerful 25 minutes where he’s giving defenders problems, nearly a penalty and then holding it up, tracking back and those things,” Lampard said.

“He wants to do really, really well individually, he’s a team man and I’m really pleased for him to get his goal here. Hopefully it will be the catalyst for him to feel really good about himself, because he should.

“He’s a really good player and he cares, so I’m delighted for him.”

Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes rued his side’s missed chances as they failed to capitalise on a positive first-half display.

“A tough result, especially according to the first half because I think we played at a really high level, we dominated a very good team in their own stadium,” Cifuentes said.

“We created not only the goal but more chances to take a bigger lead, and we played football that I really enjoy, that I thought had a good combination.

“We had some transitions when possible and when needed, so it was a very good first half but we spoke at half-time with the guys that we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. The reality is that 1-0 is always dangerous.

“The disappointing part is that we concede a goal a few seconds after the start of the second half.

“We should have closed the second ball, the duel and the way we cope with the long-range shot. We know that (Jack) Rudoni and (Victor) Torp are good players around the edge of the box.

“We gave them the possibility to build momentum in the second half with the crowd, but still I think we created some chances in situations we could have been more clinical.

“It’s disappointing the way we conceded the second, not only because it’s late on but the ball bounces on the penalty spot, we don’t cope well with the duel but it’s a very poor goal to concede.”