When it eventually arrived, it was well worth the wait. It was fitting that Ephron Mason-Clark was the provider of the decisive moment of quality, perhaps the most important goal of his career to date, to stretch Coventry’s lead at the Championship summit to five points.
With full-time four minutes away, Mason-Clark left the floor acrobatically to meet Ellis Simms’ flick-on and send 3,300 Coventry fans into a wild dance. In a match played at a ferocious pace, he had provided the missing ace.
The winger was left floored by Stoke’s Junior Tchamadeu and eventually was stretchered off looking dazed. It summed up Tchamadeu’s afternoon – he had spent much of it trying to halt Mason-Clark but always arrived a fraction too late.
Those in the blue corner did Mason-Clark’s celebrating for him, a rendition of Dean Martin’s Sway containing their No 10’s name filling the night air for several minutes. Frank Lampard watched on calmly, arms folded, from the technical area. But even he had allowed himself a celebratory jig with his staff at the goal and why not? His doubters, and there were many, are not so audible now.
This was not classic 2025/26 Coventry, all free flowing and even freer scoring. They were in a battle and they knew about it. “It was crying out for that bit of extra skill or it would have petered out into a nil-nil,” Lampard said. “Our approach was what I really liked as it showed a side of us that had a real focus.”
The top three in League One were all beaten as Jack Wilshere's positive start to life as Luton’s manager continued with a 3-0 victory over table-toppers Stockport. The Hatters have now won four games in a row. Two quick-fire goals in the latter stages of the first half from Jake Richards and Cohen Bramall and one from Isaiah Jones in the second half settled it, with Nathan Lowe missing a penalty for the hosts before Owen Dodgson was sent off.
Second-placed Bradford also lost at home, Jake Beesley and Charlie Webster netting for Burton in a 2-1 victory, while two goals from Ashley Fletcher and one from Tom Bloxham gave improving Blackpool a 3-1 victory over Cardiff. Bolton are now only two points off top spot after beating Port Vale 4-0, Amario Cozier-Duberry scoring twice and Xavier Simons and Kyle Dempsey once each.
Peterborough climbed off the bottom of the table with a remarkable 5-0 victory over high-flying AFC Wimbledon, Harry Leonard and Gustav Lindgren scoring twice each, while Huddersfield were 3-1 victors against struggling Plymouth. Victory for Lincoln would have seen them draw level on points with Stockport but they were beaten 3-0 by Rotherham: Reece James, Ar'jany Martha and Denzel Hall on the scoresheet.
Wycombe's resurgence under Michael Duff continued with a 4-1 win over Leyton Orient. An eventful first half saw Fred Onyedinma score twice either side of an Aaron Connolly penalty before Dan Casey extended the Chairboys' lead, and Sam Bell added a fourth with 15 minutes left.
Northampton returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Mansfield. Rhys Oates crashed in the opener but the Cobblers turned things around in the second half as Jack Perkins levelled before Tom Eaves won it from the penalty spot. Davis Keilor-Dunn scored the winner as Barnsley defeated Doncaster 2-1 while Exeter and Wigan drew 1-1. PA Media
All afternoon, clear openings were scarcer than direct answers from politicians. Early on, Brandon Thomas-Asante went to ground in the area. Ben Wilmot had simply stroked his shoulder, and John Busby quite rightly deemed the contact to be hardly contact at all. Later, Haji Wright had a similar request turned down. The outstanding Wilmot’s challenge was spot on.
Victor Torp saw Viktor Johansson deny him twice and Ashley Phillips also blocked his first-time hit. The Dane might have expected to score at least once: his six previous Championship strikes this season have come from an xG of 1.7.
The game’s only goal, by the way, came from a Milan van Ewijk long throw, proving that their popularity is not restricted to the Premier League. ‘We’ve come to the home of a long throw and scored from a long throw,” a smiling Lampard said. “But it was more about Ephron’s skill level.”
Spare a thought for Mark Robins. A year and a day since he was unceremoniously sacked by the visitors – proof that even miracle workers are afforded little grace – he must have thought a point had been hard-earned.
There was a goal glut at Newport as League Two leaders Walsall claimed a 4-2 victory. Five of the goals came in the first half, including two for Ryan Finnigan, and Rico Browne made sure of the points for the Saddlers early in the second half. Second-placed Swindon looked set to lose ground after Tranmere's Kristian Dennis levelled with two minutes to go but Finley Munroe made it 2-1 in injury time.
Third-placed Salford were held to a 0-0 draw by Cambridge and MK Dons had to fight back from two down to earn a 2-2 draw against Barnet. Owen Lunt's first senior goal for Crewe, a strike from Tommi O'Reilly and a late effort from Omar Bogle earned the Railwaymen a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury.
Barrow recovered from two down to hold high-flying Grimsby 2-2 while Max Clark's goal earned Gillingham, still without Gareth Ainsworth on the touchline, a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers. A topsy-turvy clash at Chesterfield ended in a 3-3 draw with Accrington, Fleetwood had Zech Medley sent off for two yellow cards inside 10 minutes and lost 2-1 at Crawley while Bromley beat Colchester 2-0 and 10-man Oldham held on for a 1-0 victory at Harrogate. PA Media
“Nip and tuck, not much in it,” Robins said. “Disappointing to lose like that. It’s chalk and cheese from last season, so we’ve got to take a little bit of a breath and a bit of realism.”
Robins is right. Stoke, who slipped to third, showed enough to suggest that their resurrection is still on. Their ground is once more a boiling pot of intimidation after eight seasons spent barely at a simmer.
They defended resolutely and looked to break swiftly via Million Manhoef and Sorba Thomas. The former had Stoke’s best two openings but was twice thwarted by the sound defence of Jay Dasilva.
Manhoef looked primed to meet a teasing first-half cross at the back post, only for Dasilva’s vital touch to cause the ball to bounce off his face and to safety. Offside was suspected but the flag remained down and, given the lack of video assistant referee, it would have stood.
Staying on video technology, Thomas found fortune in its absence. “My bad, my bad”, he mouthed when swarmed by blue shirts after he kicked the twisting Tatsuhiro Sakamoto near the touchline. It was mistimed, not malicious, but he wore a guilty face.
In the second half, a cleverly weighted Bae Jun-ho pass set Manhoef through but Dasilva pushed him wide before throwing his body at the shot.
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The pure, unbridled optimism that was palpable pre-game had dissipated a touch for the 24,000 home fans by their departure.
But for Coventry, whose supporters serenaded the absent Mason-Clark long after the final whistle, the feeling grows that their wait for a top-flight return may soon come to an end. Twenty-five years is an awful long time.
