Coventry City 0 West Bromwich Albion 4

Albion went from disjointed to delightful in the space of a half-time interval last night to put to the sword a 10-man Coventry team rapidly becoming their favourite opposition, writes Martin Swain.

A match which for 45 minutes tested the resolve of Tony Mowbray’s team was unrecogniseable by the finish thanks to four goals and another exhibition of the progressive brand of football which is turning the Baggies into the Arsenal of the Championship.

A fully-committed Coventry will feel the scoreline did them little favours after a commendable effort in trying to overcome the loss of Michael Mifsud, their most dangerous striker, following an 11th minute challenge on Carl Hoefkens which was pitched somewhere between brainless and serious assault.

But the carnage that followed after the break took Albion’s aggregate against the Sky Blues to 10 goals scored and none conceded in their last three meetings.

The Baggies are buzzing. Second place has been re-claimed with a goal difference stretching so far ahead of the field it promises to be an extra point by the time Albion get to the business end of the season.

And even though they left the scene of their latest conquest with another worrying injury removing James Morrison from their immediate plans, the only irritation to Albion will be the two weeks they must now wait before the Black Country derby, their next fixture.

Such is the buoyant mood and gathering conviction in Mowbray’s ranks, they’d be snapping at Wolves tomorrow if they could.

Read the full report in today’s Express & Star.

Coventry City 0 West Bromwich Albion 4

Albion went from disjointed to delightful in the space of a half-time interval last night to put to the sword a 10-man Coventry team rapidly becoming their favourite opposition, writes Martin Swain.

A match which for 45 minutes tested the resolve of Tony Mowbray’s team was unrecogniseable by the finish thanks to four goals and another exhibition of the progressive brand of football which is turning the Baggies into the Arsenal of the Championship.

A fully-committed Coventry will feel the scoreline did them little favours after a commendable effort in trying to overcome the loss of Michael Mifsud, their most dangerous striker, following an 11th minute challenge on Carl Hoefkens which was pitched somewhere between brainless and serious assault.

But the carnage that followed after the break took Albion’s aggregate against the Sky Blues to 10 goals scored and none conceded in their last three meetings.

The Baggies are buzzing. Second place has been re-claimed with a goal difference stretching so far ahead of the field it promises to be an extra point by the time Albion get to the business end of the season.

And even though they left the scene of their latest conquest with another worrying injury removing James Morrison from their immediate plans, the only irritation to Albion will be the two weeks they must now wait before the Black Country derby, their next fixture.

Such is the buoyant mood and gathering conviction in Mowbray’s ranks, they’d be snapping at Wolves tomorrow if they could.

The growing casualty list has thrust the spotlight on the manager’s summer recruits with the Albion boss opting to cover the absence of Kevin Phillips by utilising Filipe Teixeira as a support striker to Ishmael Miller for this contest.

Mowbray was rewarded with two second half goals and a man of the match award from Sky TV viewers for Teixeira which further supported the Portuguese playmaker’s decision to try his luck in English football in his mid-20s.

But no-one played better than Paul Robinson – show him a Coventry shirt and the result is usually trouble for the Sky Blues. It was his wonderful finish which broke the deadlock and snapped Coventry’s resistance in the 57th minute at the end of a cutting sequence of passes which swept Albion from one end of the pitch to the other.

That meant goals for Robinson in each of the last three games against Coventry including the winner last season – a victory which calmed jangling play-off nerves – when the home side also found themselves down to 10 men because of an instant red card for young defender Ben Turner after a challenge on Phillips.

There was a good deal more for the home side to be sore about on that occasion than after the crazy aerial lunge by Mifsud which handed the Baggies an advantage which they would ruthlessly exploit later on.

The Coventry forward has no reputation for malice or dark deeds – and at 5ft 5in and under 10 stone that’s probably a wise policy – but he seemed to measure a reckless, elbow-led challenge on Hoefkens which flattened the Baggies full back.

Coventry’s staff appeared annoyed that referee Phil Dowd only showed Mifsud the red card after a protracted march across the pitch during which he was clearly in contact with his fourth official. The greater scandal was that it took so long for the punishment to be invoked – Mifsud had to go.

Waspish

It was a turn in events, however, which seemed to inspire Coventry and rattle Albion as the waspish tackling of Michael Doyle and Stephen Hughes, soon dispensing with a Phantom of the Opera mask to bring his targets into sharper vision, disrupted Albion’s midfield.

With Mowbray’s concern clearly evident as his side failed to find any rhythm or groove, it was vital that Albion reached the break intact.

Morrison’s clearly awkward fall on an ankle added to Albion’s discomfort even if his misfortune provided the perfect opportunity for Chris Brunt to begin establishing himself in this team. Brunt would have to wait until the second half to enjoy himself but there is so much quality in that left-foot delivery it is difficult to see how he can be anything other than a success in time.

Mowbray revealed that the subsequent half-time session in the visitors’ dressing room was a feisty affair and rightly so – Albion were justifiably annoyed with their inability to impose themselves.

But the break took the steam out of Coventry and saw Albion emerge with composure gathered and their focus sharpened.

Teixeira had hinted at his capabilities with a delightful display of tight control and delicate chip which demanded a fine save from Dimitrios Konstantopoulos in Albion’s best moment before the break.

Now he twice unnerved Coventry with clever through balls which so nearly played in first Zoltan Gera and then Miller before the game’s second big moment arrived, a moment as beautiful as Mifsud’s was ugly.

The passing sequence which began with Jonathan Greening and via Robinson, Robert Koren and Gera found Robinson surging down the blind side of Coventry’s defence is what Albion are all about these days. And despite his full-throttle, let us not under-estimate the technique Robinson employed to beat Konstantopoulos like a chip out of the bunker.

From that moment you sensed the game was up. It certainly was when, within a minute, Teixeira claimed the first of his pair by anticipating the indecision of three Coventry players to swivel and shoot home from close range and a tight angle.

What followed then was probably one of the most well-attended training sessions of the season so far as Coventry, spent and dispirited having put in so much effort for no reward, plugged away to limit the damage to two more goals.

The first owed much to some more tight twists and turns by Teixeira before, happy enough with the shooting angle he had worked for himself in the 73rd minute, he fired into the bottom corner.

The final effort, in added time, was deposited from tap-in range by Robert Koren – and his recent outstanding form has deserved such a moment – after Gera and Teixeira had opened up Coventry once more.