COVENTRY — Coventry City announced themselves back in the big time with a thumping 4-1 victory over Newcastle United at the CBS Arena, ending a 25-year wait for a Premier League win in front of their own supporters. Jack Rudoni's penalty, Sidiki Cherif's first goal for the Sky Blues and late strikes from Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni lifted Frank Lampard's side out of the relegation zone in style.
Rudoni, who paid tribute to his grandma in hospital after a heart attack last week by revealing a 'GET WELL SOON NAN' message after scoring, opened the scoring from the spot after Cherif had won the early penalty on his first Premier League start. The 19-year-old, a £20m summer signing from Fenerbahce, then doubled the lead with a crisp finish through a forest of defenders on his fourth appearance, before Simms and Mfuni completed the scoring to inflict a second successive 4-1 away defeat on the Magpies.
"It's big and we have to tap into that in a good way, in a humble way," said Lampard, whose side are now 14th and level on points with Manchester United after six games following successive wins. "We have to be excited and I'm seeing players in my eyes that are developing quite quickly. A lot of players had low Premier League minutes, or zero Premier League minutes - Jack Rudoni, [Brandon] Thomas Asante, [Ephron] Mason-Clark, a lot of them. This [win] gives good confidence, so it's the balance of confidence against overconfidence. But it's great when you have a template of feeling when you get a result of that level." Lampard added: "We're going to be a relative underdog in pretty much every game, so we have to maximise everything and be on the limit and I thought we were on the limit in loads of ways."
Cherif's strike made history for the Sky Blues. At 19 years and 301 days old, he is Coventry's youngest Premier League goalscorer since Robbie Keane against Middlesbrough in April 2000 (19y 282d) and the first player to score from outside the box for the club since David Thompson struck against Newcastle in January 2001. Lampard said: "We've got a lot of belief in Sidi, a big signing for the club. He's very respectful but there's a hunger that flicks on when he goes on to the training pitch and in game. Sometimes you don't realise he's 19." With Hadji Wright still out with a serious thigh injury, much of the burden will fall on Cherif, who was not even born the last time Coventry were in the top flight. Coventry scored 97 goals as they won the Championship last season and their ruthless finishing was a reminder of that power.
The result backed up victory at Nottingham Forest before the international break and was Coventry's first time scoring four goals in the top flight since a 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in May 2000. It was much-needed after previous home fixtures had brought a 1-0 defeat by fellow promoted side Hull, a 5-0 thumping by Brighton and a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. Those around the training ground at Ryton feel that if they are competitive over the next seven games they will have a platform for survival, with a trip to Tottenham and the visit of winless Fulham next, followed by Sunderland, Everton, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Ipswich to take them into December.