Millwall 0-1 Coventry City: Ephron Mason-Clark seals first win of Lampard era

Ephron Mason-Clark scored the only goal as Coventry picked up their first win under new boss Frank Lampard with a deserved 1-0 victory against Millwall at The Den.

It also ended a run of five league games without a win for the Sky Blues and moved them four points above the relegation zone in the Sky Bet Championship in what was Lampard's second game in charge.

Millwall were without a number of key players, including Romain Esse and Josh Coburn, and could not provide enough of an attacking threat as their nine-match unbeaten run came to an end.

The home side thought they had taken the lead in the twelfth minute when Joe Bryan's corner from the right got caught in the strong wind and went straight in.

However, the goal was disallowed as Lions striker Macaulay Langstaff was penalized for a foul on Coventry goalkeeper Brad Collins.

It was the only moment when either goal was threatened in what was a soporific opening half hour that did little to warm up the crowd.

It took 34 minutes for Coventry to get even a hint of an opening, which came and went quickly thanks to Jack Rudoni's heavy first touch after a dangerous cutback from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

A good move from the Lions shortly afterwards led to Femi Azeez feeding Langstaff in the area, but he fired his shot wildly over the crossbar.

The Sky Blues almost took the lead before half-time when Rudoni's header from Milan van Ewijk's cross was tapped in by Lukas Jensen.

There was still time for Duncan Watmore to fire a long-range shot over the crossbar for Millwall before the whistle blew, with both teams knowing they had to improve in attack after the break.

The clearest chance of the match so far came in the 58th minute when Victor Torp's cross fell to Mason-Clark, who struggled to clear the ball before his shot was blocked by Jensen.

But the former Peterborough man was able to make it two goals in two games under Lampard five minutes later when he sent a back-post volley from Rudoni's cross in off the underside of the crossbar.

Coventry threatened to double their lead when Mason-Clark played in Rudoni and although he was forced slightly wide, he managed to force Jensen into a save.

Millwall continued to huff and puff at the other end, with Langstaff again unable to trouble Collins with an effort from the corner of the area.

The Sky Blues came within a mile of a more comfortable finale to the match when Bobby Thomas smashed a header from Rudoni's corner against the post, but they held on for a much-needed three points.

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