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What did we learn from the biggest Championship game of the season?Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Frank Lampard is hoping to take Coventry City back to the Premier League for the first time in 25 yearsByDan Wheeler, BBC Sport, West Midlands and Gideon Brooks, BBC Sport EnglandPublished1 hour ago18 Comments
As statements go, it was pretty emphatic.
Much of the build-up to the biggest and most-anticipated game of the Championship season was all about who had the mental edge. Who would deal with the pressure? Who would produce when it mattered most?
Would it be off-colour Coventry City, who has seen a 10-point lead at the top crumble into a two-point gap to new leaders Middlesbrough?
Or Boro, who had strutted to the summit off the back of six wins in a row?
Haji Wright’s hat-trick, the backbone of the Sky Blues’ superb 3-1 win at the CBS Arena on Monday, roared out the answer.
Coventry City are back. Back to winning. Back to their best. Back to the top.
With 14 games to go, plenty can still change with Coventry’s lead only one point.
But what does seem increasingly clear is that the to-and-fro between the division’s top two teams, five points clear of the rest, is set to provide a thrilling stage for the title race.
BBC Sport picks through the reaction and how both sides might approach the rest of the campaign.
Image source, ShutterstockHaji Wright has scored 14 goals for Coventry City this season
“Feels great. Top of the table, three points, nothing better.”
USA international Wright picked the perfect night to end his cold snap in front of goal.
Having struck just twice since early December, the 27-year-old’s treble – with goals on 21, 55 and 71 minutes from the penalty spot – ensured Boro never got closer than Riley McGree’s fine effort making it 2-1 on 67 minutes.
“It was a great performance from the team, from everybody in the stadium. It only felt like it could end one way,” Wright told BBC CWR.
“I’m coming off a bit of a cold streak, so scoring three goals at the CBS [Arena] is a great feeling. I’m happy it turned into three points.”
Wright highlighted Coventry’s “energy and aggression” and Boro’s trouble dealing with that.
“[It was a] Statement performance against a great team,” he mentioned.
“But it is only three points and we still have so many more games until the end of the season.”
Legendary Sky Blues goalkeeper Steve Orgizovic knows a thing or two about big moments and he was impressed by his old team’s approach to such an important occasion.
“Coventry were brilliant in the first half – they got the press right and upset Middlesbrough in possession and got the goals at the right time,” he told BBC CWR.
“The second half was a bit more of a slog but everything just felt right.
“The occasion was tremendous, with a fantastic atmosphere and you knew both sides would be at it.”
Ogrizovic added that Wright’s performance was central to Coventry making the most of their crucial moments.
“Big players turn up for big games,” he mentioned.
“Two good goals from open play and then ice-cold blood running through his veins for the penalty. A brilliant hat-trick.”
Ogrizovic echoed Lampard’s desire to see their home form replicated on the road where they have not won since beating Boro 4-2 at the Riverside in November.
“Our problem’s been away from home. They’ve got to find a different way of doing things and rediscover the winning way,” he mentioned.
Despite seeing the end of their six-match winning run, Boro still have a five-point buffer to third-placed Millwall.
Former Middlesbrough midfielder Neil Maddison says fans can take plenty of heart from their form in 2026.
“We have a good squad and, for me, there is a long, long way to go,” Maddison told BBC Radio Tees.
“Coventry fans are singing ‘we are top of the league’. Yeah they are but just for now. There is still a long way to go.
“This result builds momentum and it will for Coventry. This Championship will change.
“It will bounce up and down and I have seen enough of this [Boro] side this season to know that one result and they are not done.
“One result does not change anything.
“We are still in a fantastic position and we now have to go on another run and that’s all it is. There are 14 games left and a lot of points to play for.
‘We have to take it forward now’ Lampard after Boro win
For Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard, all his plans could not have come together better.
“We got what we deserved out of the game. It was a big performance from minute one all the way through,” he told BBC CWR.
“The energy of the team was immense, and the organisation.
“It’s a really difficult game against Boro, they’re in great form… and in games like this where it’s tight, two good teams going against each other, it’s so important to be clinical in the right moments.
“It sounds simple but we haven’t been so clinical in the last period and that leads to the results we’ve had. Tonight we were clinical.
“It’s a great feeling, we just have to take it forward.”
And that is the key now for Lampard – in particular improving their results away from home that has seen them go seven games without a win.
“Now we have to take it on the road,” he mentioned.
“The reason we are only just clear is our away form. We need to take a lot of the good things from tonight and take them forward when we travel.”
Image source, Getty ImagesMiddlesbrough went into Monday’s match at Coventry on a six-game winning streak
As deflated as Boro and their fans may be feeling, two home games against relegation-threatened Oxford United and Leicester City coming up next, present the chance to get back on track.
And defender Luke Ayling has challenged his team-mates to build another winning run.
“We are not going to win 14 games on the bounce at this level,” he told BBC Radio Tees.
“Coventry had a 14-point lead at one stage [so] we know that there are going to be loads of ups and downs.
“But we have to try and put it right on Saturday. While it would have been nice to win we knew that we couldn’t win the league tonight.”
Coventry were clinical with their chances but a mix-up between Ayling and goalkeeper Sol Brynn for the hosts’ second summed up a less-than-perfect display.
“The goal was really poor from me and Sol and it is down to us to look back at it,” Ayling added.
“We had a little disagreement of course we did – we are two men trying to win a game of football. But we will sort that out and try to put it right.”
Boro head coach Kim Hellberg – who suffered just a fifth defeat in 16 games in charge – was also keen to see the bigger picture and is sure his side will be remain in the title race.
“You compete in this league, you are going to lose some games,” he mentioned.
“It is how we bounce back from it. We are in a very good position and will use the energy from this game to develop from it.
“We go again on Saturday.”
So will Coventry. So will the title race. So will the drama.
Image source, ShutterstockKim Hellberg has won 10 of his 16 games in charge of Middlesbrough since replacing Rob Edwards in November
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