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The Sky Blues beat Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough to set up a Championship playoff final against Luton Town next Saturday
Five years ago, Coventry City were playing Luton Town in League Two. Next Saturday, they will face the Hatters at Wembley for the chance to reach the Premier League.
What a journey the Sky Blues have been on under Mark Robins, who took charge of the crisis club in 2017 and has led them from the fourth tier to the brink of the top flight.
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12:04 - 17.05.2023
FOOTBALL A fairytale almost realistic as Luton Town now a game away from Premier League
Luton beat Sunderland 2-0 to book a place in the Wembley promotion play-off final against Middlesborough or Coventry City.
And what a story it will be if Coventry find themselves back among the big boys for the first time in 22 years after all the turmoil they have suffered in that period.
In the last decade alone, the Sky Blues have experienced two relegations, two ownership changes, and two stadium moves. This season began with pitch problems and the threat of eviction from their ground, and they were bottom of the table after 11 games.
So, what Robins has achieved is truly remarkable. No wonder Coventry moved to announce he had agreed a new four-year deal just hours before this Championship play-off semi-final second leg.
Gustavo Hamer was their hero at Middlesbrough, managed by Manchester United legend Michael Carrick, securing the Sky Blues’ first-ever win at the Riverside with the only goal of what has been a grueling 180-minute tie.
And now lowly Luton, whose own story is just as special, are all that stand in the way of Coventry making an amazing top-flight return.
“It felt like the longest game of my career and it never even went to extra time,” said Robins. “From where we were at start of the season to now, it has been absolutely incredible. It is a special club and it is special because it has been through so much.
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10:34 - 18.05.2023
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The midfielder signed a new two-year deal in December 2022.
“The club was done when I came back in 2017. You could feel like it had given up. It was the worst I had ever known. It has been six long years of trying to get us to this stage and hopefully we can now go to that next step.”
For Carrick, this was a bitter blow having overseen his own transformation of a club who were fourth bottom when he took charge in October. He had only lost one home match against Championship opposition, and that was to title winners Burnley, but his players looked gripped by fear in this second leg.
They could have conceded earlier than they did when Tommy Smith’s misplaced back pass played in Viktor Gyokeres. But home goalkeeper Zack Steffen bailed them out by clawing the ball away from the Swedish striker as he tried to round him.
“I am bitterly disappointed. It is a tough one to take and I am gutted for the fans. But I am proud of the journey we have been on. Hopefully this is the start of something,” said Carrick.
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