Frank Lampard has played down the suggestion that Taiwo Awoniyi’s dismissal was the main reason behind Coventry City’s 5-0 defeat to Brighton on Sunday, insisting that missed opportunities had already put his side in a difficult position, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
Coventry suffered their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat without scoring, becoming only the second team in Premier League history to lose their opening four matches without finding the net after Crystal Palace in the 2017/18 season.
It is also the first time in Coventry’s history that the club has failed to collect either a point or a goal from their opening four league games. Their previous worst start came in 1919/20, their first season in the Football League, when they also lost their first four matches.
Brighton took control after half-time, scoring twice before Coventry were reduced to 10 men following Awoniyi’s dismissal.
The Nigerian striker was shown a straight red card eight minutes into the second half for violent conduct after making contact with Brighton defender Maxim De Cuyper’s face with his arm while competing for an aerial ball.
Referee Tony Harrington immediately dismissed Awoniyi, while VAR reviewed the incident and upheld the decision.
The Premier League Match Centre later released the officials’ discussion, with Harrington’s assistant saying: “He has caught him in his face with his elbow.”
Despite the dismissal, Lampard refused to place the blame for the heavy defeat entirely on the Nigeria international, pointing to Coventry’s inability to make their chances count before the red card.
“Well, at 2-0 down, I don’t think I can quite say that. I think it’s the moments throughout the game of us having chances, as we did last week at City, not taking them, to feeling what would feel like for us to get ourselves in front, as I felt like we deserved to be.
“Then, obviously, the red card’s a huge point in it,” Lampard said during his post-match interview with the club.
Awoniyi is now expected to serve a three-match suspension, the standard punishment for violent conduct.
The ban means he will miss Coventry’s trip to former club Nottingham Forest next Saturday, Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting with Aston Villa and the Premier League clash against Newcastle after the international break.
His teammate Ephron Mason-Clark also offered support to the striker, describing Awoniyi as “one of the nicest people” he has met.
“He’s a top professional, and I think he’s been affected more than anybody. He’s one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met. I haven’t looked at it back, but he’s more than disappointed in himself.
“It’s just the reality of the game. There are so many eyes on you, and a lapse of concentration, and it’s just unfortunate that it happened the way it happened and the result of the sending-off.”
The victory moved Brighton up to fourth place in the Premier League table, while Coventry remain at the bottom after their difficult start to the campaign.