Middlesbrough lose 'high-quality' clash of Championship's top two with Coventry City
Late goals from Liam Kitching and Ellis Simms helped Coventry extend their advantage at the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 4-2 win over Middlesbrough in their top-of-the-table clash.
The defeat sees Boro drop into third in the table, 10 points behind Coventry.
The Sky Blues landed two early blows in the opening 15 minutes, going ahead through Simms’ stunning top-corner strike and Kitching’s header.
Boro responded through Morgan Whittaker before the break and levelled minutes after the restart with a Bobby Thomas own goal.
But interim boss Adi Viveash, who will now hand the reins over to new head coach Kim Hellberg, knows it could have been different had Tommy Conway not missed from close range with the score at 2-2.
Viveash said: “That five-minute spell – from our great chance at 2-2 and they get the third, we’re disappointed with the fourth as well because you’re still in the game at 3-2 – that was a bit of a sucker punch.
“I thought it was a high-quality, Championship-level game. I don’t think Coventry disappointed.
“I thought we more than played our part in it. We had some key moments at times and had some strong periods in it.
“The key moments didn’t go our way and they took advantage of our frailties at certain times.
“We’re disappointed with all four goals. You can’t concede four goals in any Championship game.”