FRANK Lampard praised Coventry City’s ‘togetherness’ after the Sky Blues beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the FA Cup third round.
City triumphed 4-3 on spot kicks following a one-all draw after extra time at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
And Lampard lauded his side’s confidence in the shootout after City suffered penalty heartbreak in last season’s semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.
Lampard said: “I know the tense nature of it and the pressure on the penalties and on individuals, so we had a big togetherness.
“Last year was a great achievement in the run anyway so for them to have that nice feeling and to step up so confidently was great and also Ollie as well to make the save, it was important for us.
“I’m happy for the fans, a cup tie like that to see resilience in the team and players taking penalties in high pressure situations, it’s a good watch when it’s done and you’re winning.
“Penalties is not always fun but as a cup tie it was typical. It was so unfortunate for us to concede the way we did.
“When they score it’s an easy one to get down, but the players kept going and kept fighting and it’s a good feeling to win on penalties, so the players are happy and I’m happy and we need to take that forward.”
Coventry broke the deadlock on 26 minutes when Victor Torp’s corner from the left ran through to Liam Kitching who lashed a half-volley past Pierce Charles to score his first goal of the season.
City saw a second goal ruled out for a foul at a corner late on and had to defend a corner in injury time without defender Luis Binks after he received treatment for an injury.
And Wednesday made the most of the extra man to equalise in the 93rd minute as Anthony Musaba forced the ball home from close range following a corner from the right.
In the shootout, Jake Bidwell saw his penalty saved while Jamal Lowe fired over for Wednesday and Oliver Dovin denied Olaf Kobacki as Norman Bassette tucked away the winning penalty.
And while Lampard felt decisions did not go his side’s way, the Sky Blues head coach praised goalkeeper Dovin who has enjoyed a resurgence in form since returning to the team on Boxing Day.
Lampard added: “The tactical side was good and we should have been winning more in the 90 minutes, not just our goal and the chances we created but also, we had a clear goal that was disallowed and there was nothing wrong with that goal.
“We were a man down [for the Sheffield Wednesday goal] and it’s one of our centre-backs, but I know that’s the rule but in the heat of the moment I was upset, but there were a lot of decisions that went against us.
“There were some decisions I couldn’t work out in my head, but we all have to get over it, but it can affect the game, but we kept going.
“He [Oliver] is a good lad and a talented goalkeeper and there’s a lot of improvement for him to make and I mean that in good sense because he’s young.
“I’ve been very pleased with him, and he’s been very composed and made some important saves when called upon.”
City will host Premier League strugglers Ipswich Town in the fourth round on the weekend of Saturday, February 8.
Coventry are next in action against Bristol City on Saturday, January 18 with kick-off at 3pm at the CBS Arena.
