HAJI Wright scored a hat-trick as Coventry City returned to the top of the table with a statement 3-1 win against promotion rivals Middlesbrough.
Wright opened the scoring with an instinctive finish and completed his treble with a second-half brace either side of Riley McGree’s strike for Boro at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The result means Coventry leapfrog Boro to move one point clear at the top of the Championship table.
Coventry almost made the perfect start when Haji Wright headed Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s cross from the right against the post from eight-yards out with the game just two minutes old.
Boro responded with a chance of their own as Morgan Whittaker cut in from the right and blasted a shot narrowly over the crossbar from just outside the penalty area.
However, City broke the deadlock on 22 minutes when Jack Rudoni played a ball into the path of Wright who reacted quickest to divert the ball past Sol Brynn from eight-yards out.
Boro almost drew level in the first minute of the second period when Whittaker sent a header onto the roof of the net from 12-yards out.
However, Wright doubled Coventry’s lead on 55 minutes when he ran onto Carl Rushworth’s long kick up the pitch and curled a first time shot into the right corner of the goal from the left side of the penalty area.
Boro came within inches of halving the deficit when substitute Jeremy Sarmiento curled a shot against the post with Rushworth beaten.
However, the visitors did halve the deficit on 67 minutes as McGree lashed a loose ball into the top-right corner from 12-yards out after Joel Latibeaudiere blocked a goalbound shot.
Just 17 seconds after the restart, the Sky Blues won a penalty after Josh Eccles’ cross struck the outstretched arm of Matt Targett in the box.
And Wright duly completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot on 71 minutes with a confident finish into the bottom left corner despite Brynn diving the right way.
