Coventry City manager Frank Lampard has refused to make Taiwo Awoniyi’s red card the main reason for his side’s 5-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton, instead pointing to missed opportunities as a major factor behind the heavy loss.
Coventry were already two goals down when Awoniyi was dismissed early in the second half for violent conduct, before Brighton added three more goals to complete a dominant victory.
The defeat extended a difficult start to Coventry’s Premier League campaign. They have now lost their opening four league matches without scoring, becoming only the second team in Premier League history to suffer that run after Crystal Palace in the 2017-18 season.
It is also the first time Coventry have failed to earn either a point or score a goal in their opening four league matches. The club had previously lost their first four league fixtures only once before, during their first Football League season in 1919-20.
Awoniyi was shown a straight red eight minutes after half-time following an aerial challenge with Brighton defender Maxim De Cuyper.
Referee Tony Harrington immediately dismissed the Nigerian striker after judging that he had caught De Cuyper in the face with his arm. VAR reviewed the incident and upheld the decision.
The Premier League Match Centre later published the exchange between the officials, with the assistant referee telling Harrington: “He has caught him in his face with his elbow.”
Despite the dismissal, Lampard argued that Coventry’s problems had begun before Awoniyi was sent off.
The former Chelsea midfielder said his players had created opportunities but failed to take them, similar to their previous defeat against Manchester City.
“At 2-0 down, I don’t think I can quite say that,” Lampard said when asked about the impact of the red card.
“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.”
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He acknowledged that the sending-off subsequently became an important moment in the match but stopped short of making it the sole explanation for the defeat.
“Then, obviously, the red card’s a huge point in it,” he added.
Awoniyi is now expected to serve a three-match suspension, the standard punishment for violent conduct.
The suspension is set to rule him out of Coventry’s trip to former club Nottingham Forest next Saturday, their Carabao Cup third-round meeting with Aston Villa on Tuesday and the Premier League clash against Newcastle after the international break.
Coventry teammate Ephron Mason-Clark also offered support to Awoniyi, describing the Nigeria international as one of the nicest people he has encountered.
Mason-Clark said Awoniyi was particularly disappointed by the incident and suggested it was an unfortunate lapse during a highly scrutinised game.
“He’s a top professional, and I think he’s been affected more than anybody,” Mason-Clark said.
Brighton’s victory moved them up to fourth in the Premier League table, while Coventry remain bottom after four consecutive defeats.