Super Eagles star Taiwo Awoniyi suffered the ignominy of a red card and a hefty defeat as Coventry fell to Brighton
Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi was sent off for the first time in his Premier League career as Coventry were humbled 5-0 at home against Brighton.
The terrible afternoon for Nigerian players continued with Frank Onyeka’s injury, which could rule the midfielder out of the Super Eagles’ upcoming AFCON qualifiers.
Brighton dominated the early stages, with Diego Gómez, Charalampos Kostoulas and Malick Yalcouyé all threatening. Coventry gradually improved and created opportunities through Jack Rudoni and Frank Onyeka, but Bart Verbruggen produced several excellent saves to keep Brighton level.
Their resistance ended shortly before half-time when Kostoulas found space inside the box and fired into the bottom corner.
Brighton doubled their advantage 10 minutes after the restart when Yalcouyé raced onto a loose ball and finished at the near post. Coventry’s misery deepened moments later when Taiwo Awoniyi was sent off for elbowing Maxim De Cuyper.
Pascal Groß converted a penalty after Bobby Thomas brought down Kostoulas, effectively ending any hope of a comeback. Coventry came close to finding their first league goal when Brandon Thomas-Asante’s half-volley was saved by Verbruggen.
Brighton continued pressing and added a spectacular fourth through Lewis Dunk, who smashed a 30-yard strike into the net. Yasin Ayari completed the rout in stoppage time.
The victory ended Brighton’s three-match winless away run, while Coventry remain bottom of the table ahead of their trip to Nottingham Forest.