Gustavo Hamer fired Coventry Within a match of the Premier League, they scrapped their way. Ortakoy into Championship play-off end.
The sweet shot of the Brazilian-born midfielder in the 57th minute clinched the 1-0 victory in the second match, which was extremely tense at the Riverside Stadium.
Mark Robins’ side will meet Luton It’s up for grabs at Wembley on 27 May, with a return to top flight for the first time since 2001.
It proved to be the perfect end to a day when the Sky Blues’ manager announced he had signed a new four-year contract, but as a result it was an extremely disappointing day for opposing number Michael Carrick, whose side will be in his seventh year in the second tier. .
Boro started in a confident mood and left-back Ryan Giles threatened multiple times, but eight minutes later, Viktor Gyokeres nearly shot himself in the foot when he picked Tommy Smith’s poorly judged back pass, but goalkeeper Zack Steffen came to the rescue with a fine. Save as the striker tries to surround him.
City slowly came into the game, forcing defender Kyle McFadzean to take a series of free kicks as Hamer made his way up the mid-17th minute, and when Liam Kelly and Ben Sheaf started making their mark in the middle of the pitch, there was little choice between teams there.
Both Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer felt the full force of Coventry’s harsh approach as Sheaf and then McFadzean stepped between them, and referee David Coote eventually lost his patience and hired Callum Doyle for a clumsy challenge at Akpom.
Jake Bidwell boldly blocked Marcus Forss’s deep-mid shot from Giles five minutes before the break, and Darragh Lenihan headed straight for an Alex Mowatt corner on Ben Wilson, but the draw was well balanced when the half-time whistle blew.
(Getty Images)
The Sky Blues were revived as Jamie Allen ran things menacingly behind lone forward Gyokeres, but midfielders Gyokeres and Sheaf erred when they were just six yards away after taking advantage of Akpom’s 50th-minute error.
And it was the visitors who were forced to take the lead when Sheaf jumped on Giles’ loose pass to find Gyokeres, who had evaded Steffen’s challenge before Hamer took over, stepped inside Forss and fired into the top corner.
He could have doubled his score with the remaining 15 minutes, but he saw his free kick hit the crossbar as Steffen was defeated to keep Boro’s dwindling hopes.
However, despite a recent flurry of substitution Matt Crooks getting the ball into the net from an offside position, Boro was unable to push into overtime.
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