Coventry City match analysis and talking points from CoventryLive after brilliant 1-0 win at Watford

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Almost 2,000 Coventry City fans enjoyed yet another memorable away day as Mark Robins’ men secured a brilliant 1-0 win at Watford.

The Sky Blue Army were in full voice throughout a thoroughly entertaining game in which their team took yet another fallen Premier League club scalp. A well-worked four man move ended with Viktor Gyokeres slotting home unmarked in the box to hand City a slender lead that they defended stoutly until the final blow of the referee’s whistle.

The full three points lifted the club up four places to 15th in the table ahead of two tantalising home games this week before the World Cup break. Here are some of the big talking points from an outstanding result that gives City a real platform to go and attack those back-to-back fixtures against Wigan and QPR at the CBS Arena.

READ MORE: ‘Punched in the face’ - Mark Robins admits ‘fire-fighter’ label as Coventry City continue Championship recovery

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Some might argue - Watford fans in particular - that the Sky Blues enjoyed a bit of luck at Vicarage Road where the Hornets had a goal chalked off and missed an absolute sitter from three yards out. But on closer inspection, Keinan Davis's 21st minute strike was rightfully ruled out after the Aston Villa loan man blatantly dragged down Kyle McFadzean in order to steal the march on the City defender who was closely monitoring the bustling striker amid the blistering counter attack.

Many, including Mark Robins, thought it was disallowed for off-side but his opposite number Slaven Bilic revealed that it was for a foul which, to be fair to the Croatian, he admitted was the correct decision.

And for all of Watford’s 68 per cent of possession and 11 attempts on goal, they only managed to get two on target – both of which were denied by fine saves from Ben Wilson.

That’s taking nothing away from City who had a clear game plan, allowed the Hornets to have the ball and played largely on the counter attack, succeeding in an almost perfect away performance packed full of heart, character and resolve to keep the ball out of the back of the net amid a late onslaught.

City’s Championship recovery has been nothing short of incredible. In the space of just a few short weeks the Sky Blues have turned their season on its head.

Forced to play six of their opening seven games away from home, Mark Robins’ men failed to register a single win in the first two months of the season, leaving them seemingly rooted to the foot of the table. But City tightened things up at the back and have gone unbeaten in their last six matches on the road, starting with three draws and, more recently, stringing three successive victories together at Cardiff, Stoke and Watford.

And what’s more, they have kept clean sheets in their last five trips away from the CBS Arena which is a club record.

Robins hailed warrior-like skipper Kyle McFadzean for making himself available for duty after being struck down with the bug that claimed yet another victim at the weekend in fellow centre-back Callum Doyle. “He got off his sick bed to come and play after being off all week and only having trained one day, and to put a performance in like that is a joke; it’s ridiculous!” said the City boss of the 35-year-old defender who is showing no signs whatsoever of his career fading.

Either side of him at Vicarage Road were Michael Rose and Jonathan Panzo – both of whom have grown in stature in recent weeks to play their part, along with Doyle, in tightening things up at the back in front of goalkeeper Ben Wilson. We all know what Rose is capable of but Panzo coming in and doing so well has meant the disappointment of losing Jake Clarke-Salter in the summer has been quickly forgotten about.

Jack Burroughs is the latest City player to break through from development football to the first team. The 21-year-old was handed a baptism of fire for his first senior start for the Sky Blues when tasked with keeping tabs on Watford wide man Ken Sema, and later asked to pick up where fellow Academy graduate Josh Eccles left off when he left the field for Jake Bidwell midway through the second half when City were protecting a slender 1-0 lead at Vicarage Road.

Brought in for his pace, amongst other qualities, at a time when Bidwell needed a rest after starting every league game prior to Saturday, the Scotland Under-21 international showed his versatility by featuring at both left and right wing-back during the game in which he didn’t look at all out of place.

Gyokeres is far from the finished article as his tendency to miss at least one early chance in a number of games this term bears out, but my goodness he’s a handful. Scoring his sixth goal of the campaign against Watford in a game in which he could have had a hat-trick, the big Swede is getting back to the sort of form he enjoyed last season.

Earning yet more admiring comments from an opposition manager, Hornets’ boss Slaven Bilic admitted that his centre-backs had been “given an game” by the quick and mobile centre-forward who turned the experienced William Troost-Ekong inside out on more than one occasion. And the really pleasing thing, aside from his impressive finish in front of goal, was the amount of times he was played in behind by a number of delightful through balls to enable him to do what he arguably does best – running at his opponents and twisting and turning to get his shots off in the box.

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