English League Championship/Coventry 2 Sunderland 1: Niall Quinn's first match in charge of Sunderland ended as so many have done for them in the past few seasons, with a defeat. It was Quinn's managerial debut but despite the loss he refused to be deflated and hinted at new faces at the Stadium of Light before the match there with Birmingham City on Wednesday.
However, the chances are Sunderland's fortunes will be revived and Quinn, the chairman who led a consortium to take control of the Wearside club this summer, can expect better afternoons than the one he experienced on the touchline yesterday.
The plaudits then belonged to Coventry. The acquisition of a raft of new players and some impressive form on their own patch, allied to the managerial savvy of Micky Adams, has elevated them to the dark horses for promotion in the Championship pecking order. That status was seen to be vindicated as the West Midlands club secured a victory galvanised by a second-half revival.
Games this week at Southampton and Cardiff, followed by the visit of Adams's previous club Leicester City, may yet reveal more about their mettle to sustain a top-six finish.
A superbly-crafted equaliser by Stern John negated Daryl Murphy's scrambled goal for Sunderland but the winner and the spotlight, fittingly enough, belonged to Gary McSheffrey. While the incoming traffic has been heavy for Coventry, the prospect of McSheffrey's departure has lurked ominously in the background. Birmingham have been the most persistent of suitors, yet a further offer of £4 million was rejected by Coventry last week.
On this evidence it is patently obvious McSheffrey's influence is vital to their progress and, given the riches promised by the Premiership, Coventry's robust stand seems to be shrewd business.
"I think if we keep saying that he is not for sale, eventually Birmingham might just get the gist," said Adams. "You look at his performance today and he was a threat all afternoon. He was up and down the wings, crossing balls and he scored a terrific goal. You can't replace that sort of thing and I'm not even thinking about it."
The habit of losing can be as addictive as winning and though Quinn remained his laconic self despite the outcome, he acknowledged the Apollo 13 call sign to Houston in that, "we have a problem".
"It is a tiny, tiny lack of professionalism, a little glitch I have to get out of this club - and quickly," said Quinn, who clearly is adopting the good cop role, refusing to resort to hairdryers or dressingroom paint stripping in his new vocation.
"It is about intelligence. We did it again today and a lot last season. But I don't want to dwell on that. For me, it was great for 70 minutes because I thought we were a class apart at various stages. I feel a bit low now but I need to lift the players. They need all the positivity they can get at the moment."
When Murphy got a toe-end to convert a looping flick-on inside the six-yard box after 52 minutes, Quinn and the club's new owners may have pondered celebrating in style.
However, it proved to be a catalyst for the home team, who raised the tempo of what had been a thoroughly perfunctory display from both teams. Quinn described John's goal as "world class" and indeed there was a touch of quality involved when the Trinidad & Tobago forward turned and arced a left-foot shot over Ben Alnwick and in off the underside of the crossbar.
Three minutes later Stephen Hughes sparked an ugly mass brawl. With McSheffrey injured on the ground, Dean Whitehead played on and Hughes deliberately fouled him - resulting in a booking for Coventry's captain.
McSheffrey's decisive effort in the 78th minute owed much to the substitute Don Hutchison's astute thinking, the Scot releasing a quick free-kick to McSheffrey as Sunderland slumbered deep in their penalty area.
McSheffrey advanced, dropped his shoulder and shimmied inside and his diagonal shot squeezed in thanks to a deflection off one of the many red-and-white-striped defenders who had became alert to the danger all too late.
COVENTRY: Marshall, McNamee, Heath, Ward, Hall, Birchall (Thornton 74), Hughes, Doyle, McSheffrey (Whing 86), Adebola (Hutchison 67), John. Subs not used: Steele, Tabb. Booked: Hughes. Goals: John 71, McSheffrey 78.
SUNDERLAND: Alnwick, Delap, Cunningham, Caldwell, Danny Collins, Miller, Leadbitter (Kyle 80), Whitehead, Lawrence, Stephen Elliott, Murphy (Stead 76). Subs not used: Ward, Wright, Robbie Elliott. Booked: Lawrence. Goal: Murphy 52.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside)
