Coventry City will play Premier League football for the first time since 2001 after clinching promotion under Frank Lampard, sealed by a late 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers
Frank Lampard has led Coventry City back to the big time(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Coventry City have been promoted to the Premier League after Frank Lampard’s side snatched a dramatic 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers on Friday night. Struggling Blackburn had taken a surprise lead midway through the second half and threatened to spoil the party – just as Sheffield Wednesday did last weekend.
But defender Bobby Thomas popped up with an equaliser in the 85th-minute to save the day. Thomas rose highest at a free-kick and headed home the all-important goal in front of more than 7,000 travelling fans at Ewood Park.
‘Super Frankie Lampard’ rang out from the emotional away end as Coventry ended their 25-year exile from the top flight. Lampard’s men have looked destined to earn promotion for months after climbing to the top of the Championship table, pulling clear of all their rivals in recent weeks.
And after they were forced to put the champagne on ice last weekend when they failed to beat already-relegated Wednesday, Coventry are now officially up. Their result at Blackburn means that third-placed Millwall can no longer catch them, leaving the Lions, Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough and Southampton all to scrap for second place.
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Promotion is a seismic achievement for Lampard, who did fine work last year to guide Coventry to the play-offs after replacing a club legend in Mark Robins in November 2024.
Although they were beaten over two legs by eventual winners Sunderland, the Sky Blues have gone one better this time around in spectacular fashion, plundering more goals than any other team in the division to blitz their way to promotion.
An emotional Lampard told Sky Sports post-match: “Incredible moment. Because of how the game had gone, you were worried. We knew we were very nearly there, but to get it over the line like this for this club after 25 years, wow.
“To get automatic promotion as a non-parachute team with three games to go, it makes me feel emotional.”
Midfielder Jack Rudoni beamed: “It’s amazing. I can’t describe it. I had a feeling we’d score. We always do stuff like this. We could have got it done quicker. But with the fans here we couldn’t leave without doing it today.”
Coventry will no doubt party over the weekend before they host Portsmouth on Tuesday night. Despite promotion, the Sky Blues are three games without a win and will want to wrap up the league title as soon as possible, as Ipswich trail them by nine points but have two hands in hand.
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