Coventry 1-1 Huddersfield: Visitors rescue late point in Darren Moore’s first game in charge

Huddersfield struck deep in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Coventry in Darren Moore’s first game in charge.

Coventry looked on course for just a second Championship win of the season thanks to Yasin Ayari’s 27th-minute opener.

Huddersfield came into the game and asked many questions of Coventry in the second half, and their reward came in the final minute of extra time when Michal Helik swept home Sorba Thomas’ cross to give Moore’s side a dramatic point.

How Huddersfield’s late show stunned Coventry

Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Moore, who promoted the South Yorkshire club last season before leaving in the summer, made four changes when he took over for the first time.

After a quiet start to the match, Ayari fired a speculative strike from 25 yards wide of target before Huddersfield caught the hosts on the counter-attack and Mark Robins’ strikes were down to Liam Kelly as he blocked Josh Koroma’s effort.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 27th minute when Ellis Simms, still searching for his first Coventry goal, saw his powerful drive tapped onto the crossbar by Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls and bounced into the net past an unsuspecting Ayari.

After the break, Moore’s team took control. Jack Rudoni created space for a shot from outside the penalty area, but his left-footed shot flew high and wide. A few minutes later, the former AFC Wimbledon player wasted another chance when his poor effort, after being nicely put on the brakes by Jaheim Headley, was easily saved by Wilson.

After a routine first save of the evening, Wilson was forced into a much tougher save to deny Delano Burgzorg’s powerful attack. Josh Eccles produced a final diving block to deny a Koroma strike after a period of sustained pressure in the hosts’ penalty area.

At the other end, Nicholls made a super save from Bobby Thomas’ snapshot to keep the visitors in the match, before substitute Haji Wright poked home the rebound from close range with just three minutes remaining.

That huge save proved crucial as Helik took advantage of a sloppy free space in the Coventry penalty area and expertly found the top corner with his guided left-footed volley.

It left Coventry, play-off finalists last season, frustrated as they conceded late for the third time in a row. Robins’ side have now dropped nine points from winning positions, the most in the Championship this season.

The administrators

Coventry boss Mark Robins: “It’s so frustrating, but you have to dust yourself off and move on.

“We could have won every game we’ve played, but we’re sitting here talking about eight points in eight games. It will turn around, but it’s painful to get there.

“It (admitting) could become a thing. It’s about gaining control over those situations.

“I think if you let your heart rule your head sometimes because you know that’s the case and you know we’re within reach of winning the game, the game can kick you in the teeth if you make mistakes .

“They had bodies and a lot of numbers in their favor, but we have to do better. The defense wasn’t good enough.

“You can’t get that momentum if you lose some of your players. It’s not an excuse. We have a small squad with some key players out. It will take some time.”

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore: “It was an incredible three days with the boys.

“We talked at halftime and I thought we had a lot of momentum in the next 25.

“The boys showed incredible determination and got their reward.

“I’ve seen enough in the second half to know there’s real quality to work with.

“I’m going to enjoy working with these guys in the coming weeks.

“Coventry are a good team. We grew into the game and had to throw caution to the wind.”

What’s next?

Next up for Coventry is a trip to QPR on Saturday; starting at 3 p.m.

Huddersfield are at home to Ipswich on Saturday; also starts at 3 p.m.