Callum O’Hare’s first career brace kept Coventry’s play-off hopes alive following a blistering 4-1 Championship comeback victory against Sheffield United at the CBS Arena.
Sander Berge opened the scoring for the Blades before Viktor Gyokeres’ equaliser in the first half, but it was O’Hare who completed the turnaround with two goals in seven second-half minutes.
The Sky Blues compounded United’s misery when O’Hare squared for Matty Godden to tap home Coventry’s fourth and complete a brilliant comeback.
Paul Heckingbottom had lost just two of his 16 league games in charge prior to the Blades’ trip to the West Midlands, but the defeat left United eight points off the top two, whilst Coventry closed the gap to the top six to three points.
The home side were without both manager Mark Robins and assistant Adi Viveash after positive Covid-19 tests on the morning of the match, so first-team coach Dennis Lawrence took charge with O’Hare recalled to the starting line-up for his 100th start for the Sky Blues and Fankaty Dabo returned from suspension.
The Blades were forced into two changes as Conor Hourihane replaced the injured John Fleck, whilst 19-year-old Kyron Gordon was handed just his second league start in defence in place of Ben Davies.
The away side were ahead after a quarter of an hour when Billy Sharp’s shot flashed across goal, before the returning Hourihane hoisted a cross to the back post which was met by the towering Norway international Berge to power his header into the top corner.
But before the 4,000 travelling Blades fans’ celebrations had finished, the Sky Blues had equalised through a Scandinavian of their own.
Jack Robinson misjudged a hopeful punt forward and Sweden striker Gyokeres found himself through on goal before keeping his cool to slot the ball magnificently past Wes Foderingham after 20 minutes.
Referee Jeremy Simpson presented Hourihane with a chance to score after adjudging former Blade Simon Moore to have picked up a back-pass, while Gustavo Hamer was thwarted by Foderingham when put through on goal following some brilliant interplay between O’Hare and Jamie Alen.
Coventry took the lead for the first time seven minutes after the break when Gyokeres broke down the right.
His effort was pushed onto the post by former Rangers’ goalkeeper Foderingham, but O’Hare got the better of the Blades stopper to bundle home his second goal of the season.
Michael Rose almost doubled the Sky Blues’ lead when he hit the post from a corner, but it was Gyokeres who turned from scorer to provider, feeding O’Hare who took one touch before rolling his classy finish past Foderingham into the bottom corner.
The rout was complete after 68 minutes when Ian Maatsen’s magical footwork evaded a crowd of defenders on the edge of the box, slipping in O’Hare to square for Godden to tap home his first goal in almost two months after appendix surgery.
