Taiwo Awoniyi opened his Premier League account for the campaign on Saturday as Coventry City defeated Sunderland 3-1, a result that lifted the Sky Blues out of the relegation places.
The Nigeria forward extended Coventry’s advantage in the 37th minute, surging beyond the Sunderland back line before finishing with the aid of a small deflection.
Compatriot Frank Onyeka was absent from the Coventry squad after picking up an injury in training.
Coventry have moved provisionally to 15th in the standings, collecting nine points from nine fixtures and sitting two points clear of the relegation zone.
Goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Awoniyi and Jack Rudoni delivered only Coventry’s third league victory of the season. Enzo Le Fee’s penalty after the interval proved no more than a consolation for an out-of-form Sunderland side.
The teams had started the match in the division’s bottom two positions, with each having scored only six goals before kick-off.
Coventry manager Frank Lampard made four alterations following last weekend’s loss to Fulham, with captain Matt Grimes among those left out, and the changes prompted an encouraging display.
Sunderland’s poor defending contributed to the opening goal. The Black Cats failed to deal with an otherwise straightforward cross, allowing the ball to drop for Sakamoto, who struck well from the edge of the penalty area in the 17th minute.
Awoniyi added the second after taking the ball from Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien with little difficulty in the 37th minute. He then ran through the visiting defence, beating weak challenges before his effort went in off a deflection.
Sunderland created little before half-time, apart from a presentable chance for Brian Brobbey, whose attempt went wide.
Any realistic prospect of a Sunderland recovery disappeared seven minutes after the restart. Rudoni’s shot hit Omar Alderete, who had put out a leg in an attempt to block, and the deflection sent the ball into the net.
