Championship roundup: Rooney rues Lampard reunion as Plymouth crushed
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Josh Eccles scored twice in Coventry’s 4-0 thumping of Plymouth Argyle, increasing the pressure on Wayne Rooney. It was Rooney’s first managerial meeting against his former England teammate Frank Lampard, whose side clinically punished a woeful first-half performance from the visitors.
![[Wayne Rooney (left) and Frank Lampard watch on from the sidelines]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3bb9124645e61bdae76a95aadfb0928a196f8d98/0_88_3904_2345/master/3904.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
All four of Coventry’s goals came before the break, rendering the second half a formality, as the hosts moved up to 14th in the Championship and left Plymouth bottom of the pile, three points adrift of safety. It took Coventry just over three minutes to forge their first opportunity as Jake Bidwell’s cross ran for Jack Rudoni, who headed wide at the back post.
In the fifth minute Coventry took the lead as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was allowed a free header from Ben Sheaf’s cross that Daniel Grimshaw, the Plymouth goalkeeper, could not keep out. Coventry doubled their advantage in the 20th minute following a fine move that involved Bidwell heading down for Ephron Mason-Clark who laid the ball off for Eccles. He buried a low drive from just outside the area.
The hosts netted a third in the 39th minute when Mason-Clark beat the offside trap to run on to Eccles’s ball over the top and finish beyond the helpless Grimshaw. Plymouth’s limp first-half display was summed up just before half-time when Adam Randell was caught in possession just outside his own box by Rudoni, with Eccles taking over to find the bottom corner for his second and Coventry’s fourth.
Four goals down at the break, Plymouth tried to restore some pride early in the second half, but both Callum Wright and Rami Al Hajj were off target with overly ambitious efforts. The damage had long been done, but there was one final moment of ignominy for Plymouth as Wright was sent off for a wild lunge on Joel Latibeaudiere late on.
