Frank Lampard pleased with second-half improvement in Coventry win at Millwall

Coventry head coach Frank Lampard felt his players took the game by the scruff of the neck after half-time in the 1-0 win at Millwall as he enjoyed his first victory in charge.

Ephron Mason-Clark scored the only goal at The Den to reward an improved second-half display by the visitors, who ended a run of five games without a win in the Sky Bet Championship.

Lampard has now picked up four points from his first two games in the Coventry dugout and oversaw a defensive performance that was a big step up from his opening match against Cardiff.

It allowed the Sky Blues to go four points clear of the relegation zone and end Millwall’s nine-game unbeaten run as the Lions were blunted on their own turf.

Lampard said: “I think in this league you have to have that [fully committed defending] and I felt it was something that was a little bit lacking last week in terms of that last bit of commitment.

“When you come here, particularly, they make it really tough for you, and conditions were tough and balls coming into your box at the end of the game, you have to do it.

“That’s probably the biggest plus for me and the players.

“We didn’t play beautifully, the first half was too slow and passive – I told them that at half-time – and we were almost allowing the game to drift and then anything can happen here.

“But they grabbed it in the second half, we played quicker, we played forward and we created enough chances to possibly be winning 2-0 and have the game done but when it wasn’t done we defended really well and that has to continue.”

Millwall thought they had gone ahead after 12 minutes when Joe Bryan’s wind-assisted corner went straight in but a foul by Macaulay Langstaff on Coventry goalkeeper Brad Collins saw the goal disallowed.

Coventry picked up after half-time and came close when Victor Torp’s cross fell for Mason-Clark, who was denied by Lukas Jensen from point-blank range.

But Mason-Clark made no mistake in the 63rd minute when he steered in a volley from Jack Rudoni’s cross off the underside of the bar to put the visitors in front.

The Sky Blues almost scored a second in the closing stages when Bobby Thomas headed against the post from a Rudoni corner.

Millwall boss Neil Harris had no complaints with the result.

He said: “We just lacked quality, didn’t we?

“I thought first half we were the slightly better team but with no end product, no creativity.

“In the second half I thought Coventry had a good 10-minute spell around the goal and looked dangerous.

“Their subs made a real difference, they had some real good players coming off the bench and we just looked like a team that was trying really hard but just lacking the moments.

“That’s where I think people have to get their head out the clouds and realise how well we’ve done to do what we’ve achieved so far and how tough it is for us as a group.

“Right at the end we’re putting the ball in the box and one of my young centre-forwards and young wingers is standing outside the penalty area.

“It just shows how there’s a lot of learning we’ve got in front of us.”