Frank Lampard had been told of the tale behind one of football’s strangest bitter rivalries, long before Coventry had secured a play-off date with Sunderland.
‘It’s not my rivalry,’ said Lampard when warned the Wearsiders might descend on the CBS Arena on Friday in search of revenge, smiling as he added: ‘But I am Coventry, so it is now. That’s what football is about.’
There are some in Sunderland still aggrieved about what happened at the end of the 1976-77 season when they, Coventry and Bristol City went into the final fixture all at risk of finishing the final relegation place.
Bristol City were at Coventry, then playing at their former home Highfield Road with club stalwart Jimmy Hill in the role of managing director.
Hill delayed the game claiming traffic congestion, which meant when news of Sunderland’s defeat at Everton came through, there were still 15 minutes still to play in Coventry.
The Sky Blues and Bristol City were level at 2-2 and a draw would ensure both survived the drop.
Frank Lampard is leading Coventry into one of football’s strangest rivalries in the play-offs
Coventry will take on Sunderland after Lampard inspired a remarkable turnaround this season
Coventry stalwart Jimmy Hill sparked a rivalry in 1977 when he delayed a final-day match on so they and Bristol City knew Sunderland’s result – and drew to relegate the Black Cats
Hill made sure Sunderland’s result was announced inside the ground and, sure enough, the game fizzled into a non-contest and ended 2-2.
Sunderland, who had a better goal difference than the other two, finished one point behind them and went down.
It has rankled ever since. So much so that when the teams met in 2018 for the first time in more than a decade Coventry felt the need to guard the statue of Hill unveiled outside the stadium in 2011.
Sunderland fans were caught on camera shouting ‘cheat’ at Hill’s statue.
On Friday, there will be more pressing concerns for Regis Le Bris, whose team finished the season by losing 1-0 at home to QPR, their fifth successive defeat.
‘It is human after five defeats to think now you are weak, but it is not the reality,’ said Le Bris. ‘Football is always on the edge. We have to react. This chapter is over. This period was strange. We have to find the right rhythm to win again. This team has shown so many qualities this season, it can’t disappear like that.’
Coventry clinched their place by beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in front of a record CBS Arena crowd of 31,451. Jack Rudoni scored both goals and goalkeeper Ben Wilson made some fine saves to keep Boro at bay on his first appearance since a knee injury in October.
‘I was actually a nervous wreck from the start,’ said 32-year-old Wilson, who hails from County Durham and graduated through Sunderland’s academy. ‘It was very scary.
Regis Le Bris could take Sunderland back into the Premier League for the first time since 2017
‘In the hotel, the lads were like, ‘We can tell you’re nervous because we’ve never seen you so quiet’. You’ve just got to remember I’ve played in big enough games in the last few years, done it all before and have enough in front of me to know I’m going to be safe, no matter what.’
Bristol City, who have not played in the top flight of English football since 1980, fought back from two down to draw 2-2 at home to Preston and confirm their place in the Championship playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
They will play the first leg at home on Thursday against Sheffield United, who finished with 22 points more and helped them out on Saturday because Blackburn would have leapt past City to take sixth on goal difference had they scored a late goal to win at Bramall Lane.
‘Exhausted, stressed, happy, over the moon, proud,’ said Bristol City boss Liam Manning after finishing sixth. ‘I’ve no idea how I’m feeling to be honest.’
