Ten-man Coventry overcome flu crisis to take a point at Southampton

Championship table-toppers Coventry shrugged off an illness crisis and a half with 10 men to secure a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and first-choice centre-backs Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching all missed the clash at St Mary’s with a flu bug, before Jay Dasilva was sent off 85 seconds into the second half.

Ephron Mason-Clark had given the Sky Blues a first-half lead but they could not hold out as Nathan Wood levelled after the break.

The match was billed as a Championship blockbuster between the two in-form sides of the last eight matches, but the opening half an hour did not live up to expectations.

A cagey opening was only punctuated by a couple of good chances for the hosts.

Adam Armstrong looked like he had burst clean through in the eighth minute but got the ball stuck under his feet and was rushed into a dragged shot.

Ten minutes later, Leo Scienza skipped beyond the back-line but his low curled effort was too close to goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.

The league leaders also had their moments and thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Haji Wright went down under a Taylor Harwood-Bellis challenge.

But the last 15 minutes of the first half saw Frank Lampard’s men assert their dominance, firstly when Gavin Bazunu was forced into a stunning save to deny Jack Rudoni, and then by taking the lead.

Victor Torp dinked a ball into the middle where Mason-Clark managed to shrug off his marker to head home for the second game in a row. It was the winger’s fifth goal of the season.

Saints were behind at half-time for the first time in Tonda Eckert’s nine-match reign but were given a lifeline when Dasilva saw red.

The full-back steamed into Welington and smashed into the Brazilian wing-back’s shins with his studs. Referee Adam Herczeg unsurprisingly brandished the red card immediately.

The hosts took advantage of their extra man in the 56th minute as Wood nodded in his first Saints goal from a pinpoint delivery from Armstrong.

They almost went in front shortly afterwards as Finn Azaz settled himself and placed a shot towards the bottom corner, only for Rushworth to repel the chance.

Rushworth was tested by Ryan Manning twice – including a piledriver from the edge of the box – and Scienza as Southampton piled on the pressure for a late winner.

But Coventry held on for back-to-back points on the road, as Saints bemoaned only getting seven of their 23 shots on target.

Frank Lampard – having been told he was a “s*** Steven Gerrard” throughout the match – gestured multiple times at the Saints fans after the match to spark a melee on the pitch.