Coventry City beat Newcastle United 4-1 at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Monday night, their first home win in the Premier League in 25 years. Jack Rudoni scored a sixth-minute penalty, Sidiki Cherif added a second on 48 minutes, Sven Botman pulled one back on 70 minutes, and substitutes Ellis Simms and Stephen Mfuni settled it late on. Frank Lampard’s side have now won two in a row and move up to 14th on six points, while Newcastle stay 11th on eight.

How the game was won

Newcastle gave Coventry the start they needed. Lukas Hornicek spilled a routine ball and then brought down Cherif inside the area, and Rudoni sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot. It was Coventry’s first Premier League goal in front of their own fans since April 2001.

Newcastle had more of the ball after that, finishing with 67% possession, but Coventry defended their box with numbers and Bobby Thomas blocked Matias Fernandez-Pardo’s close-range effort on the line just before half-time, with Carl Rushworth beaten. Three minutes after the restart, a long throw was only half cleared and Cherif, on his first Premier League start, fired low into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Botman gave Newcastle hope with a long-range strike on 70 minutes, and for a short spell an equaliser looked possible. It didn’t come. Joelinton was caught bringing the ball out, Brandon Thomas-Asante pressed him, and Simms finished to make it 3-1 on 81 minutes. Mfuni added the fourth five minutes later, set up by Jay DaSilva, for his first Coventry goal. The contrast with the predicted lineups for this fixture is sharp: Newcastle’s returning names were meant to steady them, and instead the mistakes came from that end of the team.

Lampard said, in quotes reported by Reuters: “We played like the team that we want to be.” Jaissle, in the same report, said: “In the boxes the games are decided. In both boxes we were not clean.”

Coventry City player ratings

Carl Rushworth: 7. Saved Harvey Barnes’s early shot on target and came off his line well, beaten only by Botman’s strike from distance.

Milan van Ewijk: 7. His long throw led directly to the second goal. Booked, but he kept Barnes from settling on his side.

Ethan Pinnock: 7. Won his headers and kept Coventry’s shape when Newcastle pushed men forward in the second half.

Bobby Thomas: 9. The outstanding defender on the pitch. He made a series of blocks in the first half, including the clearance on the line that stopped Fernandez-Pardo equalising.

Jay DaSilva: 7. Defended his flank without fuss and set up Mfuni’s goal with the run and pass late on.

Caleb Yirenkyi: 6. Worked hard in midfield, but he was slow to close Botman down for Newcastle’s goal.

Matt Grimes: 7. Kept Coventry’s passing simple and screened the defence. Replaced by Mfuni on 83 minutes.

Brandon Thomas-Asante: 7. His ball into the box led to the penalty incident, and his pressing forced the error for Simms’s goal.

Jack Rudoni: 8. Took the penalty calmly, sending Hornicek the wrong way, and linked Coventry’s midfield to Cherif throughout.

Ephron Mason-Clark: 6. A quieter night than the men around him. Replaced by Tatsuhiro Sakamoto on 61 minutes.

Sidiki Cherif: 9. Won the penalty and scored the second on his first Premier League start. The 19-year-old led the line with pace and didn’t stop pressing.

Substitutes: Tatsuhiro Sakamoto: 6 (kept Coventry’s width after coming on). Ellis Simms: 8 (scored within minutes of coming on, finishing the move that ended the contest). Frank Onyeka: 6 (added legs for the final minutes). Stephen Mfuni: 8 (scored his first Coventry goal three minutes after coming on). Victor Torp: 6 (saw the game out).

Newcastle United player ratings

Lukas Hornicek: 4. Spilled the ball, conceded the penalty and ended the night having let in four. A poor start set Newcastle’s tone.

Lewis Miley: 5. Did his defensive work but offered little going forward. Replaced by Amar Dedic on 58 minutes.

Malick Thiaw: 5. His headed clearance dropped to Cherif for the second goal, and Coventry’s late runners got beyond him too easily.

Sven Botman: 7. Newcastle’s best player. He defended competently and scored their goal with a strike from distance on 70 minutes.

Lewis Hall: 5. Caught in possession in the build-up to the third goal and struggled with Thomas-Asante’s running.

Nicolas Gonzalez: 6. Created Fernandez-Pardo’s big first-half chance and supplied the pass for Botman’s goal, but he couldn’t control the game.

Joe Willock: 5. Sloppy in possession and replaced by Joelinton on 58 minutes. The questions raised in Newcastle’s injury and selection debate before this game haven’t gone away.

Yoane Wissa: 5. Too slow to close Cherif down for the second goal. Replaced by William Osula on 78 minutes.

Jacob Murphy: 5. Little impact on the right. Replaced by Bazoumana Toure on 58 minutes.

Harvey Barnes: 6. Newcastle’s liveliest forward early on, with their first shot on target, but his influence faded.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo: 5. Missed the chance that could have changed the game, taking too long over his shot at 1-0 down and allowing Thomas to block.

Substitutes: Joelinton: 4 (his error bringing the ball out led straight to Simms’s goal). Amar Dedic: 5 (no improvement at right-back). Bazoumana Toure: 4 (wasted two good openings when Newcastle chased an equaliser). William Osula: 5 (late return, little time to affect it). Dan Burn: 5 (a late seasonal debut with the game already gone).

For another set of scores from this round, see the Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City player ratings.

What happens next

Newcastle are at home to Aston Villa on Saturday 17 October and need a response after conceding four to a promoted side. Coventry travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 19 October, looking for a third straight win.