Norwich won at Coventry thanks to Borja Sainz’s goal.
Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup finally tasted victory in the Sky Bet Championship with a 1-0 win at Coventry, thanks to a fortuitous deflection. The Canaries secured their first league win under Thorup, who joined from Danish side Nordsjaelland this summer.
The decisive moment came just four minutes into the second half when Borja Sainz’s effort took a heavy deflection off Joel Latibeaudiere, leaving Coventry goalkeeper Oliver Dovin stranded. This goal was enough to clinch the win after a challenging start to the season for Norwich, which had included an opening-day defeat and two draws.
Thorup was pleased with his team’s performance, especially their attitude and defensive solidity. “It's something you wish could happen in the first game, but we had to wait a little while,” said Thorup. “I’m really satisfied with the attitude and mentality of the team. We controlled the game, and the defensive effort was outstanding. The players have bought into what we are trying to build, and it was a big step in the right direction.”
Coventry boss Mark Robins, however, was left frustrated with his team's performance. Despite a competitive first half where Ellis Simms missed a couple of chances, Coventry struggled to keep pace after Sainz's goal. “Very disappointing,” Robins said. “We need to match the opponent’s work-rate before we can play our football. In the second half, we became disjointed and failed to track runners. There’s a lot of work to do.”
