No one can argue that Mark Robins does not deserve his new four-year contract extension. Not content with leading his team from League Two to the Championship, Coventry’s manager has now guided them to the verge of football’s promised land.
As Gustavo Hamer’s winner, bent superbly into the top corner, secured the visitors a Wembley playoff final date with Luton and potential Premier League entree, Steve Gibson, Middlesbrough’s owner, proved a study of despair in the directors’ box.
Gibson has a fine manager in Michael Carrick and an extremely promising team but, despite dominating much of this second leg, Boro were ultimately undone by Hamer and the excellent Viktor Gyokeres.
A flag had been placed on almost every seat and, at kick-off, the Riverside was transformed into an evocative sea of red. Once the action began, the atmosphere in the stands was reminiscent of the good times here, most notably back in 2006 when Steve McClaren’s Boro swashbuckled their way into the…
This article was written by Louise Taylor at the Riverside Stadium and originally published on www.theguardian.com