Things you might have missed as Coventry City were promoted to the Premier League against Blackburn Rovers
Brian Dick Reach Football Correspondent
08:00, 18 Apr 2026
Coventry City’s Frank Onyeka(Image: PA)
It wasn’t an easy watch, at least not until the final whistle blew, but Coventry City dragged themselves over the line to secure a 1-1 draw at Blackburn and with it promotion back to the Premier League.
The Sky Blues struggled to make sense of Frank Lampard’s formation change for most of the game, until they were 1-0 down after Ryoya Morishita gave Rovers the lead and forced Lampard into a triple change that swung the balance back his team’s way.
Then, with six minutes remaining, Bobby Thomas soared into the Ewood Park skies and applied a headed finish to Victor Torp’s free kick. From that moment on, what had seemed inevitable for so long this season, was finally confirmed.
After a 25-year absence City are back in the Promised Land.
Here’s what you might have missed from a forgettable match but a memorable occasion.
Coventry City are back in the Premier League
The Coventry Telegraph has produced a stunning special edition marking the achievements of Frank Lampard and his men.
And to celebrate, the Coventry Telegraph has produced this stunning 48-page special edition marking the achievements of Frank Lampard and his men.
Since relegation in 2001, the Sky Blues have gone through many well-documented lows, but a quarter of a century later, free-scoring City have earned promotion in emphatic style.
Click here to buy
And our bumper special edition is the perfect souvenir to remember that fantastic achievement by.
We’ll have match reports, pics, and reaction from every kick of City’s journey back to English football’s promised land.
It’s all here… the avalanche of goals pre-Christmas that made promotion look nailed on, the brief wobble that followed, and the revival under Lampard to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
Plus, Sky Blues writer Andy Turner will have pages and pages of in-depth analysis on the title-winning season, manager Lampard’s success, key players, and what lies ahead for the club in the top flight.
Club historian Jim Brown will also share his fact-filled take on promotion, while there will be pictures and reports from the Sky Blues’ joyful promotion celebrations.
Click here to buyBoo boys
The jolly japes started well before kick-off – as Rovers introduced key players from their past on the pitch and over the PA.
While the likes of Tyrhys Dolan and Don Mackay went unnoticed by the 7,000 away fans in the Darwen End, the announcement of Tim Sherwood’s return did not.
The former midfielder was a key player for Rovers when they won the Premier League title in the early 90s. He was less influential during his time as a Sky Blues player in 2004.
Sherwood was highly-paid and oft-injured and allowed to leave midway through a two-year contract. The Sky Blue army remembered and gave the 57-year-old a hearty boo.
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Flying feet
Yuki Ohashi was a prominent protagonist in the opening exchanges. The Blackburn striker was booked for a very, very clumsy lunge on Matt Grimes. It really was a poor tackle.
He also came within a few inches of felling Frank Onyeka with a rash overhead kick that had feet flying where they only faces should have been.
Contact with the midfielder really would have given referee Lewis Smith – called the ‘star of the show’ by Michael O’Neill afterwards – a decicion to make.
Soon after that he missed an absolute sitter with a free header that was straight at Carl Rushworth.
Gesture ignored
There was a real edge to this game, City fighting for promotion and Rovers for their Championship lives. Indeed Onyeka found himself on the uncomfortable end of quite a bit of rough treatment from the homeside.
Midway through the first half he was shoved to the ground from behind by Yuri Ribeiro – which earned the wing-back a booking and prompted an angry reaction from Onyeka.
In the second half he was clattered over by Taylor Gardner-Hickman, who was also cautioned for his foul on the former Brentford man.
With Rovers’ Moussa Baradji staying down in the City half for 90 seconds and the game continuing up the other end it seemed that Gardner-Hickman simply wanted to get the referee to blow his whistle.
And so he shoved over Onyeka then offered his hand to help him up, an offer that was completely ignored by the Nigerian.
Up and down
The sheer joy of this occasion was not lost on the City fans, who after 12 minutes broke into a chorus of ‘City going up and the Leicester going down’ to the tune of Yellow Submarine.
As much as they wanted to win tonight, having taken the point they needed, they might not begrudge Blackburn theirs as it lifts them five points above the relegation zone – and eight ahead of the Foxes.
A few months ago Leicester were a Premier League club while the Sky Blues were suffering play-off heart-ache. In a few weeks City will be in the top flight and their M69 rivals could be two divisions lower in League One.