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Forward Ephron Mason-Clark has scored in three successive Coventry games to take his tally for the season to six Coventry City stretched their lead at the top of the Championship to eight points as Ephron Mason-Clark's goal secured victory over Swansea City. The Sky Blues were pushed hard by lowly Swansea but Mason-Clark's emphatic close-range finish late in the first half proved enough for an eighth successive home win. Frank Lampard's side enjoyed more control as the contest wore on, though they were relieved to see Liam Cullen volley over from point-blank range in the final quarter. Victory extends Coventry's advantage over second-placed Middlesbrough, who were held at home by Blackburn Rovers. More importantly, perhaps, Coventry are now 13 points clear of third place at the midway point in the season as they bid for a long-awaited return to the Premier League. Swansea, meanwhile, slip to 20th – and only four points clear of the relegation zone - having suffered a fifth successive away defeat. Coventry offered little going forward until the final stages of the first half, when a quick free-kick saw Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux save brilliantly from Ellis Simms before Mason-Clark's follow-up was inadvertently blocked by team-mate Jack Rudoni. The goal came from one of Milan van Ewijk's many menacing long throws, as Matty Woolfenden flicked on and Mason-Clark drove the ball high into the net on the turn. Coventry have lost only two of their 23 league games so far this season The half-time deficit was harsh on Swansea, who missed a big opportunity early on when Zan Vipotnik's shot ricocheted over off Liam Kitching. Victor Torp and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto shot too close to Vigouroux as Coventry improved in the second period, though Swansea might have levelled when Cullen turned Ethan Galbraith's cross over the bar. Substitute Melker Widell then drew a save from Coventry's former Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth as Lampard's men did just enough to make it 29 points taken from 11 home league games this season. This was a welcome return to the CBS Arena for a Coventry side who had dropped points at Ipswich, Preston and Southampton this month. The Sky Blues are enjoying their longest home winning sequence since a nine-game streak in 1959-60, though they have had more comfortable successes than this. Swansea emerged with some credit given their performance, but the failure to take one of their chances meant a fourth loss in seven games under Vitor Matos. Matt Grimes was booed by some travelling fans during his first reunion with Swansea, the club he left to move to Coventry last January after more than 300 appearances across a decade in Wales. But with Coventry sitting pretty at the top of the table, it was the former Swansea skipper who enjoyed the last laugh. Frank Lampard's Coventry are the leading scorers in English football's top four divisions, though they have only netted four times in their past five games Coventry head coach Frank Lampard: "Over the course of the season, there are so many games you play. We had a hot patch earlier in the season where everything you hit goes in. "Today we had a couple of chances first half that didn't go in, Ephron gets a great goal. We have chances in the second half to make it feel more secure and it doesn't quite drop for us, so try to keep clean sheets, try to do other parts of our game. "We weren't as good today off the ball as we normally are. First half was more passive, less urgent, and that had to be said at half-time because they (Swansea) can play and we gave them the feeling that they can play, look up and find passes through us. "We addressed that. They are a good team, they gave us a tough game and I am really pleased with the result. " Swansea head coach Vitor Matos: "I am really happy how we came here to this pitch against a really good team, top of the league with a good manager, and we were able to compete. "We were able to have more pressing, more possession, more XG, a lot of things that were good, but we need to win. There's no moral winning in football. "We need to take our chances. We need to know that we need to be clinical as well. "And at the same time, we knew Coventry is really good on set-pieces, long throw-ins, and in that situation, we need to do better. We need to keep pushing to improve. " After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 26th December 2025 at 18: 55 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Frank Lampard Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Vitor Matos Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Frank Lampard Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Vitor Matos Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Coventry are winless in their last nine home league games against Swansea (D5 L4) since a 3-1 victory in the top-flight in October 1981. Swansea lost 2-0 against Coventry in their last league meeting in February, ending an 18-game unbeaten run against the Sky Blues (W8 D10). Coventry are unbeaten in their last eight home league games played on Boxing Day (W7 D1), since a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in 2007. Swansea have won just one of their last eight away league games played on Boxing Day (D2 L5), losing 5-0 at Southampton in their most recent on the road in 2023. Coventry have won their last seven home league matches – they haven’t had a longer home winning run since between October 1959 and February 1960 (9 in a row). Match ends, Coventry City 1, Swansea City 0. Second Half ends, Coventry City 1, Swansea City 0. Foul by Bobby Wales (Swansea City). Victor Torp (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Swansea City. Conceded by Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Corner, Swansea City. Conceded by Miguel Ángel Brau. Attempt blocked. Zeidane Inoussa (Swansea City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Josh Tymon (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Josh Eccles (Coventry City). Substitution, Coventry City. Miguel Ángel Brau replaces Ephron Mason-Clark. Foul by Zeidane Inoussa (Swansea City). Jake Bidwell (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time. Corner, Swansea City. Conceded by Liam Kitching. Ben Cabango (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Josh Eccles (Coventry City). Attempt blocked. Bobby Wales (Swansea City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Melker Widell with a cross. Corner, Coventry City. Conceded by Cameron Burgess. Offside, Swansea City. Bobby Wales is caught offside. Foul by Melker Widell (Swansea City). Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.