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Flynn Downes marked his 100th game for Saints with the opening goal at Coventry Southampton moved back within three points of the Championship play-off places as they inflicted only a second home defeat of the season on leaders Coventry City. Flynn Downes, making his 100th appearance for Saints, snapped up a rebound off the post to put Tonda Eckert's side ahead in the second half before Kuryu Matsuki added a second from close range late on to make it 10 league games unbeaten. Coventry, who were seeking a new club record of seven straight wins, had their chances but Liam Kitching was denied by a brilliant Daniel Peretz save and top scorer Haji Wright twice went close to equalising before going off with what seemed to be a groin problem. Victor Torp won and converted a penalty in added time to make it a tense finish, but defeat meant the Sky Blues' lead at the top was trimmed to seven points after Middlesbrough drew with Bristol City. Both teams were in fine fettle heading into the game, with Frank Lampard's side having equalled a club record of six consecutive league wins, while Saints have continued their rise from 21st up to seventh under Eckert, who has now guided them to 13 league wins out of 24 as well as into the FA Cup quarter-finals. Saints settled the quicker but Cyle Larin miskicked their best chance after chesting down Matsuki's header, his shot squirming past the post. Coventry grew in strength as the first half wore on but Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Luke Woolfenden both missed the target with far-post headers. When Sky Blues got everything right, with Josh Eccles' fine cross glanced towards the far corner by Kitching, on-loan Bayern Munich keeper Peretz hurled himself to his left to turn the ball round the post with a quite brilliant save. Wright's volley whistled past the Southampton post to end the first half but Saints again came out strongly after the break and edged ahead within three minutes. Matsuki cut in from the right and curled a cross towards the far post where Larin's attempt to get a touch distracted Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, who recovered to tip the ball onto the post but Downes was on hand to ram in the rebound. Both sides created chances after that, as Caspar Jander shot straight at Rushworth while, at the other end, Kitching headed wide and Wright directed another header straight into the arms of Peretz. That was Wright's last involvement, as he limped off in some discomfort. Saints seemed to have clinched it when James Bree's in-swinging corner bounced off Matsuki's foot and over the line but, as the game headed into added time, Sky Blues substitute Torp had his foot trod on by Shea Charles and referee Farai Hallam pointed to the spot. Torp converted confidently but a late siege of Saints' goal did not yield a leveller with Brandon Thomas-Asante shooting straight into the arms of Peretz. This video can not be played Coventry manager Frank Lampard told BBC Radio CWR: "On a statistical basis we shouldn't lose the game because we created enough big chances to score three or four goals - we had five big chances in the game. "In the first half I think they wanted to slow the game down from the start and we bought into that a little bit. We normally have more energy in our game. "We're not happy with the goals we conceded. You can't get that wrong because you won't win games of football, and we weren't clinical at the top end. "By our own standards, were we as good as we want to be? No, but that's football at this stage of the season, you just want to try to get a result. We gave everything and we have to go again. " This video can not be played Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert told BBC Radio Solent: "It's not easy to come here, they have lost only once at home all season. We knew it would be tough, especially as it was the fourth game away from home on the bounce. "Away from home you have some moments to overcome, but credit to the boys because they dug very deep and we had an excellent goalkeeper today. "It should have been a clean sheet as well. As a club we are moving in the right direction and we need to keep our heads down and keep working as there are so many more steps to go still. " 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 14th March 2026 at 15: 52 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: Tonda Eckert Formation: 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 Manager: Frank Lampard Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Tonda Eckert Formation: 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Coventry City are winless in their last six league games against Southampton (D3 L3) since a 4-1 win in October 2008. Southampton have one win in their last seven league visits to Coventry (D4 L2), a 4-2 win under Nigel Adkins in the 2011-12 season. Coventry manager Frank Lampard has never won a home game against Southampton in all competitions as a manager (D2 L2), with his teams conceding at least twice in all four games. Southampton have lost eight of their last 10 league games against teams who have 70+ points in the table before the game (W1 D1), with their one win coming away at 90-point Leeds on the final day of the 2023-24 season (2-1). Coventry are unbeaten in 12. 30pm Championship kick-offs this season (W7 D3), while Southampton have only lost one of six 12. 30pm games (W3 D2). Match ends, Coventry City 1, Southampton 2. Second Half ends, Coventry City 1, Southampton 2. Foul by Romain Esse (Coventry City). Shea Charles (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt saved. Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Daniel Peretz (Southampton). Attempt blocked. Romain Esse (Coventry City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Victor Torp. Attempt missed. Victor Torp (Coventry City) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ephron Mason-Clark with a cross. Substitution, Southampton. Nathan Wood replaces Kuryu Matsuki. Attempt saved. Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Daniel Peretz (Southampton). Assisted by Romain Esse. Attempt missed. Romain Esse (Coventry City) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right following a fast break. Attempt missed. Luke Woolfenden (Coventry City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ephron Mason-Clark with a cross. Ephron Mason-Clark (Coventry City) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by James Bree (Southampton). Goal! Coventry City 1, Southampton 2. Victor Torp (Coventry City) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. Daniel Peretz (Southampton) is shown the yellow card. Penalty Coventry City. Victor Torp draws a foul in the penalty area. Penalty conceded by Shea Charles (Southampton) after a foul in the penalty area. Fourth official has announced 7 minutes of added time. Attempt blocked. Ephron Mason-Clark (Coventry City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Milan van Ewijk. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.