Coventry overrun Newcastle in sparkling second half for back-to-back Premier League wins

COVENTRY, England (AP) — Teenager Sidiki Cherif scored one and made one as Coventry overcame a dishevelled Newcastle 4-1 and earned successive Premier League wins on Monday.

The win was a real boost for Coventry, which had lost its first four games of the season but edged past Nottingham Forest in the final league match before the international break.

The victory also marked its first in the Premier League in 25 years after the Midlands club returned to the top division in the summer.

“It is so hard to win but we played like the team we want to be tonight,” coach Frank Lampard said. “A team where you look at them and see spirit and energy. We know we are going to have to suffer a lot in games this season but the work ethic of the boys and the belief mean you get what you deserve.”

Cherif was brought down just four minutes into the game and Jack Rudoni made no mistake from the spot.

Newcastle controlled most of the first half without troubling the Coventry goal but it was a different story in the second period as the home side won the game with some clinical finishing.

Cherif made it 2-0 with a low shot from the edge of the box three minutes into the second period, and although Sven Botman reduced the deficit with a stunning strike in the 70th Ellis Simms restored the two-goal advantage nine minutes from time.

Stephen Mfuni, the 18-year-old center half on loan from Manchester City, scored his first professional goal in the 86th to cap a dream night for Coventry and lift Lampard’s men into 14th spot.

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Newcastle sat three places and two points above them and coach Matthias Jaissle warned he had work to do after what was a second straight 4-1 loss away from home following a similar result at Leeds a month ago.

“Back-to-back 4-1 defeats away are things we need to avoid in the future,” he said.

“We are frustrated. It is a feeling you don’t want to have after a match where you should win. We apologize to the fans that made the journey. They deserved a better result.”

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here