Hat-Trick Hero Haji Wright Left Out As Lampard Picks His Man Of The Match In Sunderland Win

Frank Lampard picked his Coventry City’s man of the match and it wasn’t hat-trick hero Haji Wright whose outstanding treble sank Championship rivals Sunderland at the CBS Arena.

The Sky Blues boss hailed the USA striker’s match winning performance which earned him the match ball and the fans’ vote, but Lampard singled out midfielder Jamie Allen for special mention after an outstanding contribution and influence on the game, in particular in the first half of the 3-0 victory over the Black Cats.

“Jamie hasn’t started since Ipswich over a month ago, maybe six weeks,” said the head coach. “He could knock on my door any day and ask why he’s not playing and he deserves to do that because of the way he was playing.

“Obviously selection is hard and we have got competition in midfield but Jamie is an example to all players when they are not playing because if you train at the level, you can come in and play like Jamie did today.

“He doesn’t speak so much but he’s a leader of the group because he’s an example. He trains at a massive level, does extra work and the first half performance today, well, his whole performance… But in the first half, winning it, winning second balls, he was calm, good play, recovery tackles, everything.

“He was outstanding and him and Grimesy and Torpy were outstanding in midfield today. But Jamie I think is, for me, after Haji obviously with a hat-trick, man of the match because I see what he does every day. And he’s a great example because I see what he does every day. It’s tough when they’re not playing. He’s not been playing but he comes in and plays outstanding because of how he behaves every day.”