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NOTTINGHAM, England: Jay Dasilva sealed Coventry City\u2019s \u200cfirst Premier League win for 25 years on Saturday as Frank Lampard\u2019s side finally kick-started their season with a 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.<\/p>\n
A horrible opening run of \u200bfixtures, including away trips to Arsenal and Manchester City, had given the Midlands side, who won last season\u2019s Championship, a stark reality check.<\/p>\n
Last week\u2019s 5-0 home drubbing by Brighton and Hove Albion had left Coventry without a point or a goal and with a goal difference of minus 10, setting alarm bells ringing.<\/p>\n
But when Dasilva expertly controlled a raking long delivery by keeper Carl Rushworth and cut in to bend a \u200cshot past \u200cForest keeper Matz Sels in the 55th minute, \u200bit \u200cfelt \u2060like \u200blift-off.<\/p>\n
Coventry\u2019s hearts \u2060sank when Igor Jesus appeared to have equalized late on for the hosts but he was ruled to have clipped the foot of Caleb Yirenkyi, causing the midfielder to stumble, and the goal was chalked off after a VAR check.<\/p>\n
It was the slice of fortune that Coventry deserved for an impressive display and one that will send them into the international break \u2060feeling like they now belong among the elite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels \u200cgreat, it feels amazing,\u201d Lampard said. \u201cThe way \u200cthe players worked for it. Having lost our \u200bfirst four games in different \u200ccircumstances, it\u2019s easy to feel negative, like where is the goal, where \u200cis the win coming from?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players deserve it. It\u2019s really important for some of the players, for many of them it\u2019s their debut in the Premier League and they need to feel like they belong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coventry\u2019s last win in the Premier \u200cLeague was against Sunderland in April 2001 but a few games later they were relegated to end their \u206034-year stay \u2060in the top flight.<\/p>\n
The club dipped into the fourth tier during the troubled decades that followed, but all that was forgotten as the fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to keep our feet on the ground because it\u2019s one win, and we\u2019ve felt how ruthless the league is already,\u201d Lampard, a three-time Premier League winner as a player with Chelsea, said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had two of the toughest games on paper, probably in City and Arsenal, but it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe points still said zero after four games and that hurts. So I think going into \u200ba break, yeah, for sure, for \u200beveryone to have a bit of rest, to feel good about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that\u2019s the starting point, so they can use that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n