Coventry City and Middlesbrough have played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their Championship playoff semi-final.
Having watched Sunderland impress in a 2-1 comeback win over Luton Town on Saturday night, it was the turn of the fourth and fifth placed teams to do battle at the CBS Arena.
However, the fixture in the Midlands lacked the same fireworks that occurred at the Stadium of Light, even though both teams will be relatively satisfied with a share of the spoils for differing reasons.
These teams were no strangers to each other after a 1-1 draw earlier this week, yet it was Boro who had the best of the early stages.
Chuba Akpom had the most clear-cut opportunity, Ben Wilson making a terrific intervention to tip his effort onto the crossbar, but Coventry grew into the game after the visitors had failed to make their dominance count.
An unbelievable save from Ben Wilson to deny Chuba Akpom earlier 😱 pic.twitter.com/znFTzx8nbP
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 14, 2023
That proved to be only temporary, however, as Isaiah Jones, a constant threat down the right, forced Wilson into another save before having a goal ruled out due to a marginal offside decision.
Straight after the restart, Akpom glanced a header marginally wide of the post, but Coventry were able to rally without really putting Zach Steffen's goal under any sustained pressure.
While both teams continued to search for an opener during the final quarter, a goal never looked likely, and Coventry have to be pleased with the result having failed to register a single shot on target versus opponents that have struggled for clean sheets under Michael Carrick.
Darren Plant
