There was no breakthrough in the first leg of the Championship semi-final between Coventry and Middlesbrough as the two sides played out a cagey 0-0 draw at the CBS Arena.
There were few chances over the course of the 90 minutes, with Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson required to make a couple of decent saves in the first half.
Frustratingly for the Sky Blues, who have waited 22 years for a chance to return to the Premier League, they could not muster a shot on target.
Michael Carrick’s side will now look to make better use of home advantage when the two sides reconvene at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night.
Six days on from these two teams facing each other on the final day of the regular season, the first big chance went Middlesbrough’s way after 13 minutes when Riley McGree played the ball through and Chuba Akpom’s dink deflected off Wilson and onto the bar.
The visitors were the first to settle after a scrappy opening, with Coventry unable to make many incursions into their opponents’ half.
The Sky Blues’ first effort on goal, an off-target header by captain Liam Kelly in the 28th minute, lifted the crowd but they soon had Wilson to thank again for keeping the game goalless.
Isaiah Jones found himself in behind down the right and the wing-back’s effort from a narrow angle needing turning behind by Coventry’s last line of defence.
Jones then had the ball in the net for Boro four minutes before half-time after being played through by Akpom, but the assistant’s flag had already been raised for offside.
Middlesbrough continued to make the better chances early in the second half as Akpom headed McGree’s cross narrowly wide just over a minute after the restart.
Viktor Gyokeres, Coventry’s leading scorer, had barely had a kick and his eagerness to get more involved arguably prevented Kyle McFadzean having a sight of goal from Gustavo Hamer’s corner.
Zack Steffen in the Middlesbrough goal was also underworked, with Callum Doyle’s wild effort over the bar from the edge of the box summing up the hosts’ lack of quality in the final third.
Hamer then followed suit from long range, but the Sky Blues were at least starting to impose themselves after what had been a nervy first 45 minutes from them.
Boro’s threat dissipated the longer the second half wore on, with Akpom’s increasing isolation only adding to the sense of stalemate – which to nobody’s surprise remained unbroken, meaning this tie’s decisive moment is yet to come.
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
