Victor Torp and Ephron Mason-Clark scored brilliant late goals to secure one final home victory for league champions Coventry City at the CBS Arena where the fans were in full party mode celebrating winning the title. Brandon Thomas-Asante gave the Sky Blues the early lead when he timed his run to perfection to convert an Ephron Mason-Clark cross from close range in the 19th minute. However, Oliver Rathbone drilled home a cleared centre six minutes later to restore parity at City’s promotion party where the fans were in fine form throughout, thoroughly enjoying their day in the sun no matter what the score. The visitors went close to taking the lead just before the break when George Thomason latched onto another loose ball in space and thumped the foot of Carl Rushworth’s right-hand post. Haji Wright went agonisingly close to restoring City’s lead after the break when he directed a header low to the bottom corner only for Danny Ward to dive to his left and make a brilliant save to deny the striker. The Sky Blues largely dominated the second half but clear cut chances were few and far between while the visitors played mostly on the counter attack. But the breakthrough came in the 80th minute when substitute Victor Torp fired a brilliant free-kick into the roof of the net with the keeper stretching but beaten. Mason-Clark then put the icing on the cake of celebrations when he made it 3-1 in stoppage time, running on to a Frank Onyeka pass into the box and slotting across the keeper to end a superb final home display before the fans stayed back to watch the tropy being presented.. STARTING FORMATION: 4-2-3-1 CARL RUSHWORTH: 7 Commanded his area and kicked well but unable to stop Rathbone’s hard and low equaliser that went through is legs after a possible deflection. MILAN VAN EWIJK: 7.5 Busy in his defending and got forward nicely to support attacks, driving into the box on one occasion to set up Haji for a terrific headed effort that was saved. BOBBY THOMAS: 7.5 Got in plenty of blocks and headers and defended pretty well overall, getting in a crucial sliding tackle to dispossess O’Brien in the area. LIAM KITCHING: 7.5 Aggressive and determined as he read the game and played on the front foot and needed to be as Wrexham were a threat going forward, picking up loose balls for shots. JAY DASILVA: 8 Defended well and got forward well on the overlap, playing some delightful football at time and showcasing his technical ability. Read the game well, intercepting cleverly when required. FRANK ONYEKA: 8.5 Put himself about winning tackles and blocking shots and tried his luck early on with a dipping shot onto the roof of the net. Drove forward with the ball at his feet and showed all his experience in the middle of the park. MATT GRIMES: 8 Sat deep to help soak up the pressure from a high pressing Wrexham looking for play-off points. Put plenty of decent deliveries into the area from set-pieces and open play. Lifted a shot narrowly over the bar as City looked to restore their lead after the break. BRANDON THOMAS-ASANTE: 7.5 Lively in the final third on his return to the starting line-up where he made plenty of good runs to get into decent positions, including a brilliantly timed run into the six yard area to give City the early lead. JOSH ECCLES: 7.5 Played with real freedom and looked like he was enjoying his role in for Rudoni in the number ten slot where he was lively and effective in the final third, winning the ball back a number of times in the process. EPHRON MASON-CLARK: 9 Oozed confidence as he took on his marker and got into the box to get in crosses in, which is exactly what he did to set up Thomas-Asante for the early goal. Displayed an incredible piece of skill to beat his man for a wonderful move. HAJI WRIGHT: 6.5 Made a couple of hard runs but had a relatively quiet first half. Came more to life after the break when he was denied by a brilliant save as he sent a terrific header goalwards and cut into the area, beating two players before winning a corner. SUBSTITUTIONS: ELLIS SIMMS (71 mins, for Wright): 6 Made a couple of decent runs and posed a threat with his strength. VICTOR TORP (71 mins, for Eccles): 8 Scored with a superb free-kick to restore City’s lead. ROMAIN ESSE (81 mins, for Thomas-Asante): JAMIE ALLEN (87 mins, for Grimes): 7 Vintage stuff from the stalwart midfielder. Lovely touch to put him on. Subs (not used): Ben Wilson (GK), Joel Latibeaudiere, Luke Woolfenden, Jake Bidwell, Kaine Kesler-Hayden. WREXHAM (3-5-1-1): Danny Ward; Dominic Hyam, Dan Scarr, Callum Doyle; Issa Kabore, George Dobson, Matty James, Oliver Rathbone (60 mins, for Lewis O’Brien), George Thomason; Josh Windass (71 mins, for Nathan Broadhead); Sam Smith (71 mins, for Kieffer Moore). Subs (not used): Arthur Okonkwo (GK), Lewis Brunt, Max Cleworth, Davis Keillor-Dunn, Liberato Cacace, Ryan Longman. GOALS: SKY BLUES: Thomas-Asante (19), Torp (79), Mason-Clark (90+4) WREXHAM: Rathbone (25) REFEREE: Sami Allison ATTENDANCE: 31,003 (1,619 away) NEXT UP: Watford (a) Saturday, May 2 (12.30pm). Every day, the CoventryLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Coventry City content. Our dedicated reporter Andy Turner – who you can follow on X – follows the Sky Blues home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. 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Player ratings as Champions Coventry City chalk up brilliant 17th home win at rocking CBS Arena
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