DaSilva's strike ends Coventry's 25-year Premier League wait as VAR denies Forest late leveller

Jay DaSilva’s second-half strike handed Coventry City a 1-0 victory at the City Ground on Tuesday, ending the club’s 25-year wait for a Premier League win and denying Nottingham Forest in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Frank Lampard’s side had endured a miserable return to the top flight — four defeats and no goals from their opening four matches — but DaSilva’s finish finally broke that duck and secured Coventry’s first three points in the top division since a win over Sunderland in April 2001.

Forest appeared to have rescued a point when Igor Jesus slotted home late on, only for referee Jared Gillett to be sent to the monitor by VAR. Gillett reversed his original on-field decision, ruling that Jesus had fouled Coventry’s Caleb Yirenkyi in the build-up, leaving the hosts with a burning sense of injustice.

In truth, however, Forest did not create enough to deserve a share of the spoils. Oliver Glasner’s side are struggling at the City Ground, having won there just once in the league since December last year. The overturned goal also means they have yet to score in their first three home games of the season — a concern that is beginning to undermine otherwise promising away form, which has yielded four points from trips to Liverpool and Aston Villa.

For Coventry, the relief was palpable. Lampard’s team arrived at the City Ground as the only side in the division yet to score, and the weight of that statistic — compounded by a quarter-century without a top-flight win — made DaSilva’s goal all the more significant. Whether this result marks a turning point in their survival bid remains to be seen, but few Coventry supporters will have cared much about that on the final whistle.