Mark Venus reflect's on a positive night for the Sky Blues, as they claim their first three EFL points at the Ricoh...
Mark Venus praised his side’s hardy performance after they claimed all three points against league newcomers Oxford United.
A wonderful first senior goal from Ben Stevenson and a Marvin Sordell strike secured victory against the U’s and in turn maintained City’s unbeaten home record.
Venus asserted that the performance was built around a strong start from the Sky Blues. He said: “I thought the first-half performance was fantastic, I really enjoyed watching the lads play tonight.
“It was positive, attacking and they really worked hard for each other. I think the second-half was also positive, as we’re a young team who are perhaps not used to riding games out.
“We expected Oxford to come on strong, but the lads stayed composed and calm under pressure during periods. Over the 90 minutes we more than deserved the victory and it’s vital we now push on from this.
Venus reserved praise for the performance of 19-year old midfielder Ben Stevenson, who - fresh from signing a new four-year deal - marked a man of the match performance with his first senior goal.
“I thought Ben was outstanding all game. He was breaking up play, up and down the pitch, being positive in possession. It was just a complete performance from him tonight.
“His all round game had a lot of identity to it, and his goal was a fantastic strike that got us on our way to a positive result. It was worthy of winning any football game.”
He added: “He is a good player who is still young. With all players you have to find the right system and right position for them to express themselves, but he is a player that we are really pleased to have signed an extension with the club.”