The Sky Blues under-23s went eight points clear in the league after a 2-0 triumph against Sheffield United in a top of the table clash.
City went ahead early on with two quick-fire goals coming from Josh Reid and Tyler Walker.
After a solid defensive outing in the second half, the Sky Blues were able to see out the win, keeping a clean sheet in the process.
Under-23s manager Luke Tisdale shared his delight at the performance and emphasised the importance of a win.
“Today was all about trying to find a way to win, everyone knew the outcome of the game would put us top with a little bit of distance to them, I thought first half we managed that really well, we didn’t play to the pressure of the game, we settled down and started brilliantly.
“Down to Reidy, who’s worked on that ball this week, so it was nice to see that one come off and the second one was probably the best goal we’ve scored all season.
“At 2-0 I felt we sunk a little bit too deep and we were happy with what we’ve got, rather than trying to kill the game, but I’ve got to credit the defenders and goalkeeper because the defending and the blocking was magnificent and the same goes for everyone, Tavares making blocks in the penalty area at 1-0 shows you how much the group want to work hard for each other and put their bodies on the line and that’s why we’ve got a clean sheet.”
Tisdale was particularity impressed with the returning George Burroughs, praising the defender for a spectacular defensive performance.
“I thought he was magnificent, he didn’t get on last week, so he had to sit their and be an unused sub, then we lost one or two through injury or suspensions this week, he came in and I thought he was brilliant.
“He was good on the ball and that’s the way the football club want to play and the way we want to play as young developing players, I thought he ticked that box brilliantly, but the defensive side of his game was outstanding,
“I’ve been at the football club nine and a half years and thats the best I’ve ever seen him play, I first saw him when he was nine or ten and I was taking his brother in the under-12s, but that’s the best I’ve seen George Burroughs play and I thought he deserves loads of credit.”
The Sky Blues under-23s gaffer took a moment to reflect on the importance of his sides result and praised his side for coming out on top against solid opposition, as well as looking forward to what the team can achieve this season.
“Credit to Sheffield United, they’re a proper under-23s team, they’re physical, they stick at it, they can play all sorts of game styles, they gave us a real test today, so it was nice to bounce back from the performance we had at their place earlier in the year.
“You can see why Sheffield United are up there, they’ve got good players all over the pitch who were very different from the group we thought we were going to play as well, five or six changes from the predicted side we had, that shows their strength in depth and their quality, they’re no mugs, so to get a win and a clean sheet is massive.
“It’s no secret that we’ve got goals set to qualify for the play-offs and if we can do that by winning the league, even better.
“We’ve got twelve games to go, the boys can have a well-earned rest now over Christmas and we’ll have a goal-setting meeting in January and we’ll aggressively chase that down.”