Sunderland secured a narrow win in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi final at Coventry City

Frank Lampard praised Sunderland's defending at Coventry City on Friday but insisted his team were still firmly in the tie heading into the second leg.

The Sky Blues had over 70% possession in the game but Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda's goals on the counter attack mean the Black Cats will take a narrow advantage into the second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.

“Sunderland defended their box brilliantly," Lampard said.

"They defended low, that was their approach. They made it hard for us to find spaces and get clear opportunities. I wasn’t too frustrated. It’s a play-off game, so you’re never expecting them to open the doors for you. That’s never going to happen. We tried to make some small tweaks, but they kept closing the space when we were trying to move the ball. It’s not easy. I’ve played against a low block many a time, and it’s not easy. You’ve got to keep going. If the game had finished 0-0, we would have gone again on Tuesday, but obviously circumstances changed in the second half.

“I’ve played in many two-legged games, Champions League football, all kinds of football, so I understand the situation. The game was never going to be over after the first leg, and it’s not over, that’s for sure. They’ll know it’s not over – and we know it’s not over too."

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard previews second leg against Sunderland

Lampard said the second leg would be a 'good challenge' and questioned whether Sunderland would be able to replicate their low block on home turf.

“They may take that approach again at home, we’ll have to see," Lampard said.

"I think they brought that approach here because of what they felt when they played against us in the league. I think they maybe looked at how we’ve been playing here at the CBS, and I understand that. Credit to them. But we’ll look at it for the second leg. If they come out a bit more, we’ll see what that means. There’s pressure on us both in different ways now.

"It’s half-time," Lampard added.

"We’ll go again. Football’s not meant to be easy. I think the Sunderland players will know they’ve been in a tough game, and they’ll be expecting a tough game again. We’re 2-1 behind. They’re favourites, fine. No problem, it’ll be a good challenge.

“It will be different in the second leg. We don’t know how they’re going to play. Will they want to play so low at home, or will the fans want to drag them forward? They know they’re holding the lead, so it’s up to them what their strategy is, and we’ll have to be adaptable on the day to try to find a way, whatever they do. If they come out more, they’ll be a different type of threat, playing between the lines, probably with the two number eights, which is how they often play. They didn’t do that here, they sat back and waited to counter-attack. They sucked it up, and now they’ve got something to hold onto, but I’ve got no idea how they will approach the next game."

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