Moore hat-trick fires Wrexham past Coventry to end unbeaten run

Kieffer Moore scored a sensational second-half hat-trick as Wrexham came from behind to beat Coventry 3-2 on Friday, handing the English Championship leaders their first league defeat of the season.

Coventry, managed by former England midfielder Frank Lampard, had their six-game winning streak ended, leaving them just three points ahead of second-placed Middlesbrough.

Victory propelled Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, into the top half of the table.

Wrexham had several chances in the first half, but it was Ephron Mason-Clark who opened the scoring for Coventry in the 22nd minute.

Mason-Clark met Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s precise cross from the right with a first-time finish, evading the offside trap to give the Sky Blues the lead.

Despite being 1-0 up at half-time, Lampard admitted he sensed trouble.

“We have had a challenging week because we lost three of the back four,” he told Sky Sports.
“But that’s not pointing at the players who came into those areas, that’s looking at us as a whole and saying we were not quite at it today.”

He added: “I smelt it at half-time, even at 1-0 up. I could smell it. We just dropped a bit. Maybe that happens when you are 12 unbeaten and win six on the bounce. We can’t believe our own hype. This league is long.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson, who has overseen three successive promotions under their famous owners, praised his side’s performance.
“That was a proper Wrexham performance, which our fans have been used to over the years,” he said.

The home side equalised on the hour mark to the delight of the Racecourse Ground crowd. Issa Kabore fed Josh Windass down the right flank, and his cross was expertly turned home by a sliding Moore with a right-foot finish.

Nine minutes later, a throw-in down the right led to another assist from Windass, with Moore nodding the ball into the net to put Wrexham ahead.

Moore completed his hat-trick seven minutes from time, taking his season tally to nine goals in 16 appearances. Once again, Windass provided the assist, and Moore drilled a low, left-foot shot into the far corner to seal the win.

Coventry briefly gave themselves hope in the 88th minute when Sakamoto unleashed a superb left-foot strike that curled into the far corner.

However, Wrexham, who had suffered a midweek League Cup defeat to Welsh rivals Cardiff, held on to see out the game and secure a memorable victory.