Sindre Walle Egeli’s second goal in five days has given the Blues a 1-0 half-time advantage over Championship leaders Coventry City at Portman Road.

Town made five changes from the team which began the 1-1 draw at Blackburn on Tuesday, returning to the XI which started the 2-1 defeat at Oxford United eight days ago with Darnell Furlong, Walle Egeli, Marcelino Nunez, Jaden Philogene and George Hirst returning to the side.

Ashley Young, Kasey McAteer, Chuba Akpom, Jack Clarke and Ivan Azon dropped to the bench alongside Sammie Szmodics, who was making his return following knee surgery with Ben Johnson missing out on a place in the 20-man squad.

Coventry made one enforced change from the team which came from behind to beat Charlton 3-1 at home last weekend with midfielder Victor Torp out despite having travelled.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden came into the side wide on the right in a 4-1-4-1 system with skipper Matt Grimes in a holding role.

Winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto missed a second game due to a concussion, but forward Haji Wright was back on the bench following a thigh strain.

Former Town defender Luke Woolfenden was also among the subs, along with two keepers, Ben Wilson and Oscar Varney.

The Blues started on the front foot against a Sky Blues side wearing an all luminous salmon away kit but with neither team threatening until the 10th minute when Walle Egeli struck an effort from distance which visiting keeper Carl Rushworth, a player who was interesting the Blues in the summer of 2024, claimed with ease.

On 16, Hirst was booked for standing on the back of Bobby Thomas’s heels, which seemed harsh, then within a minute Josh Eccles joined him for kicking the ball away prior to a Town free-kick.

In the 20th minute, Town lost the ball on halfway and Eccles was found by a chipped Jack Rudoni pass on the right of the area but his shot was into the side-netting.

The Sky Blues were seeing most of the ball and in the 26th minute should have gone in front. Ephron Mason-Clark, who had been enjoying a lively battle with Furlong not always within the rules of the game, was found in space on the left and crossed to the far post where Kesler-Hayden headed back across goal but well off target.

But the visitors were starting to get up a head of steam and in the 28th minute went close twice.

Furlong did well to read a clever backheeled pass from Thomas but the ball fell to Eccles, who struck a low shot from the edge of the area which Christian Walton did superbly to tip onto his right post.

Coventry kept the ball in the final third and Mason-Clark curled a shot towards goal from the left and Walton pawed over the bar.

In the 33rd minute, Town played their way out from the back, not entirely comfortably, and Nunez threaded Hirst in on goal, only for the linesman, correctly replays confirmed, to raise his flag.

The Coventry players subsequently surrounded referee Paul Tierney calling for a second yellow card which never came, Hirst having continued his run and shot wide.

The Blues had once again been scruffy with their passing, not making the most of opportunities to break forward and putting pressure on themselves as a result.

On 40, Grimes was booked for a late challenge on Walle Egeli not far inside the Town half.

As half-time approached, the Blues began to put the visitors under pressure, winning a free-kick wide on the right, then a corner on the left and another flag-kick on the right. And in the aftermath of the second corner, the Blues took the lead.

Town appeared to have overworked it when Walle Egeli played Philogene’s low ball back in from the left wide to corner-taker Davis on the right, the left-back’s overhit cross reaching Philogene again on the other side of the box.

The former England U21 international cut back to Walle Egeli on the edge of the area and the Norwegian international swept his second goal in two games across Rushworth and into the corner of the net to send Portman Road wild.

The Blues saw out the final minutes with little serious discomfort to go in ahead at the break.

Town had had to surrender more possession to the Sky Blues than has usually been the case this season and the visitors will feel they should have gone ahead in the spell when Kesler-Hayden headed wide when he ought to have scored and Walton made his two saves.

At that point, the Blues had made little headway at the other end, but they put Coventry under pressure via the repeated set pieces and Philogene and Walle Egeli showed composure to set up and then take the chance.

A long way to go and Coventry have made a habit of coming from behind recently, but the Blues have put themselves in a strong position at half-time.

Town: Walton, Furlong, O’Shea (c), Kipre, Davis, Matusiwa, Taylor, Walle Egeli, Nunez, Philogene, Hirst. Subs: Button, Young, Greaves, Cajuste, McAteer, J Clarke, Szmodics, Akpom, Azon.

Coventry: Rushworth, Kesler-Hayden, Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Grimes (c), Eccles, Rudoni, Mason-Clark, Simms. Subs: Wilson, Varney, Allen, Wright, Bidwell, Latibeaudiere, Woolfenden, Brau, Andrews. Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).

Photo: Matchday Images