Frank Lampard was glad to see Coventry City’s strikers back on the mark in the final warm up game against St Pauli.
Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ellis Simms both netted in the Sky Blues’ 2-2 draw with Bundesliga side St Pauli at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Thomas-Asante got the nod to start the dress rehearsal for next weekend’s Championship opener against Hull City in the clearest indication yet that he has edged ahead of Simms in Lampard’s thinking.
Thomas-Asante prodded home the opening goal after being found by Matt Grimes and would later hit the woodwork before Simms took his place with 18 minutes to play and provided an instant impact to score a well-placed header.
Lampard said: “It’s nice to have strikers scoring goals, we’ve been a bit short of that in pre-season, but that’s the hardest bit of football – the last bit of edge at the top of the pitch and the ability to finish.
“We’ve got competition up there and we need the players to perform but I’m well aware that strikers who are scoring and in confident runs can score more. It’s a good feeling for them.”
The Sky Blues have been linked with a number of strikers throughout pre-season with Lampard keen to bolster his forward options before the transfer window closes.
Thomas-Asante managed four goals in 38 Championship games last season, while Simms got six but he failed to score in his final 13 matches and didn’t feature in the play-offs.
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