Frank Lampard has lavished praise on Taiwo Awoniyi following the Nigeria international's standout first start for Coventry City, who defeated Plymouth 4-2 in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Awoniyi wasted no time making his mark, opening the scoring in the 3rd minute after a clever flick from Ghana Black Stars midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi released him in behind. He then turned provider, teeing up Jack Rudoni to double Coventry's advantage just two minutes later.

A hard-fought cup win

Plymouth clawed back into the contest when Oliver Irow cut inside Joel Latibeaudiere and beat goalkeeper Dan Bentley in the 21st minute. The visitors drew level early in the second half through substitute Xavier Ameachi, who dispossessed Liam Kitching to equalise.

Coventry regained control when Ephron Mason-Clark came on at the hour mark and restored the lead with a composed tap-in. Victor Torp then wrapped up the victory by converting a penalty into the top corner after Brandon Thomas-Asante was brought down inside the box, sending Coventry into the third round.

Lampard's verdict on Awoniyi

Speaking after the match, Lampard addressed Awoniyi's fitness levels and what the striker has shown so far. "He played some good pre-season minutes at Forest, although probably not so much in his last sort of 10 days before coming to us," the Coventry manager said.

"So it was good to get him on the pitch at the Emirates and then he starts the game tonight and he gets his goal and an assist, and yeah, he'll be getting fit at this point but I thought we saw the qualities that we brought him here for."

Awoniyi joined Coventry on loan from Nottingham Forest and has wasted little time demonstrating why the club were keen to secure his services, contributing directly to two of their four goals on a productive evening.