Frank Lampard says his Coventry City players "owned" the game against Middlesbrough as they scored two late goals to seal a 4-2 win at Riverside Stadium.

After racing into a 2-0 lead within 14 minutes thanks to goals from Ellis Simms and Liam Kitching, Coventry let it slip as Morgan Whittaker pulled one back before half-time and Bobby Thomas' own goal levelled the score four minutes after the break.

With new boss Kim Hellberg watching on, Tommy Conway missed a glorious opportunity to put the hosts ahead, blazing over from close range, and it proved costly.

Kitching scored his second of the match in the 85th minute, restoring Coventry's lead with an instinctive first-time finish, and in the next minutes, Simms put the result beyond doubt by heading in.

It is a win that takes the Sky Blues 10 points clear of their opponents, having also racked up 40 points after 17 games, while they have now netted 47 goals, 19 more than any other side in the Championship.

Coventry had 20 shots in total, with eight of those on target, though generated just 1.4 expected goals (xG). Middlesbrough, by contrast, netted with both of their attempts on target.

Lampard acknowledged how tough Boro made the game for Coventry, but was particularly impressed with the late show that his side put on.

"It was two good teams. Boro are where they are for a reason," he said. "There were lots of factors that made this a tough match for us.

"They started the game well, but we were so clinical. We looked a big threat in our counter-attacking in the first half, and we created some big chances beyond the goals.

"But they're a good team, and they caused us problems, and we changed in the second half to counter that, and I thought we were outstanding in the last 20 minutes.

"When games go from 2-0 to 2-2, we've all seen that story before and how it pans out. Momentum is with the other team, but we gripped the game back. The changes probably helped, but the players – they owned that."

Elsewhere in the Championship, Stoke City moved up to second after a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic, with Sorba Thomas scoring two first-half goals, which appeared to be crosses.

Ipswich Town also moved up the table into fourth after beating Hull City 2-0, while Vitor Matos made a losing start to life at Swansea City as they were beaten 2-1 by Derby County, who got back to winning ways.