How Jack Rudoni has reacted in just three words to Haji Wright's hat trick in Coventry City v Middlesbrough | OneFootball

The Sky Blues returned to the Championship summit on Monday night thanks to Wright's treble

Coventry City midfielder Jack Rudoni only needed three words to sum up Haji Wright's stellar performance as the American striker netted a hat-trick in the Sky Blues' statement 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough at the CBS Arena on Monday night.

City had been knocked off the Championship's summit last week after the Teesside outfit achieved a 3-1 success against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, with Frank Lampard's side enduring a concerning blip that had seen them win just four of their previous 13 league fixtures in the lead-up to the mouthwatering clash.

With many predicting a Middlesbrough victory after Kim Hellberg's side had won their previous six Championship matches on the spin, it was up to the Sky Blues to remind everyone that they are very much a force to be reckoned with in the race for Premier League football.

They answered the previous criticisms which had come their way in emphatic fashion in CV6, as they ran riot against the in-form Reds from the first whistle, and they deservedly took the lead after 21 minutes when USMNT international, Wright, scored what was just his second goal - at the time - since October 4th as he turned Rudoni's low cross past Sol Brynn after 21 minutes.

The 27-year-old then put daylight between Coventry and Middlesbrough 10 minutes into the second half as he got in between Luke Ayling and Adilson Malanda to fire goalkeeper Carl Rushworth's raking kick upfield past the aforementioned Brynn from the left side of the penalty area.

The City ace then achieved his second treble in less than 12 months from the penalty spot 19 minutes from time after Matt Targett handled a Josh Eccles cross less than 20 seconds after the Sky Blues kicked off from Riley McGree's impressive strike on 67 minutes for the visitors.

As such, a first victory since January 20th was enough for the Sky Blues to reclaim top spot ahead of their opponents, as they have now taken 62 points from 32 games, with Hellberg's side now one point behind after the same number of matches played.

Unsurprisingly, whilst it was a strong all-round team performance from Lampard's side, it was Wright who received the majority of the plaudits for his starring role.

Jack Rudoni issues 3-word message to Coventry City's Haji Wright after hat-trick v Middlesbrough

It is fair to say that City's club-record £7.7m signing has had his fair share of individual critics in recent weeks and months, despite coming into the encounter with a record of 10 goals in 27 league appearances.

However, as previously mentioned, only one of those had come since October, albeit it was the crucial winner against Leicester City in the M69 derby on January 17th.

As a result of his second hat-trick for the club, which comes 11 months after hitting a treble against Sunderland at the CBS, Wright is now the division's second-highest scorer behind Swansea City's Zan Vipotnik, having now bettered his tally throughout the entirety of last season, where he still scored an impressive 12 times in just 27 league outings due to injury issues.

Rudoni has also suffered injury issues of his own this term, but has now racked up eight goal contributions in 22 appearances. As such, the 24-year-old playmaker was full of praise for his colleague after the full-time whistle.

He said of Wright via Instagram: "My f*****g dargggg," followed by a heart and a number three, emphasising how he felt about Wright's performance.

After a poor run of form, this is exactly the type of win and performance which Coventry needed to reignite their promotion push ahead of the final 14 matches of the season.

It will certainly give Lampard and his side full confidence ahead of two intriguing away fixtures against West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United, with the latter only seeing a previous eight-game unbeaten run at Bramall Lane ended by Middlesbrough on February 9th.