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By TOM COLLOMOSSE Published: 04: 46 AEDT, 1 December 2024 | Updated: 08: 04 AEDT, 1 December 2024 2 View comments Frank Lampard received a few hospital passes during his outstanding playing career and for much of his first game as Coventry boss, he probably feared this was another. Losing at home to Cardiff and with the home fans becoming increasingly restless, Lampard needed a late penalty call to go the Sky Blues’ way to ensure his team avoided defeat. Victor Torp scored the sort of pressure spot-kick his boss used to relish and Coventry had a point. The road ahead will be tricky. Coventry fans were furious at the sacking of Mark Robins in November and though they gave the former England midfielder a warm reception, it will take more than an opening draw to win them around. Lampard made an understated entrance when the stadium announcer bellowed his name before kick-off and that is how he intends to do the job. ‘I’m a low-key person, that’s how I am, ’ he said. ‘I’m here as a head coach. I’m not here as a celebrity. My enjoyment comes from trying to make a team better. I actually shy away from those moments sometimes, even if people might not think that. ‘I appreciated the welcome, certainly, but I didn’t want to make it about me. It’s not my moment, it’s the start of 90 minutes. I’m here to work and do well for the club. Frank Lampard secured a 2-2 draw against Coventry in his maiden outing as Coventry manager Coventry twice fell behind at the CBS Arena with Yakou Meite and Alex Robertson on target ‘I understand the legacy of the last manager and I’m not here to fight that. I’m here to say: ‘Fantastic, ’ and to try to do my job.   'The relationship with the fans is all about us now. It’s about what momentum we can build and how we can make this place for home games. ’ Lampard, who was hired last week, was taunted by the Cardiff supporters until the home side won a controversial penalty in the closing stages. Torp, a second half substitute, converted it, with Lampard walking calmly back to his dugout afterwards. Coventry twice fell behind to goals in either half from Yakou Meite and Alex Robertson, though Ephron Mason-Clark soon cancelled out Meite’s early strike and Torp stopped the Bluebirds heading back to south Wales with three points. When Cardiff took a short corner in the fifth minute, Meite was left unmarked inside the area to head in Robertson’s cross. The Sky Blues looked vulnerable without the ball yet they carried a threat in possession and equalised quickly. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s chip was sublime and was met with a solid close-range volley from Mason-Clark. Jak Alnwick got a hand to the ball but could not stop it creeping over the line. Both sides created chances. Brad Collins looked shaky in the Coventry goal and nearly spilled David Turnbull’s shot over the line. Meite missed a great chance to score his second after more uncertain defending. Coventry head chances of their own, with Norman Bassette twice going close with his head. In between those opportunities, Lampard had a tense exchange with the fourth official after referee James Bell had stopped play for an injury to Turnbull. But Victor Torp was on hand to rescue a point for the hosts from the penalty spot in the closing stages After watching his players start the first half so sloppily, Lampard was furious when they made the same mistake. The second period was barely two minutes old when no Coventry defender closed down Robertson and he pinged the ball into the far corner from nearly 30 yards. That should have been the signal for a Coventry onslaught but it simply never arrived. Apart from a free-kick by Jack Rudoni that was pushed around the post, and a header from Cardiff substitute Joel Bagan that nearly beat his own goalkeeper, the Welsh club were rarely in trouble. Their fans even felt confident enough to chant ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’. But there was relief for Lampard when substitute Ellis Simms’ cross was judged to have been handled by Calum Chambers.   After a lengthy delay, Torp ignored Alnwick’s attempts to distract him and sent the Cardiff ‘keeper the wrong way from the spot. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group