COVENTRY, England (Interstat) — Coventry City opened its English Championship season with a commanding 3-1 victory over Watford on Saturday at Coventry Building Society Arena.

The hosts established a decisive lead with three first-half goals. Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring in the third minute, followed by Jamie Allen in the seventh and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto in the 42nd. Watford’s Imran Louza scored a second-half consolation goal.

The match was marred by a red card shown to Watford’s James Abankwah just before halftime. Coventry defied a pregame projection from Interstat that had forecast a 1-1 draw, instead delivering a comprehensive performance to start its campaign.