News Focus
- Both men scored in non-league matches on the same day in March 2019
- The pair contributed 36 goals this season to help Coventry win the Championship
- Thomas-Asante has earned a place in Ghana’s preliminary World Cup squad
- Their journey took them from the National League to England’s top flight
In March 2019, Brandon Thomas-Asante found the net for Oxford City in front of just 500 supporters. On that exact same day, Ephron Mason-Clark scored for Barnet with only 650 people in the stands. Both matches took place in the National League.
Seven years later, these two forwards have fired Coventry City back into the Premier League. The Sky Blues secured promotion by winning the Championship title. They lifted the trophy following a 3-1 victory against Wrexham.
Thomas-Asante is now 27 years old. He began his career at MK Dons in 2011. He spent ten years climbing through the divisions. He played for Sutton United, Ebbsfleet United and Oxford City in non-league football. He also represented Salford City in League Two. In 2022, he joined West Bromwich Albion. This meant he had played in all three divisions of the English Football League. Now he will compete in the Premier League.
Mason-Clark is 26 years old. He started in the seventh tier of English football. He had a loan spell at Metropolitan Police in 2016. He then spent six years with Barnet. In 2022, he moved to Peterborough United. Coventry signed him in 2024.
This season, the two players scored 36 goals between them. Thomas-Asante got 13 goals and made four assists. Mason-Clark scored 10 goals and made nine assists. Football expert George Elek praised Mason-Clark. He called him “one of the unsung heroes of the Championship.”
Thomas-Asante has also received international recognition. He is in Ghana’s preliminary squad for the World Cup. He could face England in the group stages. He spoke about his journey after the promotion. “Moments like this are built up over years,” he said.
The two players share a strong bond. They often remember their days in non-league football. Thomas-Asante kept his old training jacket from those days. He said it reminds him of the hard times. He also praised his team-mate highly. He said Mason-Clark has become “unreal” and “inevitable” on the pitch.
Coventry City have returned to the top flight after 25 years away. For these two strikers, it marks the peak of a remarkable rise from the lower leagues.