COVENTRY CITY, England (CMC) — Resurgent Jamaican striker Marlon King has thanked the West Midlands club for helping to revive his career after scoring his first goal on Saturday to fire them to a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

The 30-year-old frontman recently served half of an 18-month jail sentence after being convicted of sexual assault in October last year.

Following his release in July, he was signed by Coventry manager Aidy Boothroyd who had coached King at Watford in previous years.

Playing before his home fans at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, King converted a 79th minute penalty after Gary McSheffrey was brought down, and celebrated by revealing a “for you” message on his under-shirt.

“Everyone at Coventry has made it easy for me to come back into football,” said King, who had his contract cancelled by Wigan when he was convicted.

“The ‘for you’ message was for the supporters who’ve been great, and my wife and three kids sat in the stands.”

King’s presence in the starting line-up on Saturday was his sixth start and 10th appearance in the Championship this season and Boothroyd said he expected him to continue improving.

“It has taken a lot of thought, but loyalty works both ways. Marlon has done exceptionally well for me before. He was part of the team which helped change my life,” said Boothroyd.

“He’s nowhere near his best but he’s getting fitter and better all the time.”

King thought he had opened his account a week ago when his shot went in off Scunthorpe goalkeeper Joe Murphy.