Coventry City 2 - 1 Stoke City

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer seal FA Cup upset



Coventry City pulled off one of the shocks of the day as they knocked Premier League Stoke City out of the FA Cup.

A first half header from Jordan Willis and second half bullet from Jack Grimmer gave the Sky Blues a giant killing third round victory over The Potters at the Ricoh Arena to pile more pressure on under-fire boss Mark Hughes.

Mark Robins’s men thoroughly deserved their lead at the break and could have been 3-0 up going into half-time had Marc McNulty not dragged an angled shot wide and been denied by the out-stretched boot of England keeper Jack Butland.

The visitors got themselves back on level terms early in the second half when Willis conceded a penalty with a sliding tackle on Ramadan Sobhi, leaving Charlie Adam to send Liam O’Brien the wrong way from the spot.

The 54th minute equaliser appeared to be a turning point in the match as the Potters suddenly upped their game and started to finally ask more questions of the battling Coventry defence.

But it was Stoke’s back line that was caught static in the 67th minute when Grimmer pulled the trigger from 25 yards out to beat the keeper with a low and powerful shot to re-ignite the atmosphere at the Ricoh where the home fans went wild.

The Potters were suddenly shocked into action for a second time with manager Hughes throwing on three strikers including big hitters Peter Crouch and Shaqiri in a desperate attempt to save the tie and his job.

City defended with their lives, blocking and heading everything that came their way in the last frantic 15 minites when they still looked a threat on the counter attack.

Liam O’Brien helped secure the incredible victory with a brilliant late double save and a strong hand to tip over a Crouch half volley as Coventry hung on for grim death in the dying minutes to secure their historic victory.