Boss Mark Robins underlined Coventry’s determination to keep star man Callum O’Hare after he inspired the Sky Blues to a stunning late victory over Leicester.
The midfielder netted twice as the hosts scored three goals in the final 11 minutes to beat the 10-man Foxes 3-1.
O’Hare levelled before Milan van Ewijk fired Coventry ahead with two minutes left and then added a third in stoppage time.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s penalty gave Leicester the lead but Abdul Fatawu’s red card in first-half injury time gave Coventry the impetus.
O’Hare’s deal expires in the summer and Robins insisted the club will do everything they can to keep him, with the O’Hare having recovered from a serious knee injury.
Robins said: “You’ve got to wait for that. We can only do so much but we will 100 per cent want to keep him. Whatever happens it won’t be for the want of trying or not wanting to do it from our part.
“Looking at characteristics of people in teams, he epitomises what we want to do. He is brave, goes after things, a good communicator, an effervescent character and has added goalscoring to it.
“He deserves all the plaudits he gets. We missed him greatly.
“I thought we were brilliant. It was one of the best performances we’ve had this season, in many seasons. You have to understand how good the opponent is and then pick the bones out of the performance.
“Even with 11 v 11 we were outstanding.”
The leaders slipped to a first defeat in 11 league games after the Sky Blues’ grandstand finish.
Coventry dominated for long spells – Tatsuhiro Sakamoto hitting the post early – but fell behind a minute before the break.
Van Ewijk lost possession and Bobby Thomas caught Dewsbury-Hall, despite winning the ball first, as he attempted to recover the situation.
Dewsbury-Hall converted from the spot but the Foxes were soon down to 10 men when Fatawu recklessly clattered into Jake Bidwell for a straight red.
Matty Godden headed at Mads Hermansen but Coventry had to wait until 11 minutes from time to start their comeback.
Ellis Simms and Jay Dasilva combined for O’Hare to roll into the corner and van Ewijk put the Sky Blues ahead with two minutes left, firing in from the edge of the box after Leicester failed to clear a corner.
O’Hare then wrapped up the victory when he volleyed in from close range after Godden’s shot was blocked.
Leicester boss Enzo Maresca said: “We played two games, the first half was one and the second half was another.
“The red card changed the game completely. Abdul is very young, he needs to learn many things – in some moments you need to be more calm.
“It’s part of his process and he has to improve many things, at 1-0 up he tried to recover the ball not with the right thing. It happens.
“I feel proud when we win, win, win but today I feel more proud. We continued to play, fight and we didn’t concede important chances until the goal. It’s part of the game, with so many games it can happen.”
PSV crowned Eredivise champions for the first time in six years
PSV secured the Eredivisie title for the 25th time in the club’s history with a 4-2 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday, ending a six-year wait for a title.
They needed just one point to make sure of top spot with two games to spare, with this victory moving them 12 points clear of Arne Slot’s Feyenoord in second.
Peter Bosz’s side have enjoyed a dominant campaign, scoring an impressive 107 goals, and conceding just 19 on their way to the title.
PSV had to come from behind after Metinho’s early goal for Rotterdam but fought back through Said Bakari and Johan Bakayoko’s own goal.
Despite being pegged back by an own goal by Olivier Boscagli, PSV rallied in the second half, with the defender atoning for his error before Jordan Teze made sure of the points.
PSV are the second-most successful club in Eredivisie history, behind only Ajax, who hold 36 titles.
Rangers 4-1 Kilmarnock: Gers come from behind to keep pressure on Celtic
Rangers came from behind to beat 10-man Kilmarnock 4-1 at Ibrox on Sunday to keep the pressure on Scottish Premiership title rivals Celtic.
After Celtic thumped Hearts 3-0 on Saturday, it looked like the Bhoys' title charge could receive a further boost when James Tavernier put through his own net with 12 minutes gone at Ibrox after Liam Polworth's cross was nudged back across goal by Matty Kennedy.
However, Kilmarnock's Joe Wright was sent off for handling Dujon Sterling's goalbound effort shortly after, and though Tavernier's resulting spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Will Dennis, Rangers did get themselves back on level terms deep into first-half stoppage time as Fabio Silva turned home John Lundstram's cross.
Ben Davies then bundled the hosts into the lead with 62 minutes on the clock after Dennis fumbled Lundstram's long-range effort into the defender's path, before substitute Tom Lawrence extended Rangers' lead with a delightful strike from outside the box.
John Souttar sealed the win in the dying seconds with a close-range header, moving Rangers three points behind Celtic ahead of the crucial Old Firm next Saturday.
Ronaldo delivers another hat-trick as Al Nassr ease past Al Wedha
Cristiano Ronaldo crafted a decisive hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Wedha 6-0 in Saturday's Saudi Pro League meeting.
Portugal veteran Ronaldo found the net twice in the first 12 minutes at Al Awal Park before completing his treble after the interval.
Sadio Mane teed up Ronaldo's third finish, as well as an 18th-minute strike from Otavio, who returned the favour for the Senegal international to score on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Al Fatil added a late sixth as Al Nassr recorded their seventh straight league win since their March 7 loss against Al Raed, moving them back within nine points of leaders Al Hilal.
Jorge Jesus's Al Hilal swept Al Tauwoon aside in a 3-0 away triumph on Friday for their fourth straight victory across all competitions.
Talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Alsherhi wrapped up a win that kept Al Hilal in charge of the title race.
There was no such fortune for fifth-placed Al Ittihad as they fell to a third straight defeat in all competitions after a 3-1 loss away against Abha.
Jota levelled after Grzegorz Krychowiak's 57th-minute penalty, only for Hassan Al-Ali and Fabian Noguera to power hosts Abha to a comfortable win.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
