COVENTRY City were punished for a sloppy first half performance as the Sky Blues were beaten 2-0 by lowly Hull City in the absence of manager Mark Robins.
The home side lacked rhythm and urgency throughout at the Coventry Building Society Arena as Richard Smallwood and Ryan Longman landed decisive blows inside the opening half an hour.
And the result leaves Coventry in 11th place in the Sky Bet Championship table, five points outside of the play-offs with nine games left to play.
In the absence of Robins and his assistant Adi Viveash with Covid-19, under-23’s head coach Luke Tisdale took charge of the team, assisted by under-18’s boss John Dempster.
And City made the worst possible start when Hull took the lead after just four minutes when Smallwood’s shot went straight through Sky Blues goalkeeper Simon Moore.
Coventry responded when Matty Godden had an effort saved by Hull goalkeeper Matt Ingram from close range before Dom Hyam sliced the rebound wide.
The visitors almost doubled their lead when Tom Eaves was just unable to get on the end of a ball across the Sky Blues six-yard box before Moore comfortably saved Alfie Jones’ speculative effort from distance.
And Hull came close again when Moore made a sensational save to tip Keane Lewis-Potter’s swerving shot from 25-yards out onto the post and behind for a corner.
However, from the resulting corner, Longman smashed a ferocious shot in off the underside of the crossbar on 28 minutes to leave Coventry shellshocked.
The home side were sloppy in possession throughout the first half but did force Ingram into a save when he pushed away Callum O’Hare’s shot from inside the area.
And the hosts continued to search for a way back into the game in the second period when Godden was denied by the legs of Ingram’s.
However, Hull remained a threat on the counter when Eaves broke in-behind the Coventry defence only for Moors to make a crucial save when one-on-one.
At the other end, Gus Hamer’s corner from the right was headed narrowly wide by Godden after the striker was left unmarked.
The Sky Blues struggled to break down a stubborn Hull defence all night with O’Hare forcing Ingram into a smart save at his near post.
However, the home side came within millimetres of reducing the deficit on 83 minutes when Ian Maatsen’s shot ricocheted off two Hull defenders and was blocked on the line by the back of Jacob Greaves
And City created another good chance soon after when substitute Martyn Waghorn saw his shot from close range blocked behind for a corner by Jones.
Coventry are next in action away at Derby County on Saturday, March 19 with kick-off at 12.30pm at Pride Park.
