Mark Robins expressed his relief after Coventry earned their first victory of the season with a last-minute 3-2 Championship win at home to Oxford United.
Haji Wright scored a brace – including the winner, five minutes into second-half stoppage-time – either side of Milan Van Ewijk’s fierce strike.
Robins said: “It’s a relief and I’ve said it in years gone by, but this year might be the year I have a heart attack if we’re going to play like that.”
Oxford had twice come from a goal down through Ciaron Brown and Mark Harris before Wright’s last-gasp winner sent the visitors home empty-handed.
“I think we deserved it,” said Robins. “They were really good and pushed us all the way. We took control of the game early on and got a brilliant goal, great ball, great header.
“I thought Haji was brilliant all night. I think the team played really well apart from the two goals, they were really avoidable and really poor, but if we can win a game and concede those goals then fine tonight, but we will come unstuck if we can’t defend and keep clean sheets.
“It’s difficult to be critical tonight because of the way they played with the ball, the possession and everything we asked of them – they delivered.
“We were really aggressive and on the front foot for the most part. There are still elements we can improve on which are normal.
“They’re a good opponent, they’re tough and it’s really difficult playing against promoted teams.
“You’re expected to win anyway which is mad, because they’ve done so well, they play a really good brand of football and they’ve got hard-working players.
“Their tails are up and they’ve looked every inch a Championship squad.”
Oxford manager Des Buckingham admitted football was a cruel game as his side suffered their first loss back after 25 years in the English second tier.
Buckingham said: “Football is a cruel game, if anyone was trying to show a clip of what a cruel game looks like, it’s that.
“As frustrating as it is, I’ve just said to the players ‘I couldn’t be prouder of what I’ve seen over two games back in the Championship. If we stick true to that over the next 44, we’ll put ourselves in the best position to get more results’.
“It’s one thing the quality of the team Coventry have, it’s also the atmosphere that’s created here.
“I thought the atmosphere was extremely good, so to come and perform under that just shows how far we’ve come as a club in a very short space of time.
“We’ve developed the group, added depth to the group, we know we’re going to come up against teams in very different places than we are. We’ve moved far but we’ve still got a long way to go to where we want to be.”
It was Will Vaulks’ misplaced back pass that allowed Wright in to round Jamie Cumming and tap into an empty net.
Buckingham added: “He was the first I grabbed on the pitch. He’s obviously disappointed with it, but I said ‘keep your head up’.
“We’ve brought him here to be a very important part to how we play. We understand he’s going to misplace passes, tonight’s a very unfortunate time and position to do it, but he must continue to get on the ball and show what he’s showed for us in the last couple of games.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today.On this day 2019 Hojlund level game mode Would you rather WIN the UEFA Conference League or EARN more money? Which one is the worst? “It’s da history of da Tottenham…” Kepa in Arsenal be like Wanda Nara is now dating 26-year-old Achraf Hakimi — the PSG star reportedly invited Mauro Icardi’s ex-wife to a private party after the...
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup debuts in the United States with a fresh format, gathering 32 elite clubs for the pinnacle of inter-club competition. This edition spotlights Group E, where Asian "Red Devils" Urawa Red Diamonds, Serie A giants Inter Milan, Argentine powerhouse River Plate, and Mexican "Tigers" Monterrey will clash. What unique marks will they leave on the pitch?Asian "Red Devils" Uraw...
ASTON VILLA want to hijack Bournemouth’s move for Rennes skipper Adrien Truffert.Villa look keen on the left-back and could swoop for the 23-year-old if they can quickly sell a player.Aston Villa are trying to hijack France star Adrien TruffertBournemouth are on the brink of agreeing a deal to sign a potential replacement for Milos Kerkez (above)The Cherries are close to agreeing a £20m...
Chelsea are looking to land a second transfer after Liam Delap.Chelsea are set to launch a new bid for Mike Maignan.Chelsea reportedly face crucial days ahead in their pursuit of AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, after already seeing one bid rejected. The France stopper is entering the last year of his contract at the San Siro and has been viewed as a market opportunity at a bargain price.The Blue...
Manchester United's chances of signing Bryan Mbeumo may have received a blow as Tottenham are reportedly readying an offer for the Brentford star.Man Utd eye Brentford's MbeumoTottenham ready their own offerTalks with manager Frank continueWHAT HAPPENED?The Sun report that Tottenham are trying to hijack United's pursuit of Mbeumo - with hopes that landing Brentford boss Thomas Frank as well could ...
Ajax have told Jordan Henderson he can leave for free this summer, with new head coach John Heitinga not counting on the experienced English international. Rumours have linked him with a sensational return to Sunderland, who will return to the Premier League in the 2025-26 season.Livramento to Man City currently on 'stand-by'Fabrizio Romano has reported that Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento's m...
Mikel Arteta is set to oversee a big summer at Arsenal (Image: Getty)Arsenal have waved goodbye to three players without making a permanent signing so far this summer, but the arrivals are not far off. Nuno Tavares has left the Emirates to join Lazio on a permanent deal, while Jorginho and Kieran Tierney have both entered free agency.Arteta picks between Sesko and GyokeresSince the start of the su...
Federico Chiesa is being tipped to leave Liverpool this summer (Image: Getty)Liverpool FC could be about to lose Federico Chiesa less than a year after the Italian joined the Anfield outfit. Chiesa was the only addition to Arne Slot’s squad during last summer’s transfer window, joining for £10million from Juventus.However, a combination of injuries and bad form meant his minutes w...
The summer transfer window is already in full flow, with Premier League clubs in a race against the clock to get deals over the line before the window is put on pause for the Club World Cup on June 10. Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are all hopeful of bringing in new signings beforehand, with early exits firmly on the cards as well.Ruben Amorim’s rebuild of United has been kickstar...
Harry Kane and England played out a drab first-half against Andorra (Image: Getty)England were booed off at half-time of their World Cup qualifier against Andorra, after a goalless opening 45 minutes against the European minnows. Thomas Tuchel's men had won their opening two matches of qualification against Albania and Latvia, but the German coach was left wanting more after his side's dismal show...
- 1 Albanian Laura Woods wows fans in Champions League final outfit
- 2 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 3 Marcus Rashford 'grows close' to stunning semi-pro padel player
- 4 Why Premier League transfer may be off the cards for Victor Osimhen as Man Utd make 'timid' attempts to convince striker
- 5 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 6 FIFA confirms 34 team base camp training sites in the United States for 2025 Club World Cup, including nine in Florida and five in Calitornia
- 7 Man Utd continue to be linked with Emi Martinez
- 8 Daily Laugh - Mbeumo and his amazing talent
- 9 Liverpool's dream transfer window with six signings including £100m striker
- 10 Chukwueze reveals cause of AC Milan’s ‘disastrous’ season