Coventry 0 City 2

IT IS ten years since Mark Robins took over a side doomed at the bottom of the third tier – and hammered City first up.

That Rotherham side of 2007 were 11 points off safety and without a win in 14 games. Until the obliging Bantams rolled over 4-1 on the way to following them down the relegation plughole.

Yet history was never likely to repeat itself in the eerie atmosphere of the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

Once again, Robins has inherited a team with at least one foot already planted in the basement division.

Coventry are 14 points away from the last survival slot and have won only once since the start of November.

They looked every inch a doomed unit once City had asserted some authority with two quick-fire goals early in the second half.

This was another one to file in the "job done" section of the season rather than "must see".

Stuart McCall admitted he was not particularly looking forward to watching the video back. It had been pretty ordinary the first time.

But there will also be some quiet managerial satisfaction at negotiating a fixture that could have been far trickier than it appeared at first glance.

Whatever the pre-match stats might have suggested, this was a potentially troublesome hurdle going into the ten-game final straight that will make or break City's ambitions.

At least we now know that City aren't the only side who never seem to experience that "bounce" clubs traditionally enjoy when a new man takes the hot-seat.

Robins' honeymoon period ended the moment Alex Jones swept Tony McMahon's corner into the roof of Coventry's net.

The brittle belief generated by a fresh voice at the helm instantly ebbed away and the Sky Blues finished as a team seemingly condemned to their fate.

The home side had made a decent fist of it in a messy first half, when both sides struggled to string anything together on a bobbly pitch.

Rory McArdle joked afterwards that he only got awarded man of the match when the games were scrappy – but the centre half demonstrated all the battling qualities needed to conquer the conditions.

His head was like a magnet to the ball and he delivered a faultless display in a back four that made it successive clean sheets.

It was a day for showing backbone and there was little weakness through the spine of City's side.

Colin Doyle set the tone with a willingness to come for crosses and corners, McArdle mopped up pretty much everything in front of him and midfield duo Josh Cullen and Romain Vincelot must have covered every blade of the very long grass designed for Wasps, Coventry's tenants of convenience.

Coventry's decision – two managers ago – to flog Vincelot last summer must rank as one of the more bizarre transfer calls. The Frenchman once again delivered a reminder that Tony Mowbray's big loss continues to be a significant City gain.

His partnership with Cullen has flourished since Vincelot was pushed further forward by McArdle's return to central defence.

"For me, Josh is almost a young Romain and he's learning off him," said McCall. "Romain's desire is second to none – it's terrific and they are working really well together in there."

McCall had persisted with the two-winger policy that had seen off Peterborough, although that was thrown up in the air when Alex Gilliead felt his hamstring just half an hour in.

But Jones reprised the wide-right role he had played for Port Vale with great effect before Christmas.

Then McCall switched things about at half-time to move Jones more central and give Jordy Hiwula, whose extra pace had got him the starting nod alongside Charlie Wyke, a run down the left.

Again it was not a new position as Hiwula had done it frequently during his loan days with Walsall.

The changes lifted City, who had played within themselves during a particularly disjointed opening 45 minutes.

It was only to be expected that Coventry would start with a bit of a spring to their step. Ben Stevenson fired wide after Mark Marshall fluffed his clearance on the edge of the box and the game Stuart Beavon went close with an acrobatic overhead effort.

But that was as close as they got. City infuriated McCall by giving away a series of silly fouls in promising positions but still carved the best opening of the half.

Marshall stood up a cross to the back post where Charlie Wyke lurked to bury the header. His wait for a first away goal in 2017 seemed to be over but the ball crashed against the woodwork before Jordan Turnbull scrambled it clear off the line.

McCall urged more quality from City at the break – and his dressing-room plea brought an instant response.

Six minutes into the second half, Jones reacted quickest to an inviting set-piece from McMahon and the visitors never looked back.

With Coventry wobbling, Jones hunted a second with a ferocious drive that Lee Burge pushed over. From the corner, Vincelot was thwarted by the crossbar.

But City kept coming. Mark Marshall embarked on a surge hardly suited to the uneven playing surface and when he got cut down, Jones worked it left and into the path of Hiwula.

Burge got a hand to his shot but there was too much power as the top scorer took his season's tally to a dozen.

The contest had been settled in a five-minute burst as City comfortably saw through the remaining half hour or so for an eighth away win.

Jones hobbled off with a dead leg – like Gilliead, a victim of a strong but perfectly fair challenge with former Bantams defender Nathan Clarke – but the travelling mood lifted even more as news filtered through of Scunthorpe's spectacular implosion at Gillingham.

City now sit above a side who were ten points ahead and top of the table when they visited Valley Parade on Boxing Day.

More significantly, McCall's men are just two points off second – even allowing for Bolton's games in hand. Roll on Charlton tomorrow. It's all to play for.

Attendance: 9,150