A late winner from new signing Tyler Walker secured Coventry City's spot in the next round of the EFL Cup.
The Sky Blues beat defeated MK Dons despite defender Declan Drysdale being sent off just before the half-hour mark.
The home side dominated possession but a resolute Coventry got the job done after a cross was cleared poorly to Walker, who fired home.
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The managers thoughts
City's strong defensive performance showed their quality, whilst Walker's goal shows their determination, Mark Robins told the club:
"I’m happy with the result and the way we’ve played, the sending off was really harsh, whether it was a penalty wasn’t debatable, but certainly not a sending off and that put us on the back foot.
“You can pick the bones out of this one and learn from it, it was interesting, I knew it was going to be a good game and I don’t think that playing them two weeks ago really helped."
There is no doubt that having a strong defence was a key part of City's success today and Robins was very happy with their performance, he said:
“I thought Josh Pask defended really well, considering he’s filling in, Dom Hyam and Kyle McFadzean were outstanding at the back and Ryan Giles did particularly well to stop the threat."
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Talking tactically
Robins knew the quality of The Dons and how they play when he explained: “We didn’t get enough pressure on the ball, high enough up the field, to try and nullify them, they play a really good style of football and they’re clever, it’s difficult to get the ball off them unless you break and engage them."
Tactics change all the time thanks to events on the pitch, Robins explained how City's changed when he said:
“Tactics go out the window to a degree, with Kellz coming on and two strikers upfront, you just need to nullify them and try and put them under pressure the other way and thankfully we got a chance that was taken by Tyler.”
However, the side did create chances and the manager acknowledged that: "Against a team that keep the ball really well and move the ball really well, it meant that we had to do a lot of running and we did it really well and managed to create the best chances in the game, other than the penalty, which was a fantastic save."
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The Sending Off
The red card was a pivotal moment in the game and everyone had their own opinions on it, including the City boss:
”It was difficult, but we’ve managed to get through and that’s the most important thing, going into next week this has been a really good competitive exercise.”
The club must not dwell on the card for too long and will now look forward to their first league fixture next week, away at Bristol City.