League leaders Coventry ‘rode their luck’ – boss Robins

Coventry boss Mark Robins admits his side “rode their luck” as they beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 thanks to a dramatic stoppage time goal from Liam Walsh.

Coventry remain top of the table and continue their winning home start to the season, but Robins is not getting carried away yet.

He said: “We rode our luck, but we can’t keep giving people a leg up.

“Our start was flat, we were in the mire, and we needed another late goal, but I’ll take the win and the manner of the win.

“It’s tough to take for Wimbledon after putting in a shift like that, I feel for them, their performance looked like getting a point, they had a clear game plan.

“But the players stuck with it, we want to encourage that even if some were having off nights, and the crowd stayed with them. Jordan Shipley provided two assists and Walsh produced real quality at the end.

“I’ll give the players some down time now, they’ve earned it, they looked tired. But nobody’s getting carried away, no matter where we are in the table.”

Wimbledon’s bright start lead to Liam Walsh fouling Michael Folivi in the box after Coventry were caught short playing out from the back. Marcus Forss stepped up to coolly put Wimbledon ahead in the eighth minute from the resulting penalty.

Coventry equalised in the 28th minute through Jordy Hiwula. A superb defence-splitting pass from Jordan Shipley put Hiwula one-on-one with Nathan Trott. He rounded the keeper and finished for his fourth goal of the season.

Though Coventry had the majority of the ball in the second half, they failed to make it count until late on when Bristol City loanee Walsh finally put the home side ahead deep into injury time. The midfielder drilled a shot passed Trott in the 93rd minute after a smart one-two – Shipley again the provider.

Dons manager Wally Downes said: “I’m devastated for the players because they really put a shift in tonight. I take great pride in the performance, we matched them and stayed in the game.

“We showed a great work ethic and really battled. We tried to stem their play a little bit, and I thought it worked but the result says differently.

“But we worked the traps well, getting them to play out from the back which we scored from, so I’m devastated for the boys really, and they’re all disappointed.

“We knew Coventry liked to make the pitch big and play out from the back. They are a good side but I think we matched them for most of the game.

“We have to take the positives from tonight and try to continue the good work for our next game.”