Coventry 3-0 Arlesey
- Published
League One side Coventry City saw off the threat of non-League team Arlesey Town to reach the FA Cup second round.
Ryan Frater came agonizingly close to giving the side from the seventh tier of English football a shock lead when he headed just wide from close range.
But the Befordshire side, in only their second ever FA Cup proper tie, fell behind when Callum Ball fired in.
Cyrus Christie's effort doubled their lead before Steve Jennings tapped home with the visitors tiring.
Despite the scoreline, the Southern League Premier Division visitors gave a fine account of themselves at the Ricoh Arena, and were unlucky not to find the net when Chris Marsh's shot squeezed past the post with the score at 1-0.
However defeat concludes their run in this year's FA Cup, which started with victory over Barton Rovers in the first qualifying round of the competition.
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Sky Blues boss Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:
"In the first half we were lacklustre and poor; the second half was totally different. We're in the hat, we've not picked up any suspensions or injuries.
"I picked a side that's capable of doing the job, and they proved that today. In the first half they were making the wrong decisions. In the second half we passed it a lot better and we made the most of the possession we had. It could have been a lot more in terms of scoreline in our favour.
"I think they're an anxious bunch. We need to be on the front foot, and that's going to change over a period of time. The second half was a better spectacle for our supporters to watch and they were able to get behind us a bit more because we gave them more to hang on to.
"In the end we got what we deserved and it was a professional performance. I'm not taking anything away from Arlesey, because they tried their best and they've got a decent squad of players for the level they play at. They put in a decent performance."