Coventry City 6-2 Oxford United: Sky Blues sweep U's aside to book FA Cup fourth-round spot

Championship side Coventry City swept aside League One promotion chasers Oxford United to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round, taking control after a competitive opening half.

The game burst into life with three goals in four chaotic minutes.

The first came in the eighth minute when Coventry defender Joel Latibeaudiere justified his inclusion when he met a Josh Eccles corner and, via a deflection from Joe Bennett, the ball bounced through a crowd and into the net.

Home fans were still basking in delight when Oxford skipper Cameron Brannagan robbed Kasey Palmer on the edge of the Sky Blues box and found Mark Harris, who took a touch and bobbled an angled, deflected effort beyond Ben Wilson.

Again, celebrations at the other end had barely died down when a third goal followed, as home striker Ellis Simms scorched around Jordan Thorniley, cut in and teed up Ben Sheaf to round off a remarkable few moments.

While the game calmed down to an extent, there was still time for City to add a third before the break when Sheaf stole possession and found Palmer in midfield, who rolled Josh McEachran and strode forward before curling a perfect strike into the top right corner beyond Simon Eastwood.

After Eastwood had denied O'Hare with a fine one-on-one save, the playmaker did claim the fourth from the penalty spot after substitute Billy Bodin caught Palmer late in the box.

It became largely one-sided after that with Simms twice denied by Eastwood, although substitute Tyler Goodrham grabbed a fine consolation with a fierce low shot from a cleared Oxford corner.

Home substitute Matty Godden notched twice in the final six minutes, curling past Eastwood from the left of the box and then sliding home from an angle to finish the scoring.

Oxford's day ended on a further sour note when Stanley Mills was injured in the act of shooting and withdrawn on a stretcher in visible discomfort.

The scoreline felt a little cruel on Oxford, given their efforts in a first half that saw both sides try to play in an attractive and entertaining manner, before the hosts stamped their authority.

U's boss Des Buckingham's main hope will be that this result does not derail their promotion bid, having won two of their past three league games and sitting fifth in the table before kick-off.

Oxford were neat and tidy in possession but found Coventry just that touch sharper on the ball, with O'Hare, Palmer and Sheaf interchanging fluidly around target man Simms.

As City pinged the ball about at times with incision, frustrations took hold for Buckingham's visitors with bookings for Brannagan, Ruben Rodrigues and McEachran.

City though have ample threats, notably with Palmer a physical menace, although Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was kept quiet. There was a rousing reception for long-term injury absentee Fabio Tavares in the second half for his first appearance since last season's third-round loss to Wrexham.

Having reached the fourth round now for the third time in five years, Coventry's next target will be the fifth round for the first time since 2017-18, when they were a League Two side.

Coventry City boss Mark Robins told BBC Radio CWR:

"It was a really professional performance. There was some really good football. We just wanted to keep that pace and impetus and let them feel that speed.

"We were pretty good second half, we kept moving the ball really quickly, it made them adjust and have to adjust quicker than they could. We showed some really good interplay.

"It just looked really good. Whatever we did well today, Callum [O'Hare] and Kasey [Palmer] were involved with and it was pretty special. Ellis [Simms] was unfortunate today.

"We've got a big game next week to look forward to [at home to Leicester], we're in the hat for the next round and hopefully we can be at home again and we can maybe have a nice little cup run this year."

Oxford United boss Des Buckingham told BBC Radio Oxford:

"I think we've come to a very good Coventry City side, they're top of the form table in the Championship and we knew they were a strong team.

"First-half, they scored from a set-piece and scored a very similar goal that Oisin Smyth has hit to make it 3-1 at half-time but it was a pretty fair game.

"Second-half they ran away with it, that's the quality they have. We need to be better of course, but we had to recognise where they are and where we are and what we have available at the moment.

"It's not the result we wanted, and never a scoreline we want to see, but we need to make sure we quickly refocus for AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday and we will do."