Coventry crash out of FA Cup after Northampton defeat

Northampton Town summoned up memories of 25 years ago as they sent Coventry out of the FA Cup and provide a much-needed morale boost.

It may not have been the shock it was in 1990 - just three years after the Sky Blues had lifted the trophy at Wembley - but a thoroughly deserved 2-1 win gave manager Chris Wilder a massive lift after the future of the club was plunged into doubt.

The players' union stepped into pay the squad's wages this week - but more than 2,000 fans made the trip to see the game.

A clearly moved Wilder said: "To see that many supporters was outstanding and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"You find out a lot about people in bad times. When you have to dig in as players, staff and most importantly fans, people stand up to be counted.

"Everyone who has been here today can be immensely proud of themselves and we have thousands of others who could not get here today.

"I have got massive respect for supporters of teams who are not glamour clubs. It would be easy for people in the Northampton area to support Chelsea or Manchester United and go to watch them play every five years because this is not glamorous.

"We work in football for days like this. People were diving in, throwing themselves into tackles and that is what it is all about.

"It is a day to remember for what is a proud club."

His side made the perfect start when Nicky Adams, their outstanding player, sent a free-kick into the area looking for a team-mate only for the ball to bounce up and into the net without another touch.

But Coventry, who are pushing for promotion from League One, rallied and five minutes later they were level when Jacob Murphy fired home from 25 yards.

The visitors, roared on by their travelling fans, did not buckle and seven minutes later skipper Marc Richards rose to head powerfully in past Coventry keeper Lee Burge.

From then on they rarely looked troubled as the home side struggled to create any real chances and, in fact, John-Joe O'Toole could have stretched the lead.

Coventry manager Tony Mowbray struggled not to look at the list of players he was missing.

He said: "It is very disappointing - we wanted to progress and we haven't. I don't want to make excuses as we had a reasonably strong side out today. Certainly the starting line-up was strong.

"Ultimately our inability to defend crosses has cost us. They did not cause us many problems apart from their ability to put the ball into our box, and our inability to defend those crosses.

"We had nine first-team players out, but I sound like I am starting to make excuses. It was a strong line-up but I was conscious of where the goals would come from."