Elliott Ward stole an 86th minute winner to break Torquay hearts and send the Sky Blues through to the FA Cup fifth round.
Three league disparity barely shows
Elliott Ward stole an 86th minute winner to break Torquay hearts and send the Sky Blues through to the FA Cup fifth round.
The game had looked set to be forced into a replay before substitute Ward rose to convert Daniel Fox's corner.
The result will be hard to take for Conference side Torquay who will have been relishing a confidence-boosting result and the fairly lucrative trip to Coventry, before Ward's late strike dashed their hopes.
Opening exchanges
Torquay were first to threaten at Plainmoor when Lee Mansell's cross was caught by City goalkeeper Keiren Westwood.
Coventry soon began to stamp their authority on the game though with Freddy Eastwood missing the target first with a header and then a shot from the edge of the box, before Gunnarsson fired over from distance.
Fox looked certain to open the scoring in the 12th minute but Kevin Nicholson cleared his close-range effort, and keeper Scott Bevan was equally alert to deny Michael Mifsud's speculative volley from the right of the box.
The hosts responded with a header from top-scorer Sills which flew over the bar and a shot from Wayne Carlisle from the centre of the box which was comfortably saved by Westwood.
Green should have hit the target for United but dragged his shot wide from the left, and the striker was unlucky to be denied by a good block from Ben Turner just before half-time.
Second half
Green was in action again early in the second half, heading straight at Westwood and then forcing the goalkeeper to parry his fierce left-footed shot following a swift counterattack.
The Gulls continued to dominate with Roscoe DSane shooting over and Carlisle blasting wide from long range, while Coventry could only muster a lacklustre response in Leon McKenzie's wayward shot.
Sills missed another header in the 72nd minute from Green's teasing cross and Steve Woods was also wasteful in the air as chances continued to go begging.
Chris Hargreaves was next to try his luck but could only shoot over the bar following DSane's cross, and Nicky Wroe was also off target with an opportunistic effort.
The missed chances eventually proved costly as Coventry took an unlikely lead. Fox's corner from the left swung into a crowded penalty area where Ward rose to head high into the goal.
That proved to be the last of the action as a stunned Torquay failed to mount a comeback in the dying minutes.
| Team Name |
Torquay United |
Coventry City |
| Possession |
43% |
57% |
| Goals |
0 |
1 |
| Shots On Target |
4 |
4 |
| Shots Off Target |
8 |
6 |
| Blocked Shots |
2 |
3 |
| Corners |
6 |
7 |
| Fouls Conceded |
9 |
12 |
| Offsides |
2 |
5 |
| Yellow Cards |
1 |
1 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
