![Haji Wright grabs last-gasp winner to send Coventry City into FA Cup semis](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370791377_17105990920550_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqXlkPKJj3aWHOACvtC9x_spf6EQHYE_qQPzxNhXUc2oU.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Coventry channel spirit of ‘87 to reach Wembley after years of torment and misery
![Haji Wright grabs last-gasp winner to send Coventry City into FA Cup semis](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370791377_17105990920550_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqXlkPKJj3aWHOACvtC9x_spf6EQHYE_qQPzxNhXUc2oU.jpeg?imwidth=680)
The memories of that sun-drenched afternoon at Wembley in 1987 are impossible to forget for Coventry supporters of a certain vintage, and the magic of the FA Cup will never be diluted for the club.
Coventry are heading back to the national stadium after a quarter-final dripping with drama, joy, controversy and scenes of wild celebration at the end.
With former goalkeeper and FA Cup winner Steve Ogrizovic watching on from the stand, Coventry fully deserved their triumph and the achievements of manager Mark Robins continue to astound.
Since Robins was appointed in 2017, Coventry have risen from the fourth tier to within a missed penalty of the Premier League – and here was another memorable afternoon for the former striker.
It will be United States international Haji Wright who hogs the limelight after his fine winner ten minutes into added time. Yet there were heroes all over the pitch for the Championship club, from summer signing Ellis Simms to attacking midfielder Kasey Palmer.
Coventry appeared down and out a minute from the end of normal time, yet responded with two late, late goals to spark the full catalogue of Wembley chants from 4,797 travelling fans.
It will have certainly evoked memories of that rollercoaster 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur 37 years ago, when the likes of Ogrizovic, Keith Houchen and Brian Kilcline etched their names into folklore.
Robins said: “I’m massively proud of the whole club, as it’s been in a really dark place for seven to eight years.
“The fans have stuck with us and whoever the players are, and there’s been a total reconnect with them. We’re always a work in progress but we want to be playing the likes of Wolves every season.
“I’ve been tasked with quite a bit this season, the new owners have wanted a cup run, they’ve got a cup run, they’re getting a cup run and also, we need to try and get into the play-offs three out of five years.
“It’s not an easy feat but I’ve got incredible support and staff around the team whatever the scoreline is.
“Reality bites and you look at who is left in the competition, but we’re not going there to make up the numbers. We’ve just got to go there and enjoy it.”
Robins also apologised to a young ball boy after celebrating Wright’s winner in front of him
The 54-year-old already has an affinity with this competition after seemingly ‘saving’ Sir Alex Ferguson’s job with the winning goal for Manchester United at Nottingham Forest in 1990, and then lifting the trophy that season. He also dumped out Premier League Stoke City six years ago – but this victory at Molineux will feel like a far more significant achievement.
Trips to Wembley have been rather frequent in recent years, with two play-off finals and a Football League Trophy, and their latest visit next month will feel extra special.
By the end, the Wolves fans could not believe what they had seen unfold in front of them.
Gary O’Neil has performed an equally brilliant job with Wolves this season, and must have thought his injury depleted squad had completed the job against the odds.
Without his established front-three of Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hee Chan Hwang, O’Neil’s forward line was threadbare to say the least. Despite that, Wolves did appear on the brink of victory after a turnaround inspired by Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Algeria international delivered the equaliser, then produced an excellent individual run and pass to set up substitute Hugo Bueno a minute from the end of normal time.
Coventry ended the contest stronger, however, and O’Neil was left to reflect on a classic contest as a loser.
“I’m devastated for the players and the fanbase,” he said. “It’s obviously a missed opportunity and we produced as good as we could produce.
“There’s loads of reasons why we lost. I thought where we’ve ended up today as a football club, we know how small the squad is and how many players we have missing, so that plays a big part and I’m not interested in making excuses.”
O’Neil also revealed that Neto could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, while Hwang will not return for at least a month after sustaining a similar problem.
Coventry had the better chances in the first half and it was Simms, an £8 million recruit from Everton, who put them in front early in the second. It was a time for Coventry fans to experience the farcical VAR delays which so frustrate, after the goal was reviewed for an alleged handball. Four minutes elapsed until referee Sam Barrott upheld his initial decision.
Ait-Nouri’s close-range finish and Bueno’s sweeping strike put Wolves in the box seat but Simms and Wright delivered the late goals in extra time.
The FA Cup is alive and well, thank you.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Coventry City: As it happened . . .
GOAL! Wolves come from behind to lead
Who saw this coming five minutes ago? Wolves looked like they were going out but now it looks like they are going through. Ait-Nouri, who has been one of the best players this afternoon, drives forward and finds a cute ball forward into the path of Bueno. He slots home past Collins into the far corner for his first senior goal and Wolves are added time away from a Wembley semi-final.
Brilliance from Rayan Ait-Nouri to turn this tie completely on its head.
After delivering the equaliser from close range, the Wolves midfielder has just produced an outstanding run and pass to set up the winner for substitute Hugo Bueno.
Are Wolves are heading back to Wembley for the first time since 2019?
80 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 1
Simms takes on a first-time volley from the edge of the box but it is straight at Sa.
Mark Robins is the longest serving manager in the Championship and Coventry fans have chanted his name all afternoon.
He’s on the brink of a huge result here at Molineux.
Robins already has an affinity with the FA Cup after seemingly ‘saving’ Sir Alex Ferguson from the sack with the winning goal at Nottingham Forest in 1990.
73 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 1
Gomes hits a powerful strike from just outside the box and Collins does well to tip it onto the post. Moments before Wolves fans are wondering if Doherty should have gone down inside the box after a challenge from Latibeaudiere. He stayed on his feet and nothing is therefore given.
67 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 1
Sa has just kept Wolves in this game. First he saves brilliantly from Wright inside the box. Then he saves from Eccles from distance.
Just as Wolves get the ball they lose it just outside the box. Palmer shoots from the edge of the box and his effort just goes wide. Coventry should be further ahead, will they rue these missed chances?
Goal stands
After a long, long, long check, the goal stands. Simms gives Coventry a deserved lead.
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Var, Coventry fans.
As a Championship club, Coventry are fortunate enough not to endure the frustration of these reviews at Stockley Park but now they know what the fuss is about.
After a lengthy delay of nearly four minutes, referee Sam Barrott finally upheld his initial decision to allow Ellis Simms’ close-range goal.
The incident was referred to Var official Graham Scott and it was eventually decided that the goal would stand.
What a farce - but advantage Sky Blues.
HT verdict
Gary O’Neil has performed one of the finest managerial jobs of the season, but even he would struggle to deal with such a lengthy injury list to his forward line.
Without his established front-three of Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hee-Chan Hwang, O’Neil must be concerned about where the goals will come from in this quarter-final.
Teenager Nathan Fraser is playing almost as the lone forward and it’s certainly been a lonely experience in the first-half.
Coventry are well in the game and Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa has needed to produce decent saves to deny Kasey Palmer and Milan van Ewijk.
A finely poised Midlands derby at half-time.
41 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
Chances at both ends, this time for Coventry. Simms finds van Ewijk on the right-hand side of the Wolves box. His effort is well-saved by Sa and goes behind for a Coventry corner. He probably should have scored there. Kitching nearly gets on the end of it but it goes behind for another corner on the other side. Wolves clear their lines.
![Milan van Ewijk reacts after having a shot saved by Jose Sa](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370783214_17105944390010_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf_4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
38 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
How have Coventry not taken the lead? Initially Sarabia gives the ball away so poorly on the edge of the box and Palmer takes aim. His shot is well-saved down to his right by Sa. The ball is then played back across to Simms by Bidwell, who somehow hits it straight at Sa from around four yards out. That was a sitter. It does look like however that Bidwell was offside from the initial shot by Palmer so the goal would not have counted.
28 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
Massive opportunity for the hosts. Kitching makes a mess of seeing the ball out for a goal-kick and Semedo keeps it in play. He comes along the byline and tries to find Fraser. It is intercepted and falls to Ait-Nouri. His effort is blocked and then Lemina makes a mess of his effort.
![Wolves' Mario Lemina has his head in his hands after wasting a chance](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370781611_17105935542410_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqA7N2CxnJWnYI3tCbVBgu9f4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
17 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
Wright cuts in from the left-hand side of the Wolves box and tries to find the far corner but his curling effort misses the target. Moments before Palmer had a shot from just outside the box which was blocked by Kilman. There were half appeals for a penalty but no way that is a penalty for handball. It has been an open start to the game and Coventry have started positively, showing no signs of any nerves.
13 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
Ait-Nouri, on the byline, cuts inside and tries to find a teammate in the centre of the box. It is intercepted and goes behind for Wolves’ first corner of the game. Before it is taken, play has been stopped as Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa is down receiving treatment.
![Jose Sa goes down](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370780383_17105923755810_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf_4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
6 minutes: Wolves 0 Coventry 0
Coventry have a free-kick in a good position after Ait-Nouri fouls van Ewijk. Ait-Nouri is booked after just six minutes and Coventry’s free-kick is in a central position, just over 25 yards out.
![Rayan Ait-Nouri fouls Milan van Ewijk](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370780082_17105922111870_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqvhCrx-Cy0yBjHIFAUptX7HwSCF1R0VweJ7DS2UnVMSQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Reminder of the team news
Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Bueno, Kilman, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Gomes, M Lemina, Doyle, Sarabia, Fraser.
Subs: Bentley, Doherty, Traore, N Lemina. Holman, Barnett, Bueno, Chirewa, Chiwome.
Coventry: Collins, Kitching, Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Bidwell, Van Ewijk, Sheaf, Eccles, Palmer, Wright, Simms.
Subs: Wilson, Binka, DaSilva, Torp, O’Hare, Kelly, Andrews, Godden, Tavares.
Coventry’s hat-trick hero Simms believes ‘underdogs’ can upset Wolves
For Ellis Simms, the journey to professional football centred on one simple thing. “Throughout my childhood, I just wanted to score goals,” the Coventry City forward explains.
“When the ball hits the net…you can’t really describe it until you’ve done it. It’s a great feeling. The adrenaline. The buzz. Once you score, you want to feel it again, you want to keep scoring.”
It is a feeling Simms has experienced frequently ahead of Coventry’s FA Cup quarter-final at Wolves. A pair of recent hat-tricks – the first ending the run of loveable minnows Maidstone United in the previous round, the second a league treble versus Rotherham just days later – has doubled Simms’s seasonal tally.
“Two weeks ago, I’d never scored a senior hat-trick,” he tells Telegraph Sport grinning. “To score the first one and then get another eight days later was nice. They were both at home as well, so the fans were right behind me.”
Simms arrived at Coventry from Everton for £8 million in summer 2023. He had started last season on loan at Sunderland, but impressed Sean Dyche sufficiently to earn a January recall.
While he played his part in Everton’s survival, having also had previous temporary stints at Blackpool and Hearts, Simms yearned for somewhere to “settle for the near future. Somewhere I can just get my head down, keep working hard and try to improve.
“When you’re playing and get a run of games, you’ve got a chance to build on it. You can get rhythm and momentum. It always helps.”
Simms joined a club on the up. Since Mark Robins was appointed in 2017, Coventry have risen from the fourth tier to within a missed penalty of the top-flight. Inevitably, losing last year’s Championship play-off final to Luton resulted in Coventry also losing their two beating hearts. Gustavo Hamer joined Sheffield United, while Viktor Gyokeres went to Sporting CP and is posting obscene numbers.
Yet with Simms and fellow striker Haji Wright both in fine form, a Wembley returns beckons. And as well as the carrot of a cup semi-final for Saturday’s winners, Coventry also sit just a point outside the play-off places. No sign then, of the hangover that so often follows excruciating sporting disappointment.
“There’s been a lot of new faces brought into the building,” Simms explains. “Everyone wants to kick on and we’re fully of energy. I don’t think there’s been a hangover. It would have been very disappointing to lose the way they did – one kick away from the Premier League – but rather than a hangover, they have used it as motivation to kick on again. If you’ve gone that close, you want to go one step further.”
There is an air of confidence to Simms. Not so much arrogance, more unwavering self-belief – it even withstood the test of being released by boyhood club Manchester City aged 16. “It was always football,” he responds when asked if his mind wandered to alternative career paths at that point.
“There was no doubt in my mind that I’d get another club. At that stage it was about picking the right club to kick on again. I already had the connection to Everton – one of their scouts had kept in touch with my dad – and I could see that there was a clear pathway into the first team.”
While he made progress down that path last season, Simms opted to drop down a division this year to ensure his progression was not stunted.
“There’s that little bit more quality in the Premier League but off the ball there’s a bit more intensity in the Championship. In the Premier League you get a bit more time on the ball. There are fewer transitions.”
In a Wolves side flying under Gary O’Neil, Coventry face their sternest examination of the campaign. Molineux matchdays right now brim with excited talk of European adventures and potential silverware.
Simms is determined to put an end to the latter. “We’ve got of top players who I believe could play at Premier League level, and I’ve got a little bit of experience. But it’s a team game so we all need to be at it, to win our one-on-one battles. Maidstone, who are a lot lower in the divisions, beat other higher level opposition. The underdogs can win.”
Full team news
Wolves make two changes from the side that beat Fulham last weekend. Toti and Tommy Doyle come in for Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who both miss out with injuries they picked up in that win over Fulham.
Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Bueno, Kilman, Toti, Ait-Nouri, Gomes, M Lemina, Doyle, Sarabia, Fraser.
Subs: Bentley, Doherty, Traore, N Lemina. Holman, Barnett, Bueno, Chirewa, Chiwome.
Coventry also make two changes from their 2-1 win at Watford last Saturday. Milan van Ewijk and captain Ben Sheaf come into the starting XI.
Coventry: Collins, Kitching, Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Bidwell, Van Ewijk, Sheaf, Eccles, Palmer, Wright, Simms.
Subs: Wilson, Binka, DaSilva, Torp, O’Hare, Kelly, Andrews, Godden, Tavares.
Live from Molineux
The memories of that sun-drenched afternoon at Wembley in 1987 are impossible to escape for the older Coventry supporter.
That FA Cup final victory over Tottenham can never be forgotten, and is remembered every time the Sky Blues dare to go deep in this competition.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that Steve Ogrizovic - the goalkeeper on that famous day - is here at Molineux on co-commentary duty for local radio.
Oggie Oggie Oggie...
Key names missing for Wolves
Gary O’Neil is without a number of key forwards this afternoon. Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hee-Chan Hwang are all missing so it will be up to Pablo Sarabia and 19-year-old Nathan Fraser to lead the line for Wolves.
![Wolves' Nathan Fraser arrives at Molineux off the team bus](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370772259_17105882069620_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqFmvNuCJhb9YlvApoMTSpqv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
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A place in the semi-finals at Wembley up for grabs
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil says his team are taking nothing for granted this afternoon. His Wolves side take on Coventry City, the lowest-ranked side left in the competition but O’Neil is only thinking about today’s game.
“None of my attention is on winning it, it’s on beating Coventry,” said O’Neil.
“It’s tough (to win a cup), you need a lot to go your way. This will be a huge test and we need to get through it. I’m desperate to give the fans more enjoyable moments. We will need the fans to help, especially when you have players missing.”
O’Neil’s side progressed to the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over fellow Premier League side Brighton, the first time Wolves have reached this stage of the competition in five years. They lost to Watford after extra time in the semi-finals in 2019. Meanwhile Coventry ended Maidstone United’s dream FA Cup run with a comprehensive 5-0 win and are hoping to reach the semi-finals for the first time since they won the competition in 1987.
Since the fifth round, Wolves lost 3-0 at Newcastle and beat Fulham 2-1 at home last weekend in the Premier League, where they sit in ninth place. Wolves could be without Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who picked up injuries in the win over Fulham. They could be buoyed by the return of Matheus Cunha from injury, who was expected to be out for much longer.
![Wolves manager Gary O'Neil arrives at Molineux](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/03/16/TELEMMGLPICT000370772252_17105880158800_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq-b8lvYeT7ebSRCv1_WuiyZxF-aQwJw0R1aNmbSUVKXM.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Championship Coventry have won twice and lost once since their victory over Maidstone United. They are currently in eighth place in the Championship, just one point off the play-off spots.
Coventry manager Mark Robins is aware of the task facing his side at Molineux.
“There is no reason not to be excited about this, it is going to be a fantastic occasion,” said Robins.
“To try and get a place at Wembley is a real big carrot. It is going to be a brilliant occasion, we know the magnitude of the task but we are going to go there and give it our all.”
Team news to follow shortly.