Ian Cox marked his return to the Burnley side with the decisive goal as
Coventry fans were kept waiting for the end of their side's barren run.
The central defender, making his first league start of the year in the absence
of Arthur Gnohere, effectively booked himself a place in next week's FA Cup side
with a sparkling display at the heart of the Burnley defence.
Not only did he score the winner - an emphatic header from Robbie Blake's
cross five minutes before half-time - but he made a series of crucial
interceptions while marshalling a notoriously fragile back-line.
One suspects Burnley manager Stan Ternent would have been content merely to
keep a clean sheet after last weekend's 5-2 drubbing by Reading, but his joy
will surely be unconfined after seeing his side register a first away win since
October.
Coventry player-boss Gary McAllister, meanwhile, is left to contemplate the
fact his side have not win in six league games.
Cox may hog the headlines, but there can be no more worthy recipient of the
man-of-the-match champagne than Burnley goalkeeper Nik Michopoulos, who pulled
off a string of outstanding saves to keep Coventry at bay and ensure
first-choice Marlon Beresford will not automatically reclaim his place in the
team.
Gary McSheffrey was the first to test Michopoulos, whose full-length dive to
his left and fingertip save proved just enough to keep out a firm drive.
Burnley struggled to find their rhythm - hardly surprising given the battering
their confidence must have taken following last week's 5-2 defeat by Reading -
with Graham Branch's long-range strike, which flew over the crossbar, their sole
attempt on goal before Cox struck.
Andrew Whing almost sneaked one inside Michopoulos' post, the goalkeeper again
forced into a smart save, while Alan Moore wasted a decent opportunity at the
other end, betrayed by poor control as Morten Hyldgaard made a comfortable
save.
Cox showed considerably more composure in the penalty area when opening the
scoring with a firm header, although credit must also go to Blake, whose
free-kick could hardly have been better placed.
Moore wasted a chance to double Burnley's lead in first-half stoppage-time,
this time Hyldgaard earning the plaudits by turning an ambitious volley around
the post.
It was a measure of Burnley's new-found defensive solidity that Coventry,
despite enjoying the majority of possession after the interval, failed to
trouble Michopoulos.
McAllister whipped a trademark curler just wide of the left-hand upright as
the hosts, spurred on by an increasingly vociferous crowd, upped the ante.
Whing at least forced Michopoulos into a save, albeit from 25 yards, and a
couple of breakaways provided Burnley with little relief from Coventry's almost
incessant pressure.
McAllister headed wide from Gary Caldwell's free-kick, Dean West blocked
Richie Partridge's drive and it needed a fabulously-timed tackle from Cox to
snuff out the threat posed by the energetic McSheffrey.
Hyldgaard, little more than a spectator as Coventry encamped in Burnley's
half, had his palms stung by substitute Dimitri Papadopoulos, but it was fitting
that Michopoulos should have the last word, parrying McAllister's shot in the
fifth minute of injury time.
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