Four goals in 17 spectacular second-half minutes saw Ipswich haul their play-off hopes from the fire and leave free-falling Coventry without a win in seven outings.
Doubles for frontmen Marcus Bent and Pablo Counago - ranging from the clinical to the bizarre - did the quickfire damage after strikes from Matt Jansen and Dean Gordon had given the hosts an apparently comfortable half-time cushion.
It was Coventry who started the brighter and deservedly took the lead after 23 minutes following a frantic scramble in the opposition area.
Jay Bothroyd's cross created havoc, David Pipe slammed a shot against the crossbar and Jansen squeezed the rebound over the line, despite the best efforts of Andy Marshall.
Ipswich's attempts to draw level almost bore fruit when Tommy Miller hit a post from the centre of the area and Counago saw his 20-yard shot saved by Gary Montgomery.
But with half-time approaching it was Coventry who extended their lead with a timely second - Craig Pead skipping past Richard Naylor on the right and pulling
the ball back for defender Gordon to ram home his first goal of the season.
The turning point of the game arrived moments after the restart when a Marshall parry prevented Bothroyd putting Coventry three up, five minutes before an outrageous slice of fortune triggered Ipswich's goal-rush.
Martijn Reuser's fierce free-kick may have troubled Montgomery, but when the ball struck Marcus Bent and ballooned into the net the goalkeeper was taken out of the equation.
If Ipswich's first was freakish, their 55th-minute equaliser could hardly have been more straightforward as Marshall's long kick was flicked on by Marcus Bent and Counago took the ball on before stroking his shot into the corner.
Amazingly Ipswich were far from finished as Counago stuck out a boot to Miller's cross-shot to give the visitors a 65th-minute lead and Marcus Bent collected Jim Magilton's long clearance three minutes later to coolly finish off an almost surreal afternoon.
Teams
Coventry: Montgomery, Whing, Konjic, Shaw, Gordon,
Pipe (Davenport 85), Pead (Bates 77), Eustace, McAllister,
Bothroyd (Mackey 72), Jansen.
Subs Not Used: Debec, Engonga.
Booked: Shaw, Eustace, Konjic.
Goals: Jansen 23, Gordon 44.
Ipswich: Marshall, Naylor (Reuser 45), Makin, Gaardsoe, Wilnis,
Magilton (Wright 69), Holland, Miller, Richards,
Counago (Bowditch 90), Marcus Bent.
Subs Not Used: Pullen, Westlake.
Goals: Marcus Bent 51, Counago 55, 65, Marcus Bent 68.
Att: 13,968
Ref: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).
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