COVENTRY CITY manager Mark Robins admitted he’d never quite experienced anything like guiding Coventry City to Checkatrade Trophy glory after the Sky Blues defeated Oxford 2-1 at Wembley.
Strikes from Gael Bigirimana and Coventry City Academy graduate George Thomas earned the Sky Blues a first success at Wembley since John Sillett guided City to win the FA Cup in 1987.
Though Oxford pulled one back, the Sky Blues held on to their precious one goal lead to win in front of the largest crowd the Checkatrade Trophy has welcomed since the new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007.
Speaking after the game, a delighted Robins said: “To see that performance in front of 74,000 fans was brilliant.
“Both sets of fans were superb and the noise during the game was tremendous.
“I believe we matched Oxford defensively for most of the game. Going into extra time would’ve been hard, and Burge’s save at the end was terrific.
“We took our two chances. We needed to find a way and we did.
“The amount of passion from the fans during the game was tremendous.
“It was possible we were going to lose Gael as his partner gave birth yesterday. We were missing Calum (Reilly) through injury too. Because of all that extra time would not have been good.
“We arrived at Wembley yesterday and looked around the ground – we saw what to expect and that was a good experience for the lads.
“It means everything to the supporters. It’s been 30 years since they won at Wembley.
“It’s important to show the world we’re still alive and kicking. We have a real fan base and there’s so much potential.”
