Sky Blues on way back with play-off final victory

Coventry have begun their rise back up the Football League pyramid by claiming victory in the League Two play-off final.

The Sky Blues, gripped by off-field issues, have been on the wane since the heady days of being a Premier League club, but they returned to League One at the first attempt thanks to second-half goals by Jordan Willis, Jordan Shipley and Jack Grimmer.

Mark Robins, in his second spell in charge, is the first Coventry manager to win a promotion since 1967 when Jimmy Hill took them to the top tier.

For Exeter, it was more play-off heartbreak as they lost in the final for a second successive year following defeat by Blackpool 12 months ago.

Following a dull first half, Robins’ men had the game done and dusted with a three-goal blast in 19 minutes after the break.

The first goal was a thing of beauty as Willis belied his position as a defender to cut inside and curl a 20-yard effort into the far corner. A decisive second came five minutes later when Marc Mcnulty fed Shipley, whose first-time effort was deflected over goalkeeper Christy Pym.

They wrapped up the game in the 68th minute with another delicious goal, Grimmer emulating Willis but from the other side as his shot went sailing into the top corner. Exeter were down and out, but got on the scoresheet in the 89th minute when Kyle Edwards also produced an accomplished finish to curl into the bottom corner.