With two goals in injury time, Coventry shocked Premier League Wolves, winning 3-2 and securing a trip to the FA Cup semifinals for the first time since 1987.
The Sky Blues went on to win the competition that year in one of the most legendary finals ever and they kept their dreams of another unexpected triumph this season alive after a thrilling climax at Molineux.
After two goals in the final ten minutes from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno overturned Ellis Simms’ opener and appeared to set up a Wembley date for Wolves, it appeared as though they would be leaving with broken hearts.
But the Championship side were not done as in nine minutes of time added on they turned the quarter-final tie around again, with Simms netting a second and then Haji Wright earning himself immortality by grabbing the winner.
The thrilling derby, which the Championship team most likely deserved to win, had a dramatic conclusion.
After absorbing the pressure, Coventry overcame a couple of early scares when Mario Lemina and Nelson Semedo wasted opportunities to put the game ahead. Simms will not want to be reminded of this.
After Jose Sa had palmed Kasey Palmer’s shot into the path of Jake Bidwell, the wing-back set up a simple tap-in from close range after rolling the ball across goal, but Simms got his feet in a mess and somehow put his shot straight at Sa.
Before halftime, Coventry had two more fantastic opportunities after Simms found Milan van Ewijk, who appeared ready to score until Sa made a superb block and the Wolves keeper was thankful to an unmarked Palmer for cushioning the ball straight at him. The momentum had abruptly changed.
Eight minutes after the break, Simms made up for his earlier gaffe by helping the Sky Blues finally take the lead.
Simms looked to have bundled the ball in with his arm at the far post after Liam Kitching headed a free-kick back across goal.
To give the visiting fans another chance to cheer, it withstood a protracted four-minute VAR check.
Soon after, as their team barraged Wolves’ goal, they ought to have been celebrating another goal.
Sa was forced to make two saves: he had to block Wright’s shot with his feet and then deflect Josh Eccles’ attempt off the rebound.
The Republic of Ireland wing-back was dispossessed in a hazardous position after Sa slid the pass to Matt Doherty, and Palmer missed an agonizingly close attempt.
In the last twenty minutes, as the inevitable Wolves onslaught approached, they could have used one of those opportunities to go in.
Bradley Collins deflected Joao Gomes’s ferocious effort onto the post, and shortly after, Ait-Nouri struck the other post with a header.
However, Wolves stayed ragged at the other end, and Coventry’s attempt to break the draw was only thwarted by Sa’s one-man performance.
Three crucial saves by the Portugal goalkeeper kept the score at 1-0. First, he palmed away attempts from Simms and Callum O’Hare, and then he denied Kitching from close range.
And in the 83rd minute, he was rewarded as Joel Latibeaudiere failed to clear a cross, allowing Ait-Nouri to smash home the loose ball to tie the score.
When Ait-Nouri raced forward and played in Bueno, who made no mistakes, the writing was on the wall for Coventry.
However, after Bobby Thomas had flicked on Bidwell’s cross, Simms headed home at the far post in the sixth minute of added time.
There was time for more drama as in the 10th minute Simms teed up Wright to steer Coventry to a famous victory.
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