A LATE strike from Coventry substitute Jamie Spenser proved enough to sink Arsenal - and the Sky Blues boss Gregor Rioch hailed his side's determination.

Josh Ruffles' superb brace gave Coventry the advantage at the interval, after limiting Arsenal to just one shot during the opening half.

Strikes from Arsenal's Josh Reese and Zac Ansah pulled the visitors level, after a lack of discipline from Coventry's Luke Bottomer resulted in a straight red card for the young full-back.

Ruffles wasted no time opening the scoring for Rioch's men, converting Jacob Blackwell's superb delivery with a header after 15 minutes played.

Luke Adams' looked to make Arsenal pay on the half-hour mark when he rifled the ball from 25-yards to force a fine save from the Arsenal goalkeeper, as Coventry continued to look to double their advantage.

With the Sky Blues still pressing, Ruffles again found himself with time and space outside the box, producing an unstoppable finish to put the home side two ahead.

After the break, Arsenal began to justify their league position at the top of the table by playing some patient possession football.

Their opening goal came after 58 minutes, as Arsenal midfielder Josh Reese found the top corner of Lee Burge's net with a towering header. However, the major turning point came during the visitor's celebrations, as Bottomer's dismissal left the Sky Blues a man down, after receiving his marching orders with half an hour still to play.

Despite Burge making some fine saves, he could do nothing to prevent Zac Ansah from pulling the visitors level in the 72^nd minute, converting a one-on-one opportunity as City looked to be struggling with the one-man deficit.

Reese was gifted a golden chance to complete the comeback just moments later, but could only find Coventry's left-hand upright.

With Arsenal failing to finish several chances to grab the win, Academy boss Ricoh admitted the Sky Blues 'struck lucky'.

"It was a good game in the sense that Arsenal is a great footballing side. It was important for us to try and play some good football, which I felt we did up until the sending off, which changed the whole complex of the game.

"I was disappointed with sending off," said Rioch. "We base ourselves on good discipline but the young lad will have to learn from that."

"We've had to dig in and wait for our opportunities to get the ball forward, and the momentum was certainly with Arsenal at ten-men, but I was pleased with the character of the boys."

And their determination paid off as Joe Henderson's long throw deep in to the Arsenal box fell perfectly for second-half replacement Spenser, as a simple tap-in proved enough to seal a 3-2 win.

"We were just hoping for a corner or a long throw. We don't usually use the long throw but we were chasing, and we've struck lucky with the win today. Both sets of teams produced some real quality on the pitch with great passing and movement - it was a real enjoyment to watch."

Words by Chris Finch