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Kyel Reid's eye-catching goal gave Coventry slim hope of staving off relegation from League One

Relegation-haunted Coventry won for the first time since Mark Robins returned as boss to increase the threat to Port Vale of going down to League Two.

City ended a run of 422 minutes without a goal when Kyel Reid superbly fired them ahead with a dipping 20-yard volley in the 37th minute.

The hosts then took just another four minutes to score again, from Kwame Thomas' clever close-range backheel.

All Vale could muster in response was Nathan Smith's deftly flicked header.

It leaves Vale still in the bottom four, two points behind 20th-placed Shrewsbury, although with two games in hand.

Bottom club Coventry's first win in seven games leaves them still with a very slim chance of beating the drop, still 14 points adrift of safety but with only another 21 to play for.

Although it might not be long before relegation to League Two is confirmed, it at least might not now happen before City walk out at Wembley for the EFL Trophy final on 2 April.

However, if they fail to win at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday, they could then be within one defeat of dropping into English football's bottom tier for the first time since 1959.

Ominous defeat for struggling Vale

After a nine-game winless run since the turn of the year, successive home victories had given Vale, still under the caretaker management of Michael Brown, a better chance of avoiding the drop.

But they have only won once away from home this season. And, even against a struggling Coventry side who had not scored in their past four matches, they were cruelly found out.

An hour had gone before Vale had an effort on target, but home keeper Lee Burge saved Ryan Taylor's shot.

By then, City were well in control thanks to their mini first-half goal flurry when, shortly after Reid's superb flick and volley, they confidently doubled their lead with another good strike.

Thomas got to the rebound first and finished with a stunning backheel after Deniz Mehmet had only parried Stuart Beavon's shot.

Vale rallied late on but all they had to show for it was centre-half Smith's fourth goal of the season, a back headed flick from Taylor's neatly floated free-kick.

Sky Blues manager Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"It was a win and a decent win too, but nobody is getting carried away. It just gives us a bit of confidence going into the Bristol Rovers game on Saturday.

"We've not been lacking in passion and pride. It's decision-making and fear that's more our problem, but you can see the confidence increasing.

"They all worked hard, grafted and pressed when we needed to. You could feel that the crowd were desperate to get behind us, the players have responded and I'm really pleased with the three points."

Port Vale caretaker boss Michael Brown told BBC Radio Stoke:

"We tried hard but we weren't good enough. It's disappointing as it was Coventry.

"Maybe we thought the points were going to come a bit easier. But, with a new manager, they've actually been playing some good football and getting beat.

"They got a worldie from nothing and you start to think it's not our night. Maybe that knocked the stuffing out of us and we then conceded very quickly again after that."