Tottenham are in the hat for the Carabao Cup fourth round but they were minutes away from what would have been a disastrous result for Ange Postecoglou and his project.
Before late goals from substitutes Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson downed Coventry, Spurs were heading out of the competition at the first hurdle for the second season running – and with one of their most insipid performances under the Australian.
The Championship side were fully deserving of their 1-0 lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante and could have been further clear before Spence and Johnson struck in the 88th and 92nd minutes.
Postecoglou took a significant risk by making eight changes from Sunday’s north London derby defeat, including a first appearance in a year for goalkeeper Fraser Forster, and his side were familiarly blunt in attack.
A deflected Johnson effort at the start of the second half was the closest they came to troubling Coventry in the first 87 minutes, while Forster, who was jittery all night, made some smart saves and Ben Davies blocked Haji Wright's goal-bound shot.
Spurs' performance was reminiscent of not just their toothless displays in three of the first four games of this season but also so many limp efforts in the domestic cups in years gone by, including the defeat to Fulham at the same stage of this competition a year ago.
Postecoglou made nine changes at Craven Cottage, and the result still rankles some supporters, who are desperate for Spurs to make a real fist of the domestic cups in a bid to end their agonising 16-year wait for a trophy.
But that game was during Postecoglou’s honeymoon period and in the midst of a record-breaking start to the season.
The context now is very different, and it is easy to imagine some supporters would have turned if Spurs had not found a way back into the game.
There was a smattering of boos from the away end when Postecoglou replaced the lively Lucas Bergvall in the second half, and the manager would have taken a real pasting if Coventry had held on – not least because he brusquely reminded a TV reporter on Sunday that he “always wins things” in his second season at a club.
A win is a win, but Spurs will emerge from the match with next to no credit and the only major positives were their fighting spirit, and the displays of teenagers Bergvall and Archie Gray, who were both bright on their first competitive starts.
Perhaps a late win can be the lift needed to kick Tottenham’s spluttering season into gear, and Spence and Johnson, who have both endured difficult starts to the campaign, should at least get much-needed boosts from their well-taken goals.
For Postecoglou, the overwhelming feeling should be relief amid a sense that Spurs narrowly escaped what would have been a bruising night.
