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Coventry started the brighter of the two sides in the lively affair and almost took the lead inside the first three minutes of the game.

Carl Rushworth’s long pass was flicked on by the Luke Woolfenden, who made his first Coventry City start, into the path of Mason-Clark but the winger could only find the side netting with his effort.

Portsmouth started to settle into the tie and came close to scoring the first goal of the game in the 17th minute. The host's chance created down the right by the fullback Zak Swanson who drove forward with ball down the right sideline, crossing towards Regan Poole, but the defender could only watch as his header span past the post.

The game flowed end-to-end before Sky Blues took the lead on the half hour mark through the inform Thomas-Asante, grabbing his seventh goal of the season.

Matt Grimes’s corner was headed back into the box by Thomas and Ellis Simms’s goal-ward header was poked home by the Thomas-Asante.

Carl Rushworth was called into action to preserve Coventry’s advantage turning Johns Swifts curling effort over the bar.

City went close to doubling its lead just before half-time. Victor Torp picked the ball up in the middle of the Pompey half before he turned and released Ellis Simms, whose shot forced Bursik between the opposing sticks into a good save. 

Rushworth came into the game knowing that keeping Portsmouth at bay until the 86th minute would see him break a 91-year record of 613 minute without conceding a goal.

Thomas-Asante made it a brace for himself 10 minutes after the break, doubling City’s advantage after some great work down the left from Simms. The striker held of the Pompey defenders challenge before he slid in the free running Thomas-Asante who finished with an aplomb do double the Sky Blues.

The home side looked to make inroads into the deficit with time running out but substitute Adrian Segecic’s deflected effort was comfortably saved by Rushworth.

Already on a brace, Thomas-Asante almost came home with the match ball, rattling the bar in the 76th minute. A neat one-two between Van Ewijk and Simms played the City right back in behind the Portsmouth backline and his lofted cross was met on the volley by the City forward, with Bursik well beaten in goal he would only be denied by the woodwork.

Portsmouth came close to grabbing a consolation a minute from time, but former City man Conor Chaplin could only find the post with the goal at his mercy. The consolation came deep into added time as Kirk latched onto Terry Devlin’s ball in behind to lift over the onrushing Rushworth as City made it five wins on the bounce.