Jon Stead's first-half winner moved Coventry closer to the Championship play-off places as Peterborough slipped a step closer to relegation.
Stead looked second favourite when he broke through in the first half but shrugged off defender Craig Morgan and stabbed the ball past Joe Lewis.
Tommy Rowe saw a powerful drive blocked as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.
Charlie Lee and Lee Frecklington both shot over as Posh surged forward but Coventry held on to clinch the points.
Posh are now 13 points adrift of safety with 12 games remaining and their brief flirtation with second-tier football is rapidly coming to an end.
The Sky Blues, meanwhile, are up to eighth and only three points off the play-off places.
Peterborough manager Jim Gannon: "We have to put ourselves out of our misery and accept that we are going down.
"We would need to get three times as many wins as the club has managed all to season to even stand a chance of staying up. We don't have the depth of quality and we have to be realistic.
"We haven't shown the technical quality required to challenge to win games and that was the case again here."
Coventry manager Chris Coleman: "There was no chance of us taking Peterborough lightly because they are bottom of the league.
"We got the battle we expected but, that said, I can't remember us being under too much pressure or our keeper having to make too many saves.
"We have been making a habit of keeping clean sheets lately and a lot of praise for that must go to the defence."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Championship
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Peterborough
0-1
Coventry
FT
(HT 0-1)
Stead 24
Peterborough
01 Lewis
04 Morgan
05 Zakuani
16 Little
06 Lee
08 Frecklington
14 Rowe
18 Whelpdale (Simpson 59)
25 Green
07 Dickinson
09 Mclean (Mackail-Smith 74)
Substitutes
13 McKeown,
34 Geohaghan,
17 Day,
22 Torres,
33 Simpson,
12 Mackail-Smith,
31 Korentang
Coventry
01 Westwood
02 Wright
03 Hall
06 McPake
15 Cranie
04 Clingan yellow card (Deegan 46)
17 Gunnarsson
18 Baker
21 McIndoe
09 Stead
11 Morrison (Sears 86)
Substitutes
13 Konstantopoulos,
14 Hussey,
31 Wynter,
34 Grandison,
12 Deegan,
10 Eastwood,
19 Sears
Ref: Russell BoothAtt: 10,469
PETERBOROUGH
COVENTRY
Possession
Peterborough54%
Coventry46%
Attempts on target
Peterborough4
Coventry6
Attempts off target
Peterborough7
Coventry3
Corners
Peterborough4
Coventry3
Fouls
Peterborough11
Coventry7
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+3:17 The referee signals the end of the game.
90:00+2:15 Freddie Sears is caught offside. Joe Lewis restarts play with the free kick.
90:00+1:24 Tommy Rowe delivers the ball.
85:12 Keiren Westwood takes the free kick.
85:12 Substitution Freddie Sears is brought on as a substitute for Clinton Morrison.
85:12 The assistant referee flags for offside against Craig Mackail-Smith.
83:55 Shot from long range by Gary Deegan misses to the right of the target.
81:59 Free kick awarded for a foul by Josh Simpson on Aron Gunnarsson. Marcus Hall crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from left channel, Charlie Lee makes a clearance.
81:19 Effort from just outside the box by Lee Frecklington goes over the bar.
80:19 The ball is delivered by Dominic Green, Stephen Wright makes a clearance.
79:28 Josh Simpson delivers the ball, save by Keiren Westwood.
79:01 The assistant referee flags for offside against Clinton Morrison. Indirect free kick taken by Joe Lewis.
78:20 Unfair challenge on Clinton Morrison by Charlie Lee results in a free kick. Michael McIndoe crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from left channel, Tommy Rowe makes a clearance.
77:49 The ball is swung over by Tommy Rowe, save made by Keiren Westwood.
77:03 Corner taken by Lee Frecklington from the right by-line.
76:55 Liam Dickinson produces a cross, Marcus Hall gets a block in.
75:28 The ball is swung over by Charlie Lee, brilliant save by Keiren Westwood.
75:23 The ball is swung over by Craig Mackail-Smith.
73:48 The ball is swung over by Michael McIndoe, Shot from deep inside the area by Carl Baker goes over the bar.
73:48 Substitution Craig Mackail-Smith joins the action as a substitute, replacing Aaron Mclean.
73:48 Free kick awarded for a foul by Lee Frecklington on Michael McIndoe.
72:36 Clinton Morrison takes a shot. Save by Joe Lewis.
70:55 Unfair challenge on Carl Baker by Liam Dickinson results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Keiren Westwood.
70:23 James McPake challenges Aaron Mclean unfairly and gives away a free kick. Tommy Rowe crosses the ball from the free kick left-footed from left wing.
69:08 Charlie Lee produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide right of the goal.
65:43 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Carl Baker.
65:24 Clinton Morrison takes a shot. Blocked by Craig Morgan.
64:54 The ball is delivered by Mark Little, save made by Keiren Westwood.
63:23 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Jonathan Stead by Lee Frecklington. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Michael McIndoe from right wing.
61:37 Liam Dickinson challenges Marcus Hall unfairly and gives away a free kick. Keiren Westwood takes the direct free kick.
60:50 Unfair challenge on Josh Simpson by Gary Deegan results in a free kick. Lee Frecklington takes the direct free kick.
59:52 The ball is swung over by Marcus Hall, Craig Morgan manages to make a clearance.
59:42 Centre by Jonathan Stead, clearance by Craig Morgan.
58:31 Free kick taken by Keiren Westwood.
58:31 Substitution Josh Simpson on for Chris Whelpdale.
58:31 Chris Whelpdale challenges Michael McIndoe unfairly and gives away a free kick.
Correction - 56:41 Lee Frecklington challenges Jonathan Stead unfairly and gives away a free kick. A cross is delivered by Michael McIndoe, Headed effort on goal by James McPake from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the goal.
56:41 Lee Frecklington concedes a free kick for a foul on Jonathan Stead. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Michael McIndoe from left wing.
54:15 Centre by Stephen Wright, clearance made by Craig Morgan.
54:01 Short corner taken by Carl Baker.
53:53 The ball is sent over by Carl Baker, blocked by Tommy Rowe.
53:17 The referee blows for offside. Free kick taken by Keiren Westwood.
50:41 Liam Dickinson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on James McPake. Direct free kick taken by Keiren Westwood.
49:00 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Dominic Green, Mark Little takes a shot. Jonathan Stead gets a block in.
48:53 The ball is swung over by Aaron Mclean, clearance made by Martin Cranie.
46:13 Foul by Aron Gunnarsson on Lee Frecklington, free kick awarded. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Lee Frecklington from right channel, clearance by James McPake.
45:58 The ball is crossed by Stephen Wright, save by Joe Lewis.
45:01 The referee gets the second half started.
45:01 Substitution Sammy Clingan leaves the field to be replaced by Gary Deegan.
Half Time
45:00+2:06 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
45:00+0:29 The ball is sent over by Carl Baker, Joe Lewis makes a save.
44:33 Chris Whelpdale produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the left of the goal.
42:13 The ball is crossed by Aaron Mclean, Sammy Clingan manages to make a clearance.
37:49 Lee Frecklington produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the area and misses to the left of the target.
37:26 Dominic Green takes the inswinging corner, clearance made by Martin Cranie.
36:26 Centre by Dominic Green, Keiren Westwood makes a save.
35:08 Outswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Dominic Green, Charlie Lee takes a shot. Sammy Clingan makes a clearance.
34:52 Chris Whelpdale delivers the ball, Shot by Tommy Rowe from 12 yards. Blocked by Stephen Wright.
32:34 Direct free kick taken by Craig Morgan.
32:34 Booking Booking for Sammy Clingan for unsporting behaviour.
32:30 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Chris Whelpdale by Sammy Clingan.
30:20 Liam Dickinson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Martin Cranie. Keiren Westwood restarts play with the free kick.
29:09 Centre by Liam Dickinson, clearance made by Stephen Wright.
27:54 A cross is delivered by Michael McIndoe, save by Joe Lewis.
Correction - 27:09 The ball is delivered by Dominic Green, James McPake makes a clearance.
27:09 Centre by Dominic Green, Martin Cranie makes a clearance.
23:50 Assist on the goal came from Martin Cranie.
23:50 GOAL - Jonathan Stead:Peterborough 0 - 1 Coventry Jonathan Stead scores a goal from inside the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Peterborough 0-1 Coventry.
22:44 The ball is crossed by Dominic Green, Chris Whelpdale produces a volleyed left-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box which goes wide of the left-hand upright.
21:13 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Liam Dickinson by Marcus Hall. The ball is crossed by Lee Frecklington, Header from close in by Gabriel Zakuani misses to the left of the target.
19:52 Michael McIndoe concedes a free kick for a foul on Chris Whelpdale. Lee Frecklington delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from right wing, James McPake manages to make a clearance.
19:22 Aron Gunnarsson takes a shot. Save made by Joe Lewis.
18:53 The ball is sent over by Dominic Green, comfortable save by Keiren Westwood.
15:51 Stephen Wright takes a shot. Gabriel Zakuani gets a block in.
11:42 Marcus Hall crosses the ball, clearance made by Craig Morgan.
8:22 The official flags Liam Dickinson offside. Indirect free kick taken by Martin Cranie.
7:59 Chris Whelpdale takes a shot. Save made by Keiren Westwood.
6:02 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Tommy Rowe by Aron Gunnarsson. Joe Lewis takes the free kick.
5:28 Corner taken right-footed by Carl Baker from the left by-line, clearance by Craig Morgan.
3:55 Unfair challenge on Sammy Clingan by Lee Frecklington results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Keiren Westwood.
2:58 Centre by Jonathan Stead, Clinton Morrison takes a shot. Blocked by Craig Morgan.
1:10 Tommy Rowe delivers the ball, clearance by James McPake.
0:09 Shot by Chris Whelpdale from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the goal.
0:00 The match gets underway.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
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