Sutton United of the Conference, the fifth tier of English football, had started their cup run in the 4th Qualifying round, winning three ties to reach this stage of the competition.

Coventry's Brian Kilcline had the best early chance after he received the ball while unmarked in the penalty area, but his header was straight at Sutton goalkeeper Trevor Roffey.

The home side took the lead three minutes before half-time when Mickey Stephens took a corner kick towards the near post which was missed by Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic and then volleyed into the goal by Tony Rains.

Seven minutes into the second half, Coventry were level after Steve Sedgley passed the ball into the Sutton penalty area, allowing David Phillips to shoot past an advancing Roffey to make it 1–1.

In the 59th minute, Stephens took a corner kick short to Phil Dawson who struck an outswinging cross which Matthew Hanlan volleyed in to give Sutton the lead once again.

Despite numerous late chances for Coventry, the match ended 2–1 and Sutton United progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

It remained the most recent such occasion for 24 years, until Luton Town beat Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round in 2013.

Coventry City's league form declined after the cup tie as they dropped to seventh place by the conclusion of the First Division season.

[13][14] In contrast to their opponents, Sutton's players were not professional footballers, and their squad included bricklayers, assistant bank managers and insurance clerks.

[22] David Lacey, writing in The Guardian, described the match as "the third round's most intriguing confrontation" while fellow journalist Russell Thomas referred to it as "Saturday's most flavoursome tie".

[16] Broadcaster and former player Jimmy Greaves, who had predicted a Coventry defeat before every round of the 1987 cup run, was now backing the team saying before the match that they would "go far" in the tournament.

The home side took the lead three minutes before half-time when Mickey Stephens took a corner towards the near post which was missed by Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic and then headed into the goal by Tony Rains.

From the set piece, Stephens passed short to Phil Dawson who struck an outswinging cross which Matthew Hanlan volleyed in to give Sutton the lead once again.

In the 70th minute, Coventry replaced Cyrille Regis with Keith Houchen, who won a series of corners, two of which ended in goal-line clearances from Rains and Robyn Jones.

"[12] He also reflected on the differences in preparations both sides had made before the match, noting "while Coventry's players were away from their families for most of the week, we've been doing our jobs and leading normal lives".

[10] Lacey of The Guardian concurred and suggested that Sutton had "pulled off a victory fit to rank with the biggest giantkilling acts in the competition's history.

Norwich were considered by bookmakers to be among the favourites of the remaining teams in the competition to win the cup and were in second position in the First Division at the time, two points behind league leaders Arsenal.

[35][36] Williams had aspired to see his club drawn against a team above Coventry City in the league and suggested that "the fantasy continues" upon learning of Sutton's opposition.

[19][41] Despite Sillett's assertion that the Sutton defeat had "done his players good", Coventry suffered another FA Cup upset in the following season's competition, when they were beaten in the third round by Third Division Northampton Town.