City beat Colchester in front of the Sky TV cameras with Stern John and Michael Doyle getting on the scoresheet before the visitors netted a late consolation.
Micky Adams named Coventry's two new loan signings in the starting eleven with Richard Duffy coming in at right back and Clive Clarke slotting into the left hand side of defence.
Upfront Stern John partnered Kevin Kyle while Leon McKenzie was deployed on the left hand side with Colin Cameron on the right.
The Sky Blues started the game well with McKenzie in particular getting plenty of joy down the left flank. In the seventh minute intense pressure from the former Norwich man led to Cameron sending a volley narrowly wide and in the 16th minute he teed up an even better opportunity for John, who blazed over from 12 yards out.
With City applying all the pressure, Colchester were forced into some rash challenges and both their full-backs - Greg Halford and Chris Barker - were booked in the opening period as well as skipper Karl Duguid.
The U's only real chance of the first half came when Jamie Cureton blasted a powerful effort at Andy Marshall which the City keeper spilled, although Elliott Ward was on hand to clear.
After bossing the initial stages, as the half progressed Colchester began to look more comfortable controlling City's attacks but John capped an impressive performance with a finely taken goal in stoppage time.
Colin Cameron threaded a beautiful ball through to the Trinidad and Tobago international which he controlled neatly before placing his shot past U's goalkeeper Aidan Davidson.
To add insult to injury Colchester were forced into two midfield substitutions during the first half with Watson and Garcia going off injured, meaning they had little by way of tactical options going into the secod period. One of their switches saw the introduction of former City loanee Johnnie Jackson who was injured early in the season and struggled to force his way back into the side following Colchester's excellent run of form during September.
Coventry were quite content to play keep ball in the early stages of the second period and once again McKenzie was getting acres of space onn his side of the pitch. Unfortunately he could not provide the killer ball as he had done before the break but City were still getting into some dangerous positions and looked more than capable of extending their lead.
And they did just that through Michael Doyle in the 68th minute. The goal came from more excellent work by John as he used all his control to fend off two Colchester defenders before laying a sqaure ball to the Irishman who finished with aplomb. It was the 25-year-old's first goal since March 2005 and as he reeled off to celebrate his joy was clear to see.
The Sky Blues continued to dominate, playing some delightful football with the irrepresible John at the centre of much of it, but Colchester gave themselves a glimmer of hope fiove minutes from full-time when substitute Jamie Guy cut in from the left and fired a crisp low drive past Marshall into the far corner of the net.
Micky Adams reacted by making his first switch with Jay Tabb replacing the impressive McKenzie on the left. A double switch soon followed as Hutchison and Birchall replaced John and Cameron as the City boss introduced fresh legs to ensure that Colchester did not make an unlikely comeback.
In the end, City were worthy winners after a professional performance, interspersed with some fine moments of individual quality.
Coventry: Marshall; Page; Ward; Hughes; Doyle; Kyle; John (Hutchison 89); McKenzie (Tabb 86); Cameron (Birchall 89); Duffy; Clarke. Subs (not used): Adebola; Heath
Colchester: Davison; Halford; Brown; Watson (Jackson 29); Duguid; Cureton; Izzett; Iwelumo (Guy 80); Baldwin; Garcia (McLeod 41); Barker. Subs (not used): Gerken; White
Booked: Halford (11); Barker (34); Duguid (39)
Referee: Mr M Pike
Attendance: 16,178
