Leon Best claims he feels like a superhero since he started playing in a mask while he recovers from a fractured cheekbone, and last night he played like one as he headed in the goal that earned Coventry City a quarter-final tie at home to Chelsea.

While Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn Rovers manager, admitted that the changed team he put out last night has told him whom he can — and cannot — trust in the run-in to avoid relegation from the Barclays Premier League, Chris Coleman was battling to contain his excitement at the prospect of pitting his wits against Guus Hiddink in a one-off contest for a semi-final at Wembley.

Coventry came within a last-ditch equaliser of winning at Ewood Park in the first match and deserved their victory as Coleman, after 12 months in charge, continues to make his mark at the Ricoh Arena. His team have now lost only twice in 14 games to climb away from the bottom three in the Coca-Cola Championship and, for the first time in 11 years, qualify for the last eight of the FA Cup.

“This is a chance for us to make our own bit of history,” the Coventry manager said. “Steve Ogrizovic, our goalkeeping coach, is always going on about Cyrille Regis and Keith Houchen and the Cup-winning side of 1987. Chelsea are a great side but it doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable.” Chelsea lost to Championship opposition at this stage of the competition 12 months ago, away to Barnsley, and Hiddink, one game into his tenure at Stamford Bridge, will not yet have had much chance to scout Coventry.

“Good,” Coleman joked. “Chelsea will pay us respect, I’m sure, but they won’t relish coming into this atmosphere. This was the best night since I’ve been here. We’ll need to do everything we did tonight and more, and hope Chelsea have an off day and still ride our luck. But what a chance, to play against Chelsea at home. We’re doing OK in the league and a Cup run is important for the fans.”

It was only Best’s fourth goal of the season, but he showed an assured touch, when left unmarked, to glance Aron Gunnarsson’s centre beyond Jason Brown, the Blackburn goalkeeper, in the 58th minute. Coventry fans wearing masks in appreciation of their unsung hero could not disguise their grins as they streamed out the ground.

“He’s got a real hunger for the game,” Coleman said. “He’s doing all the nasty jobs strikers don’t like, and when he’s working like that, rewards tend to follow.” It was no more than Coventry deserved, as Elliott Ward should have headed in Danny Fox’s corner before Clinton Morrison, nipping adroitly round Brown, shot into the side-netting in the first period. Coventry, in front of their biggest home crowd of the season, 22,793, have now attracted three successive attendances in excess of 20,000, who have seen them overcome Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City, the top two teams in the Championship, before last night’s Premier-League opposition.

Allardyce made 11 changes from the team that lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Saturday and he paid the price. “You listen to players and I’ve heard those who complain they’re not given enough time and they get a great game like this to play in,” he said.

“Then you ask can they play better than they can talk? They did in the first half but in the second half I felt they let me down. You look at the core of our side and you’re comfortable with it. You’ve got to play your squad players when the occasion arises, but a lot of them have shown me what they can do and what they can’t do.” Blackburn, with only one win in their past eight games, are left to concentrate on trying to climb out of the Premier League’s relegation zone.

Coventry City (4-4-2): K Westwood — S Wright, E Ward, B Turner, D Fox — J Henderson, A Gunnarsson, M Doyle, F Eastwood (sub: R Simpson, 87min) — C Morrison, L Best. Substitutes not used: A Marshall, M Hall, G Beuzelin, I Osbourne, K Thornton, A Cain. Booked: Gunnarsson, Ward, Westwood.

Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): J Brown — D Simpson, C Samba, Z Khizanishvili (sub: G Givet, 81), M Olsson — C Villanueva (sub: R Santa Cruz, 68), A Mokoena, Tugay Kerimoglu, K Treacy (sub: S Warnock, 68) — B McCarthy, J Roberts. Substitutes not used: P Robinson, R Nelsen, M G Pedersen, A Doran. Booked: Brown.

Referee: M Riley.

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