Albion, who went into the match having only won two of their last ten matches, looked sharper in every department in the first half and were clearly fired up for this Midlands derby.
Jason Koumas ran the show and his tenth minute cross teed up Zoltan Gera but the Hungarian headed wide.
Coventry striker Michael Mifsud latched on to Dele Adebola's pass and twisted past Chris Perry only for Paul Robinson to clear the danger.
Neither keeper was really tested until Albion went in front in the 36th minute. Koumas' cross from the left found Kevin Phillips and when his close-range header rebounded off the bar, Robinson reacted the quickest to head the ball home from three yards.
Coventry's task became even harder when 18-year-old centre-half Ben Turner was shown a red card for a hard tackle on behind from Phillips with a minute remaining of the first half.
But the Sky Blues showed their fighting spirit and could have equalised seven minutes after the break.
Mifsud knocked Andy Marshall's long clearance back to strike partner Adebola and his shot from the edge of the box was superbly tipped on to the bar by former Coventry keeper Dean Kiely.
Albion could have doubled their lead when Jonathan Greening's corner from the right found Robinson and his angled shot was kicked off the line by David McNamee.
And Phillips should have done better when he headed Martin Albrechtsen's cross high over the bar as Albion searched for a second goal.
Referee Foy found himself the centre of attention again when he dismissed Coventry manager Iain Dowie with only five minutes remaining and Kamara was then shown a second yellow card for tripping McNamee in injury time.