HEAD coach Tom Tsang was left pleased with improvements on the pitch, if not the scoreline, after Coventry Bears fell to promotion favourites Oldham at Webb Ellis Road.
Bears competed well against the second-placed visitors at times in the 50-6 defeat, their sixth in a row, but were always likely to struggle against a side hunting for both the Betfred League 1 title and promotion.
Tsang says the clinical finishing by the visitors made the difference, with Coventry unable to convert their chances in comparison.
“I thought we competed really well against a very strong Oldham side who are deservedly chasing promotion at the end of the season,” he said.
“It seemed that we were competitive for nine minutes out of every ten through the game, but every error we made was punished clinically by Oldham.
“In the many attacking raids we had, the fact we were unable to convert opportunities into points really speaks more to Oldham’s great scramble defence than our lack of execution, although we did at times make it too easy for them to shut us down.”
The Bears head coach says greater fortunes lay in wait in the season finale against Whitehaven on Saturday (2pm), in what will be another big test of his side’s credentials against the league leaders.
Both sides were evenly matched in Sunday’s contest, with the breakthrough coming courtesy of Liam Bent’s finish to a well-worked move by the visitors.
The try sparked Oldham into life, allowing Danny Langtree to add a second, followed by converted tries by Adam Brook and Jack Holmes to end the half with a clear lead.
Kyron Johnson crossed the whitewash to open the second-half scoring, with Bears showing plenty of endeavour but not enough end product to reward their play.
Tries for Declan Kay, Phil Joy and a second for Langtree all followed for Oldham, with Bears made to wait until the 74th minute before scoring.
Jacob Jones was the man to finally end Coventry’s woes, converted by Elliott Hall, to reward the home faithful for their unwavering support.
But Oldham had the last laugh, after Ben Davis finished off the scoring to pass the 50-point-mark with a converted try.
