THE BIGGEST crowd of the season so far at the Butts Park Arena saw Coventry come out on top against Plymouth by the narrowest of margins following an enthralling National League One encounter.
A crowd of 1,164 cheered Rowland Winter’s side on to a 26-5 lead at the break and despite a spirited fightback from the visiting side, Coventry eventually went on to record a 34-33 victory.
“Credit to Plymouth, they’re a good, strong side and the score at half-time was probably a little bit flattering to us in terms of where we’re at,” said Winter.
“We knew it was going to be a battle in the second half. We showed some great control at times to put us in some good places on the pitch, and then some sloppy play to allow them back into the game.
“But we stuck at it, and I think two or three weeks ago we probably would have lost that game.
“We had the character to come back in that last couple of minutes – to be under your posts with a minute or two on the clock, to go end-to-end and get down there to get in a position to take the three points shows that so hats off to James Stokes and Tom Howe for their work to get us there.
“We’re not far off that full 80-minute performance we are looking for.”
Two penalties from Will Maisey, which took him past 50 points for the season, saw Coventry six points up at the end of a tough opening 20 minutes before Setareki Raumakita powered his way over for the visitors.
Owain James crossed to put Coventry back in front and a further converted try from Tom Howe as well as two further penalties by Maisey put Winter’s side in control by half-time.
Coventry were hoping for more of the same after the break but they came up against a rejuvenated Plymouth side who got back to 26-19 with just under 20 minutes to play.
Importantly it was Coventry who scored next when James grabbed his second try of the match although Maisey failed from the conversion.
Some dreadful Coventry defending allowed Plymouth to score a fourth try and in the final minute of the match the Devon-based side went in front as they looked on target to complete a remarkable turnaround.
But Coventry were not finished as Stokes led the charge from defence before feeding Howe who won a penalty in front of the posts and Maisey was on target to save Coventry’s blushes.
Winter added: “We can’t take our foot off the pedal, we’ve had back-to-back wins and we’re starting to get a bit of momentum but it’s key that we maintain that, work hard, and go away to Hull with a fresh attitude and not take anything for granted.”
