A SEVENTH successive win for Coventry at home to Darlington Mowden Park has secured the club’s best winning run since 2000/01.
Head coach Scott Morgan described the first half performance in Saturday’s 29-17 win as the best of the season so far as the hosts led 29-3 at the break.
The opening minutes of the second half looked as if Coventry would continue in the same vein.
But the visitors restored some pride and made the scoreline look more respectable although in truth it was Coventry who seemed to fade away after spending most of the second period with 14 men.
After a series of penalties gained, Matt Jones dummied and shimmied his way through a gap for a lovely opening try which Cliffie Hodgson converted with ease.
Namesake Tom Hodgson slotted a well struck penalty on 15 minutes which proved to be the catalyst for a devastating spell for the ‘blue & whites’.
First (Cliffie) Hodgson scored & converted his own try, before on 22 minutes Dan Rundle was set up by Jones for try number three but the difficult conversion was missed.
It literally was all Coventry and the visiting cause was not helped with flanker Allcock receiving yellow for a
dangerous tackle on Rob Knox.
Just before the half-hour mark the score increased to 26-3 with George Oliver storming over to secure the bonus try and Hodgson scored the conversion and a penalty soon after to put Coventry into a commanding lead at the break.
The second period proved to a different story with the hosts tarting brightly but it was Darlington who scored their first try of the match with Henry Robinson crossing and Hodgson converted for 29-10.
Coventry were never the same again with play continuity being broken up with yellow cards handed out to George Oliver, Wayne Evans and Sam Pailor.
With ten minutes remaining the visitors made the most of their one-man advantage by scoring again through prop forward Ralph Appleby and Hodgson added the extra conversion points.
A failed 42-metre penalty attempt was the closest Coventry came to adding points to their tally after the break but they had already done enough to secure five points and move to within just two points of third-placed Fylde.
The Coventry squad know they can make the long trip to Tynedale this Saturday in good heart, before the mouth watering visits of Ealing and Fylde in consecutive weeks.
