COV CONSIGNED TO A WATERY GRAVE.

COVENTRY 6

PLYMOUTH ALBION 7

COVENTRY missed out by the narrowest of margins in a National Division One mudbath at the Butts Park Arena as Plymouth completed a double for the season.

The kickoff was delayed by 20 minutes after a tremendous effort by the Coventry ground staff and a team of volunteers to clear the pitch of standing water, and the result was a hard fought and fully committed game which could have gone either way.

In the end, Albion's better positional kicking and discipline proved decisive as they held out against a strong Coventry finish.

Albion fly half Keiran Hallett missed a second minute penalty from 45 metres, and Coventry took the lead from their first attack of any purpose after eight minutes, Myles Dorrian putting over a 35-metre kick when Kyle Marriott was penalised for holding on to the ball.

Both sides favoured the high kick in difficult handling conditions, but Albion had more of the play and they went in front after 22 minutes when their forwards drove over from a line-out 15 metres out for prop forward Ryan Hopkins to touch down.

Hallett added the conversion for a 7-3 advantage and it stayed that way to half-time, Dorrian short with a penalty attempt from close to 40 metres and Coventry stringing together a number of promising phases of play but lacking a cutting edge against the Albion defence.

Coventry dominated the second half in terms of territory, but the Plymouth defence remained equal to the task and the only addition to the scoreline was a 68th minute penalty from fly-half Dorrian, his only kick at goal after the break.

Replacement flanker Darren Clayton was held up on the line in a frantic finale as Coventry pressed for a winner but Albion survived seven minutes of added time to claim the points.

SCORERS: Coventry - Penalties: Dorrian (2). Plymouth - Try: Hopkins; Conversion: Hallett.