Albion foiled in comeback bid by last-second Maisey kick
Coventry .............. 34pts Tries: James 29, 64, Howe 40 Conversions: Maisey 30, 40 Penalties: Maisey 2, 21, 34, 40, 80 Plymouth A ........ 33pts Tries: Raumakita 27, 60, Williams 43, Holmes 65, Freestone 79 Conversions: Simmonds 44, 61, 66, 80
A PENALTY from Will Maisey four minutes into stoppage time secured victory for Coventry by the narrowest of margins after a rousing secondhalf rally by Albion.
The home side looked home and dry at half-time as their best 40 minutes of the season saw them turn round clear at 26-5.
But it was a different story after the break as Cov lost their rhythm and Albion forced their way back into the game to lead 33-31 at the end of normal time, only for Maisey to have the final word with his fifth successful penalty.
“The half-time score probably flattered us and we knew it was going to be a battle, Plymouth are a good, strong side,” said Cov’s director of rugby, Rowland Winter, who was delighted at the spirit shown by his team to come through at the death.
“We showed good control at times to get us into good positions and then some sloppy play to allow them back into the game.
“But we stuck at it. I think that two or three weeks ago we would have lost that game and to show the character to come back from under our own posts with one or two minutes left on the clock and force the winning penalty says a lot for the way the squad is developing.”
A Maisey penalty gave Cov an early lead and both sides had chances as play moved from end to end before Maisey doubled the gap with a second kick going into the second quarter.
Albion hit back with an unconverted try for Setareki Raumakita, but two minutes later Cov returned a clearance kick with interest for an Owain James try which Maisey converted.
Maisey punished Albion’s indiscretions with two further penalties to extend Cov’s advantage to 19-5 dipping into stoppage time and then converted when the home side again ripped through Albion’s midfield for Tom Howe to touch down.
A Dan Williams try and Joe Simmonds conversion cut the gap five minutes into the second period before Raumakita’s second try, also converted, further narrowed the gap for the visitors.
A second try for James
gave Cov a little breathing space at 31-19, but Plymouth were not done yet.
A pair of converted tries from Sam Holmes and Rupert Freestone threatened to undo all Coventry’s good work as Albion looked to have pulled off the most unlikely of comebacks.
It was then that the Coventry character became apparent, and when Albion were penalised in front of the posts an ice-cool Maisey kept his nerve to land the decisive kick.
“We had chances to win and it was our own fault we didn’t,” said Albion’s head coach Dan Parkes, who admitted the better side won as he had to settle for a pair of losing bonus points.
“Coventry deserved their win, but we were our own worst enemies just trying to exit.
“We didn’t turn up in the first half and took too long to get going, and we made too many errors.
“Overall I’m happy with our performance, to come away and score 33 points I’ve got to be happy.
“We’ve got two points on the road, but it could easily have been five.”