ROBINS SALUTES CLASSY SKY BLUES
Manager in awe of his team
MARK Robins branded his Coventry team “breathtaking”, despite failing to make their dominance pay in the draw at Stoke.
Leading scorer Viktor Gyokeres rifled the visitors ahead in the 18th minute with an exquisite angled finish for his 18th goal in all competitions.
But Sam Clucas levelled for the hosts two minutes before the break with a fine strike, his first league goal since August last year enough to earn a point for the hosts.
“There’s work to be done there, but the football we’ve played was breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking,” said Robins.
“We were outstanding, especially in the first half. But we should have been out of sight, it’s been the story of our season. We’ve had so many opportunities to kill the game off, which is the only disappointment for me.
“To go and do that to them on their home patch is absolutely outstanding.
“We’ve got to be happy, but not totally.
“To finish 12th in this division is a great achievement, especially because we’ve finished above a lot of very good teams.
“What we do in terms of recruitment in the summer is absolutely crucial. We feel like we’re not too far away from the play-offs and look like we’re not too far away from the play-offs, but we are.
“We know where we need to improve – and if we can we will. But the players really need to take a good look at what they’ve achieved this season – and be really proud.”
Robins’ side dominated for much of a one-sided contest at the bet365 Stadium but, to their credit, Stoke dug deep for a battling point.
Gyokeres – the club’s impressive goalscoring-machine – fired the Sky Blues into a deserved lead, with the Swedish hitman making no mistake in rifling the ball under Stoke keeper Josef Bursik to stun the hosts.
And it could have easily been 2-0 just two minutes later when Gyokeres fired a shot wide of the right-hand post.
Later in the half, Bursik thwarted Callum O’Hare with a fine fingertip save and the block proved crucial as Stoke hit the visitors for six with a fine counter-attack that saw them level matters.
Josh Tymon provided the assist to Clucas who, with a cool head, smashed his leftfoot shot into the bottom lefthand corner of the net.
However, Stoke assistant boss Dean Holden admitted his side were second best, especially in the first half where the Sky Blues squandered a string of chances to have won easily.
“Coventry were miles the better team, that’s the honest answer,” admitted Holden.
“They gave us so many problems in that first half-anhour, we were really stretched and exposed. The gaps between our defence and up front were far too big.
“We were lucky to keep it 1-0 for as long as we did, but luckily we got a goal ourselves. We were fortunate to get the draw.
“It was a much more even second half. We didn’t create too much, but I thought it was a much more even game.”