You're everywhere and nowhere, baby, That's where you're at...
Saying everything is groovy
When your tyres are flat
And it's hi, ho silver lining
And away you go now baby
I see your sun is shining
But I won't make a fuss
Though it's obvious.
Hi Ho Silver Lining - Jeff Beck
Would I have settled for a draw against Jersey before kick off?
Yes, I think I would.
Second in the league and with genuine hopes of lifting the title come the end of the April, Jersey were clear favourites to beat Cov, even playing away from home. They'd conceded fewer points than any other side in the league on their travels this season and a ten game unbeaten run had only ended away to Ealing, the current league leaders and favourites for the Championship.
Cov had lost heavily to both Ealing and Jersey before Christmas, so despite producing performances elsewhere that were giving everyone some course for optimism, the realistic outcome at best was probably a losing bonus point.
And as the whistle blew for full time, the same? Was I happy with the draw then?
Definitely not.
Wins are always a positive, losses rarely acceptable. But draws? They're all about the context.
Jersey will have been a lot happier with their 2 points for sure. Losing by 14 points with just 4 minutes remaining, a draw seemed out of the question.
Coventry, though, must have been absolutely gutted.
After a pretty even first 40 minutes despite being down 0-5, the home side dominated much of the second half territorially and and looked comfortable for the 4 points as the game entered the final few minutes. That they contrived to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory was disappointing in the extreme and whilst the positives far outweigh the negatives, Cov's inability to close the game out was poor. It's not enough to put it down to a lack of experience or that players being on their knees at the end - the brutal truth of it was that wrong decisions were made, both on and off field.
Players and coaches will learn from the mistakes made, but the truth is we drew a game we should have won.
The irony of the music that blared out from the PA as supporters left the ground, many still shaking their heads at what they'd just witnessed, was not lost on this supporter at least. 'Hi Ho Silver Lining' was presumably chosen in homage to Jeff Beck who had passed away earlier in the week, but it was strangely apposite. The opening lines said it all really:
You're everywhere and nowhere, baby,
That's where you're at...
Cov had given it their all. They were indeed everywhere on Saturday but ended up with little in return. 2 points didn't offer them the return they deserved. They'd left everything out there on the pitch, only to throw it all away in those fine 240 seconds.
Don't get me wrong. I was immensely proud of Cov.
It was their best performance of the season by a country mile, perhaps up there with the best 85 minutes or so (!) since we've been in the Championship this time 'round (the pre-Covid draw at Ealing away is another than comes to mind) .
Yes, we'd steamrollered the likes of Doncaster at home and Nottingham away, but we'd not covered ourselves in glory against either of the two top sides before Christmas and had also lost to Hartpury (away) in the league and Bedford and Doncaster (both away) in the Cup.
So arriving at the ground, it was more a question of hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
Cov had shown real signs of improvement this season under Alex Rae, but this was going to be a true test of just how far they'd come. If Jersey were going to maintain the pressure on Ealing then this was a must win game for them.
We knew exactly what to expect.
And then there were the additional external pressures facing the team - the game was being streamed live, there was obviously going to be a bumper crowd, Cov needed the win to push for a second place finish in the league themselves and so on.
All of which created their own stresses.
So a test it was. And, despite the result, it was one they passed even without the win.
Speaking to supporters in the minutes before kick off, the general consensus was Jersey's strength lay in their forwards, so it was a case of getting quick ball from the set piece and running at them, exposing them to the pace and guile of our back line in the hope that in the final 20 minutes we'd begin to create space for the wings and fullback to plunder.
As it was, it didn't quite turn out that way. From the first whistle Cov forwards were in the faces of the Jersey pack. After being pinged at the first scrum, Cov managed to put their front row under far more pressure than most of us had expected and the first half became a fairly attritional affair. It certainly wasn't pretty to watch, but it was hugely absorbing. Both sides made mistakes and defences were on top, with no notable line breaks at all. Not wanting to give any quarter, there were spells where the ball was hoofed from end to end, both teams hoping the other would make the error.
With Peters and Tyas in the second row, Cov were effectively playing 5 backrowers in the pack and although both may lack a bit of height, they are mobile and add a totally different dimension to our game. It's a really strong pairing and it hasn't affected our lineout adversely. It's not been the most consistent area of Cov's game over the last few seasons but it's been performing consistently well under Rae. As a former lock, perhaps his experience in this area is already paying dividends.
0-5 down at half time, neither side had a clear advantage.
Cov had had several penalties in kickable positions, but on each occasion they opted to kick for the corner. In the stand around where I was sitting. opinion was divided as to whether we should take the 3 points or opt for the lineout.
I was all for points on the board, others less so.
After the first couple of attempts to catch and drive were held up by a resolute Jersey defence, we should have kicked for goal. Three scores ahead in those dying moments of the game would probably have ensured a Cov win, even with the Jersey comeback.
The second half was far more open and we scored two well worked tries to take a 19-5 lead. Tom Dodd went off injured and Pat Pellegrini looked to be suffering from a rib injury but Cov still looked comfortable.
Things began to unfold when the finishers came on 10 minutes before the end. Whether this was because Rae felt the game was won by then, or it was a pre-planned call isn't clear but whatever the reason, Jersey quickly began to take charge. The first of their final two tries was greeted in silence by the crowd, the second in disbelief (a penalty try at that following a misjudged attempt to pick up a ball that looked as if it was going long anyway. Pressure does that).
Cov had done more than enough to win the game, that they didn't was down to errors of judgement both on the pitch and off it. Yes, as supporters we can focus on all the positives but in the post match analysis it on Monday, I imagine those final 10 minutes might well be the main topic of discussion. And so they should.
As Jeff Beck would have said, there's no point in:
Saying everything is groovy When your tyres are flat
However, following this result and those leading up to it over the last few rounds of the competition, Cov has now earned the right to be regarded as one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the league. There will be further blips along the way, but we've already beaten the likes of Bedford, Pirates and Doncaster and whilst we have some tricky away games still to come, a top 4 finish is the minimum we should be looking at after this weekend.
Hi ho, there are indeed plenty of silver linings, even if we didn't really do ourselves justice yesterday.
And with a crowd in excess of 3150, it is clear that somewhere in the not too distant future, when Cov do become genuine contenders for the top spot in the Championship, sell out crowds are a serious possibility. With or without Wasps in town, a successful Cov will draw in even bigger numbers. Even a free live stream didn't seem to deter supporters from making their way over to the BPA - and it wasn't the warmest of afternoons either, as my grandson repeatedly confirmed every 5 minutes (or so it seemed!).
This was always going to be a big match in the context of the current season, but it was never going to be a season of consequence for Cov with Ealing well ahead of the rest of the chasing pack.
But this is a group of players that has the potential to go further. On yesterday's showing, quite a bit further. If Rae can hang on to his players and strengthen the squad over the next couple of seasons, then who knows.
It's a good time to be a supporter of the Blue n Whites'.
Thank you Cov and thank you Alex Rae. He's not as media savvy as Winter was, but in a quiet, unassuming way, he has taken the club forward in less than a year and on a smaller budget, too.
He'll make sure our sun is shining, without making a fuss, though it's obvious...
コメント