Terrace Verdict - Rotherham Titans, 19th January

Cometh the hour, cometh the 'dog'. And this was the hour, or afternoon, that Coventry really got down to the nitty-gritty of grinding out a win. Throughout the first quarter Cov were the victims of a symphony played on referee Maybank's whistle, but with the calm assurance of a seasoned campaigner, coach Brett Davey reorganized his troops and......

Cometh the hour, cometh the 'dog'.

And this was the hour, or afternoon, that Coventry really got down to the nitty-gritty of grinding out a win.

Throughout the first quarter Cov were the victims of a symphony played on referee Maybank's whistle, but with the calm assurance of a seasoned campaigner, coach Brett Davey reorganized his troops and, defending the clubhouse end against the prevailing wind, Cov began to cope and reduced the penalty count accordingly.

In his first start for some weeks, left winger Sam Montague turned in his best performance of the season, highlighted by a neat inside break and run-in for a well-taken try. Several other players also performed to a decent standard with Myles Dorrian playing with spirit and few, if any, mistakes.

With injuries to Ben Toft and skipper Ben Russell, Davey was forced to reorganize at half-time, with a sharp-looking Tom Slater being introduced on the left wing, and Montgomery going to fullback.

Kicking from hand was, by recent standards, very good, with Davey, Dorrian. Johnson and Montague all gaining credit. One fine crossfield kick in particular by Brett Davey led to a try taken very well by Hendry Rheeders, with Davey himself adding the extras.

The onlooking and, as always, partisan fans of the Titans were reduced to virtual silence as Brett Davey wrote his name in the record books with two drop-goals to seal it.

All things considered, this was a win that the Cov side might have spurned just a few weeks earlier, and with thoughts turning to the coming weekend, Davey will certainly be focusing the attention of his players on the form of opponents Bedford, who saw off Exeter on Saturday.

It should be one to savour.

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