COVENTRY City Under 18s' difficult start to 2010 continued last week with a 3-2 defeat away to Watford in the Academy Premier League.

Gregor Rioch's side, who are without a win since October after a flurry of postponed fixtures, staged a valiant second half comeback against the Hornets but could not overcome the damage that had been caused by the hosts in the opening 45 minutes.

The Sky Blues were forced into more changes through injury with team skipper Nathan Cameron and midfielder Suleiman Leluu making way for Connor's Gudger and Thomas but despite the changes there was not much in the clash in the opening exchanges.

Rioch though insisted his side needed to be a bit more stout at the back though after City conceded what he described as a 'soft' goal on 25 minutes to give Watford the lead.

The home side doubled their lead before the break to give them the impetus going into the second half and they grasped it just a minute after the restart with a third goal to leave the Sky Blues with a mammoth task to get something out of the game.

They came within a whisker of it though as Callum Wilson scored an outstanding individual goal, beating two defenders and applying a top corner finish to get City back in the game.

The introduction of Cameron and Leluu for Jamie Greenway and Joel Grandison also an impact for Coventry who switched to 4-4-2 and then applied enough pressure on the Watford rearguard to win a penalty which Jacob Blackwell duly slotted with 25 minutes to go.

The Sky Blues could not find an equalizer despite their best efforts but manager Rioch said he was still pleased with a much improved second half display.

"It's been difficult for the lads recently because through injury and a couple of the boys graduating up to the first team we have not named the same team on consecutive occasions for the last couple of months," he said.

"That is apprentice football for you but regardless of that, if we want to win games again we will need to start being firmer in defense because we need to be better at the back than we were in the first half.

"Having said that we got some excellent individual performances from Nathan Cameron, Jacob Blackwell, Connor Gudger and Callum Wilson.

"I'm especially pleased for Callum as he need that goal after a difficult time with injuries in the last couple of seasons. It's good to see him showcase what he is capable of."