Sky Blues manager Mark Robins expressed his satisfaction in gaining a point against Derby County today.
In front of the highest crowd of the season so far at the Coventry Building Society Arena, a total of 23,829 in attendance, Matty Godden fired home a first-half penalty before Graeme Shinnie’s equaliser ensured that the points were shared.
“I’ve got to be happy with a point after the week we’ve had,” Robins mentioned.
“They had the extra day’s rest, that tells in the last 20 minutes. First half we were in full control of it and really should have put the game to bed.
“We really wanted to try and win it, the players tried to win it, but in trying to win it you can be open, and they can hurt you, which almost happened a couple of times, so that’s why I’m saying that I’ve got to be happy with taking a point.
“We got the penalty, stuck that away really well, and then really you’re looking to try and be on the front foot and have a bit more tempo to it.
“Second half was a little bit different; we start to become sloppy, and again mental tiredness.
“We’ve got to be better than that, but they set up really well. They set up to counter, we gave them a chance with a poor pass inside the pitch.
“But they’ve set up, they cut it out and then they broke through and really got a chance and were calm enough to find the back of the net, which was disappointing from our perspective.”
Robins also praised the efforts of today’s opposition, mentioning:
“They’re a good team, a really good team. They ask questions of you, stretch you around.”
Moreover, Robins highlighted the important role of the fans in driving his team forwards throughout the game, in the wake of a demanding week.
“It takes its toll, but we’ve recovered as well as we possibly can, so the players deserve an enormous amount of credit. On the back of that, the energy which the crowd give you, there was almost 24,000 people in the stadium today, which is phenomenal.”
Next up for the Sky Blues is Hull, and Robins is looking forward to the occasion:
“Now we have got to back it up next week, because we’ve got to go to Hull and really put in a good performance and try to win that game.”