CINDERFORD 11
COVENTRY 15
CAPTAIN Cliffie Hodgson kicked five penalties as Coventry edged Cinderford out at Dockham Road.
Despite a late try for George Evans, the Foresters slipped to their fifth defeat this term, a result which sees them in the lower ranks of the National One table with tough opposition Blackheath and Rosslyn Park to come.
Coventry came to Dockham Road with just one win in four encounters in the Forest of Dean - last season's 31-29 thriller.
But they have had a bright start in National One, winning three of five clashes so far and sitting sixth.
And there was a massive blow for the hosts in the first five minutes, as star centre Jack Adams fell to the ground holding his face.
Back in the side after breaking his nose against Tynedale, he suffered a huge cut to the face and was forced off in the place of Stef Hawley.
A fierce battle commenced as the rain poured down over the Beavis Memorial Ground in front of vociferous home and away support.
The two side traded penalties in the opening quarter.
Hodgson kicked two in the ninth and 19th minute, while Charlie Norman got Cinderford off the mark with a strike in the 11th minute.
Further indiscipline as Cinderford desperately defended in their 22 led to another simple penalty for Hodgson in the 24th minute. The full-back split the posts and Coventry edged 9-3 up.
But Cinderford struck back two minutes later. Coventry strayed offside as Cinderford were trying to string some phases of play together and Norman put them 9-6 behind.
The greasy conditions were causing handling errors galore on both sides, with knock-ons squandering chances to attack the whitewash.
The kicking game became all the more important, with both Wilcox and Mark Davies booting well-placed kicks to touch to gift Cinderford territory in an otherwise disjointed encounter.
As the clock ticked down to half-time, Wilcox made an electrifying break, before Elliot Booley gained further ground, but his offload just outside the 22 found Coventry hands.
Ever-reliable kicker Hodgson added another three points after a Cinderford late tackle in the 44th minute and Coventry continued to enjoy the lion's share of the possession.
A try looked likely in the 50th minute as Coventry centre Rob Knox hurtled towards the line but the ball was dropped as it entered the second phase.
At 12-6 down, Davies was binned for a deliberate knock-on and three minutes later, Hodgson capitalised on the number deficit as Cinderford conceded their 10th penalty.
The 40m kick sailed through for a 15-6 advantage.
But then Coventry lost a man as the game entered the final quarter, Sam Pailor binned for pulling down the line-out.
Tempers boiled over and the referee was reaching into his pocket for the third time to send Lance Randall off for fighting.
The game burst into life after a scrappy 10 minutes as Cinderford's driving line-out bulldozed over the whitewash, Evans touching down.
But Norman's conversion was wide and they faced a four-point deficit with just 10 minutes to go.
Coventry fans were celebrating moments later as Luke Hurrell appeared to touch the ball down but the referee would not allow it, instead blowing up for a knock-on as he dropped it over the line.
Cinderford were forced to soak up an enormous amount of pressure in the dying minutes, as 10 minutes of injury time were played.
The visitors played the last seconds of the game with just 14 men as Louis Silver was binned for a high tackle, but Cinderford could not capitalise and a losing bonus point was the only consolation.
CINDERFORD: M Wilcox (c), C Norman, S Hanks, J Adams (S Hawley, 5), S Baker, M Davies, D Pointon, J Smart, L Cole (D Wheeler, 69), E Booley (A Gordas, 53), L Randall, M Reynolds, G Mills (R Birkin, 73), C McNeil, G Evans
REPLACEMENTS: A Frame
COVENTRY: C Hodgson (c), D Lespierre (D Rundle, 70), C Macburnie, R Knox, W Hurrell, M Jones, W Evans (L Silver, 70) A Brown (B Obano, 70), M Price, C Thorne (J Fish, 50), S Morgan, T Poole, S Pailor, G Turner, E Milne (J Onojaife, 29)
REFEREE: Gareth Holsgrove
STAR MAN: George Mills
ATTENDANCE: 318
