Mark Robins praises ‘brave’ Coventry for comeback draw at Blackburn

Coventry manager Mark Robins praised the “bottle” of his “brave” side after they fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Blackburn.

The hosts looked well on their way after a clinical two-goal burst at the end of the first half, through Joe Rothwell’s clever finish and Sam Gallagher’s effort.

But the Sky Blues showed great character to fight back with two quickfire goals of their own, the first when Tyler Walker converted Todd Kane’s pinpoint cross in the 62nd minute and an equaliser six minutes later after Liam Kelly’s spectacular strike hit the woodwork but bounced in off goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski.

Despite the freak nature of the second, it was no less than the Sky Blues deserved after a rousing comeback. Coventry are fourth in the Championship and have lost just two of their last 10 games.

Robins praised the second-half performance after the disappointing first.

He said: “First half, it was too far away from what we expect and what we’re used to. We were just a little bit reluctant to go and engage, which meant we weren’t in the right positions when we got the ball, so we were giving the ball away too often.

“Misplaced passes from both teams, but the early stages, and even before the first goal, there wasn’t much between the two teams.

“They ended up getting a goal which was, from our perspective, really poor.

“And then really after that you expect us to try and be a bit better for the next 10 minutes or so because we’ve spoken about things away from home. We understand we have to be a little bit better. Results have be better and performances have to be better.

“Second half, we came out and were really brave. To go two down was a real blow because it was a poor goal we gave them. But we know we’re a good side when we believe and in the second half they showed belief and showed some bottle, had a go and it made for a really entertaining second half.

“I think we really deserved it (the draw).”

Blackburn are without a win in three and Tony Mowbray believes his side “shot themselves in the foot”.

He said: “I thought it was a good game of football. We have to totally respect what Coventry have achieved this season and how good a team they are.

“They’ve got good individual footballers, we were aware of that, and we were trying to find a way to win the game.

“I think ultimately we shot ourselves in the foot to be honest. I think we got into a position where the game should have been won, and yet some pretty basic errors led to their first goal and then, kicking to their own fans, you’d have to say gave them a lift. Ultimately, we’ve dropped two points.

“When it went to 2-2, we seemed to get back on the front foot and it looked like there was only one team going to win it. There are plenty of positives. We know they’re a good side, but I do think we are really disappointed that we did not go on and win it.”