[19 JAN 11] CRUSADER NEWS

Coach Payne's reaction to Capital defeat

By Adam Manning, Crusaders Press Officer

 Coventry Crusaders suffered late heart break for the third game running as they missed seven uncontested lay-ups to throw away the chance of dishing out London Capitals’ first league home defeat of the season.

 And if that wasn’t bad enough, head coach Roger Payne lost fifty precious pounds after he handed out some bets that his Coventry team would reign supreme.

 Coventry’s game plan of defensive pressure and execution down the stretch paid dividends early on in the game as Crusaders raced into a 12-21 lead.

 And after a shaky second quarter where Capitals outscored Coventry 25-12 to take a half-time lead at 37-33, Crusaders’ defence stood up and limited Capitals to just ten in the third as Coventry went into the fourth quarter leading 47-52 – a margin Crusaders would hold until the final few minutes.

 “Yet again it was a really tough pill to swallow” said head coach Roger Payne of the club’s six defeat of the season.

 “We managed to make London turn over the ball enough to gain a good lead and the guys were battling hard on the boards. But for whatever reason when it comes to the fourth quarter we seem to hit this magical wall and we stopped executing down the stretch.”

 “Even if you put yourself in a situation to win the game you still have to execute in the final minutes of the game. We missed seven un-contested lay-ups, that’s 14 points and a game right there.”

 “As talented as we are, we still need to find the right pieces to the puzzle to see a game out, and that doesn’t necessarily mean who ever starts the game will finish it.”

Below: Casey Crawford, Crusaders top-scorer in the last three games,  points the way forward to his team- mates in training at Grace Academy last Tuesday.

 

 And the fans may be seeing a new face at the Coventry Sports Centre over the coming weeks as ex-Cov Rugby player Payne looks to complete that puzzle – meaning that one member of the current 15-man squad will have to make way.

 “We’re looking at one player at the three but I’m not going to tell you who. If everything goes well when I have a talk with him on Friday then myself and the team will be very happy.”

 Coventry have a chance to bounce back from their recent performances when they host London Leopards at the Coventry Sports Centre this Saturday 22 January, tip-off is at 7:30pm. Tickets are £2 adults and £1 children/OAPs and students.

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