Coventry City 3 Watford 1

Micky Adams may crave a little stability in his career but he cannot deny his side served up entertainment and, most importantly, vital points at the Ricoh Arena.

The City boss has had every reason to bemoan his poor fortune after seeing a whole back four ruled out with injury, and his pleas were relatively sympathetically received.

Until, that is, a poor performance against Hull City last Saturday when standards fell below the acceptable.

That was reflected in a low attendance at the Ricoh Arena for this clash but with key men restored so was normal service.

Watford had slipped down the table without playing on Tuesday night and must have hoped to regain third spot. How wrong they were.

They were all-but beaten inside a first 20 minutes and when they did threaten to come back and take a point, Coventry managed to respond and make the game safe in the nick of time.

The game, which was interrupted momentarily by floodlight failure, was only two minutes old when keeper Ben Foster failed to hold on to a flicked header from James Scowcroft under pressure from Robert Page, and that allowed Dele Adebola to poke home his fifth goal of the season.

There was more pace about Coventry's performance and their increased directness helped their overall play. No longer was the build-up overmeasured to the point of ponderous and the result was much improved.

It was, however, vital that they managed a second and it came in the 20th minute when Scowcroft again played a vital role, heading a cross from Marcus Hall into the path of Willo Flood who drilled in a low shot which beat Foster at the far post.

Whether Watford thought their reputation would be enough to ensure success only they will now, but they really only started playing after Adrian Boothroyd had got among them at the interval.

And how they got back into the game. Livewire Ashley Young produced moment of brilliance after the re-start when he turned on a long ball and smashed a stunning shot past Bywater.

Suddenly it was Coventry's turn to rock. They sat back and started to defend far too deeply, which only invited Watford to swarm forward.

The tempo had been raised in more ways than one. A two-footed tackle from Robert Page sparked a mass brawl which involved all but three players and ended with four bookings, including one for the Welshman.

As Adams later conceded, the visitors looked odds on to pull a goal back but they fell just short at the last moment on several occasions.

Adams pulled an extra man back into midfield to protect the lead and in the end it led to the goal which eased the pressure.

Andy Morrell headed a long kick by Stephen Bywater forward and it set Gary McSheffrey free. The Coventry striker may be out of form but his run was perfect and he tucked the ball home sweetly.

With the division's whipping boys Sheffield Wednesday to come on Saturday, Adams will be hope for more of that longed-for stability - but Coventry have a long tradition of take one step forward quickly followed by a couple in the other direction.