Rugby Town 1-2 Coventry Sphinx
Coventry Sphinx came back from a goal down to win 2-1 for the second match in a row, taking all three points from an away game against Rugby Town in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands.
It was also Sphinx’s second consecutive win against Rugby, both away, and the second time in a row that the home team has ended the match with ten men after having a player dismissed for violent conduct. On this occasion, a second yellow card for Jack Downes saw Sphinx finish with ten too.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas named two new signings on their bench at Butlin Road. Khaellem Bailey-Nicholls and Alfonso Castellano had joined the club since the win over AFC Rushden & Diamonds and joined Sam Ellis, Leigh Phillips and Joe Pursey among the substitutes.
With Luke Downes suspended, Jack Downes shifted back into the middle alongside Callum Woodward and Jac Redhead. Callum Whiteside and Finlay Shorrock started as the wing backs, flanking Will Edjenguele, Louis Guest and the returning James Bryson in defence in front of goalkeeper Keelan Fallows.
The goal scorers against Rushden were selected up front against Rugby. Matty Shipman and Dylan Parker kept the Rugby defence stretched and combined to score Sphinx’s late winner.
Sphinx started well and had a good chance to take an early lead. A long ball forward was held up by Parker, who fed his partner Shipman to the left of the Rugby box. The striker dragged his shot wide of Nykah Liburd-Hines’ goal.
Rugby’s recent weakness defending set pieces was in evidence in the first half and Sphinx had a succession of corners from which to attempt to exploit it. In the ninth minute, Guest’s header took a nick off a defender and drifted wide for a second corner. From that, Shipman’s powerful header was brilliantly headed off the line by the lively Ryan Sahota.
Given what transpired between these two clubs in 2022/23 it was no surprise that the match developed some spice. Sphinx were the better side in the first quarter of the match but weren’t able to break the deadlock.
In the 26th minute midfielder Downes picked up a yellow card that would prove costly in the second half but his team continued to hunt the opening goal. Woodward’s drive from 25 yards caused a problem for Liburd-Hines, who could only shovel it wide of the post. The resulting corner also needed touching away from just under the crossbar.
An untidy scramble in the Rugby box led to another save, from Parker this time, and another corner. Besides the occasional set piece for Sphinx there wasn’t much shape to the game until a burst of pressure paid off for the home team.
A long throw-in from Luke English was glanced on and then tipped over by Fallows in the 33rd minute. In the 34th, English was in the box to apply the telling touch after the ball ricocheted around in front of the Sphinx goal. His reflex effort was cleared but the assistant referee indicated that it had crossed the line and Rugby had the lead.
Fallows had to make a superb save just a few minutes later to keep Sphinx in the contest, but the next couple of chances for the Valley were fired over the bar with the visiting goalkeeper happy to watch them go by.
Although the game shifted in Rugby’s favour after they scored, Sphinx had two opportunities to equalise with half time coming over the horizon. Liburd-Hines had to react quickly to prevent an own goal in the penultimate minute of the half before Shorrock’s free kick swung just over the angle in stoppage time.
The home team came out firing for the second half and had the better of its opening minutes. They headed the ball over from a corner and then blazed a good chance over in the 51st minute.
But Sphinx weren’t going to be beaten. They quickly grasped control of the match and were able to get forward more once they started to get a foot on the ball on the hour. Some tidy football led to two attacks, the second of which resulted in Parker volleying an effort on target from 20 yards that Liburd-Hines had to field.
Two minutes later, Sphinx got their chance. Loyiso Recci fouled the tricky Redhead inside the Rugby penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot with little complaint from the home team.
Skipper Woodward took responsibility and drilled the penalty kick into the top corner and the situation for rocking Rugby was about to go from bad to worse. Woodward collected the ball and Liburd-Hines tripped him up, giving the referee no option but to send him off on his Valley debut. English went in goal in his place.
Rugby played the last 25 minutes and stoppage time without a recognised goalkeeper but there was no numerical advantage for the visitors. Jack Downes committed a foul almost as soon as the ball was back in play and was shown the second yellow card that sent him down the tunnel to make it ten versus ten.
Despite losing a man, Sphinx were in control thanks to what had become a very impressive second-half performance. With twelve minutes remaining, they got their winner.
Bryson’s long throw-in was touched down by Parker and Shipman struck a left-footed volley beyond stand-in goalkeeper English and into the bottom corner.
Redhead continued to be a menace and was joined by Bailey-Nicholls, who made his Sphinx debut off the bench and helped his new team-mates see out the match in fairly emphatic fashion. More than eight minutes of stoppage time were dominated by Sphinx and Rugby never had a sniff of an equaliser.
With the squad strengthened and maximum points collected from their last two matches, Sphinx look to have found their feet in the eighth tier. By coming from behind to beat AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Rugby Town they’ve put themselves on a positive footing as they head into a tough month.
Lying in wait in October are Corby Town, Sphinx’s next home opposition, followed by familiar foes in the shape of Shepshed Dynamo (away), Coleshill Town (home) and Harborough Town (away).
Woodward and Thomas will back their team to get something from those matches. If the team spirit on display in the second half of September is anything to go by, they might just be proved right.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Bryson, Shorrock, J. Downes, Guest, Edjenguele, Whiteside, Woodward, Shipman, Redhead (Ellis), Parker (Bailey-Nicholls). Unused subs: Pursey, Castellano, Phillips