Coventry Sphinx 3-1 Easington Sports
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx won their third match on the bounce, following their League Cup victory over Pinchbeck United with an Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South win against Banbury side Easington Sports.
Sports made it a very tricky afternoon for Sphinx, who eventually ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from James Bryson, Loz Rawlings and Matt Shipman. Shipman and Rawlings scored for the second game running, while Bryson’s opener was his fourth in two home fixtures.
John Woodward and Shaun Thomas welcomed captain Callum Woodward back into the starting line-up, where he played in midfield alongside Jack Downes and Leo Stone.
Rawlings and Jordan Hayward were the wing backs, Shipman and Callum Stewart the forwards, and Bryson played with regular partners Louis Guest and Jamie Draper in front of returning goalkeeper Scott Martin.
Sphinx made a bright start but Sports quickly gained a foothold. A lobbed effort went over in an opening spell that saw both Guest and Bryson pick up a knock in defence. Martin made a comfortable save after ten minutes but the game changed when the home team put together a fine move to take the lead.
It came in the 17th minute and culminated in a beautiful reverse pass from Woodward that released Bryson in the left-hand side of the box. The defender thrashed it in at the near post to put Sphinx in front and claim his fourth goal in barely 90 minutes of football at Sphinx Drive.
The hosts almost found a second within a few minutes. Hayward’s fizzed ball in from the left was met by Stewart on the stretch but had a little too much sauce for the forward’s touch, and in the 26th minute a pinpoint through ball from Woodward sent Stone in behind. Only excellent defensive tracking denied him.
By now, though, Sphinx had gone slightly ragged and Sports were by no means making life easy for them. The visitors are tidy in possession and on this occasion they made sure Sphinx had to work for the win.
Guest briefly took centre stage. His thumping header from a Woodward corner came back off the base of the post before another header, this time a booming clearance out of defence, set up a threatening Sphinx attack.
Shipman collected it, headed for goal and rolled the ball to Stone. He got a shot away from twelve yards but it was blocked, Stone again thwarted by determined defending.
For the last quarter of an hour of the first half, Sphinx played some terrific football and eventually made it pay. Woodward’s use of the ball in midfield was exemplary and kept the home side on the move and on the front foot.
In the 43rd minute an Easington free kick led to a chance that was blocked. A second attempt went over and Sphinx exploited the let-off by making it 2-0 in the third minute of stoppage time and with the last touch of the half.
Stone received a lovely pass and hit the byline before driving a pass across the face of goal. Rawlings had a clear run to the ball and a wide-open net beckoning him forward, but he did well not to burst a blood vessel as he strained every muscle to get there in time to tap the ball home.
While Sports made life difficult for Sphinx, the hosts had more than enough chances to put the game away early in the second period. Their attacking play was always potent but promising opportunities didn’t amount to much in the first ten minutes of the half, one of their most dominant spells.
In the 56th minute Stewart came close to adding a third. Downes dropped a shoulder, went past his marker and fed the top scorer just outside the box. Stewart hit a powerful right-footed drive that flew just over the crossbar.
With 62 minutes played and Sphinx’s sharp edge deserting them, Easington pulled one back and breathed life into the contest. Samuel Sherpa-Moore got on the end of an accurate cross from the left and cushioned an excellent header back across Martin and into the top corner.
At 2-1, the home team dug in under pressure and Sports were happy to add to it. Even with the visitors revitalised, chance after chance came and went for Sphinx.
With quarter of an hour remaining it was Shipman’s turn to play a delicate pass into the slot for Stewart, whose left-footed shot hit the side-netting. The resulting goal kick was mis-hit and Downes headed the ball right back in behind. Stewart’s lob was sharp but didn’t come down fast enough to restore the two-goal advantage.
For all Sphinx’s attacking movement and chances galore, the third goal was simplicity itself. In the 79th minute Woodward’s corner from the right looked destined for Guest, who’d cleverly escaped his marker. Instead it was Shipman, who had rather closer attention from the defence, who got up highest and produced a powerful header that had too much on it for the goalkeeper to block.
The visitors’ challenge finally faded. Sphinx’s substitutions included a debut from the bench for midfielder Max Johnson, who demonstrated his ability in the 86th minute. The new signing won the ball high up the pitch, took his time and scooped it over the top for Stewart. His shot crept wide.
Woodward and Shipman had late attempts from outside the penalty area but Sphinx’s third goal had already taken the sting out of the match and 3-1 was a very satisfactory result against undoubtedly troublesome opposition.
Sphinx will follow up this hard fought win with a rearranged visit to Rugby Town, the unbeaten leaders of the division. After that, it’s back to Sphinx Drive for the next round of The Sports Ground Development UCL Cup against Premier Division North outfit Sleaford Town.
Though recent results have been good, both Rugby and Sleaford represent a different challenge. To get anything out of those matches will require maximum grit and top quality with and without the ball. Against Easington they showed again, in spells, that they’re capable of it.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Draper, Hayward (Whiteside), J. Downes (L. Downes), Guest, Bryson, Rawlings (Fraser), Woodward, Shipman, Stewart (Noon), Stone (Johnson)