Rugby Town 0-2 Coventry Sphinx
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx went into Butlin Road as second favourites and came away with three Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South points.
This 2-0 away win at Rugby Town was no underdog story and didn't play out like one. Shaun Thomas and John Woodward's Sphinx were the superior outfit and got no more than they deserved.
The first half in particular was a memorable one, which ended with the visitors a goal up and the home side a man down to a red card.
Thomas and Woodward named an unchanged starting eleven with Scott Martin in goal behind a back three of Jamie Draper, Louis Guest and James Bryson.
Loz Rawlings and Jordan Hayward were the wing backs. Skipper Callum Woodward and Jack Downes started in midfield behind Leo Stone, and Callum Stewart and Matty Shipman played up front.
Despite an early blocked shot for Rugby it was clear from the start that Sphinx came to play. They threatened with a succession of corners inside the first ten minutes, the first resulting in a blocked Guest header, the second a direct shot on target from Woodward that was tipped over, and the third a Shipman header over the crossbar.
Shipman drew a comfortable save from Rugby goalkeeper Matt Hill with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box in the 13th minute, and four minutes later had a header blocked on the line from yet another Sphinx corner.
Throughout the first half the visitors had the ball, played better attacking football and were much more dangerous, Woodward’s delivery in particular giving Rugby plenty to worry about. In the 26th minute the Sphinx captain went close with a shot just wide from 22 yards at the end of a superb passing move.
Two minutes later Woodward whipped in another corner. This time it was an in-swinger that found Stewart, whose glancing header went wide.
Rugby barely laid a glove on Sphinx in the first half. The long throw-ins of Luke English brought about their only half-chances, and a volley over the stand and a deflected shot wide were as much change as they could get out of a sturdy defence.
The visitors were given a personnel advantage for the final ten minutes of the first half. Rugby striker Jordan Wilson was sent to the sin bin for dissent and an already besieged home goal soon came under attack again.
Sphinx took the lead just two minutes into Wilson’s sanction. Stone connected with Hayward and Stewart high in the left channel, their passes leaving the Rugby defenders flat-footed and creating crossing space for Stone.
He shifted onto his left foot and clipped the ball to the back post, where Bryson was still poised for action after going up for a set piece. The central defender rose above his marker to nod the ball past Hill and open the scoring with yet another goal in his sensational streak.
Far from taking their foot off the gas, Sphinx continued the assault. Five minutes before half time Hill had to make a save at his near post to keep out a powerful shot from a narrow angle by Stewart, and the visitors kept on swarming around the Rugby half.
As the half ticked into stoppage time and Wilson prepared to return to the fray, Rugby’s captain ensured they wouldn’t be restored to eleven men.
After Jack Downes had pinched the ball deep in the home team’s half, Stewart was cleaned out by Barry Fitzharris and Woodward put in a strong tackle as the referee blew his whistle to give Sphinx a free kick.
In the aftermath, Loyiso Recci covered twenty yards in order to get involved. He was shown a straight red card for stamping on Woodward and his team played the remainder of the match with ten players.
Rugby’s improvement despite that disadvantage was evident after the break. Sphinx started the second half on the front foot but the home team gradually found their groove, having a go because they had no choice – they made life much harder for the visitors with ten than they had with eleven.
In the 54th minute Hayward reminded them that Sphinx still had attacking intentions, running up the left and ambitiously going for goal from a tight angle. The wing back couldn’t keep the shot down and Hill watched it over.
On the hour, Sphinx again caused problems from a corner kick. Woodward delivered from the right and Guest’s header drifted just wide. The defender was dominant in the air at both ends of the pitch but Rugby went close with a header of their own a minute later.
This was an excellent performance from the away side, perhaps its only major flaw being the inability to really make the most of the extra man. The second half was much more even and Rugby made a mockery of the difference, their determination making up for Recci’s absence.
With 25 minutes left, Guest had to use his head again to divert a powerful strike safely over Martin’s crossbar. It was by no means the end of the pressure applied by the hosts.
But Max Johnson, on for his second Sphinx appearance off the substitutes’ bench, was the next to test a goalkeeper. After the ball was set for him by Stewart, he took the strike with the outside of his boot and Hill saved low at his near post again. In the 78th minute the visitors almost got lucky. Hill was beaten by a would-be own goal but it came back off the post.
Rugby wasted their best and last real chance with nine minutes remaining, the shot sliced wide, and all that was left was for Sphinx to finish the job.
In the last minute of normal time Rugby had a throw-in in their own half and it was taken backwards in the direction of Hill on the edge of his box. Stewart was on his toes and spotted the opportunity. He got there first, shrugged off a slight clip as he went past the goalkeeper, took a touch and a breath, and nudged the second goal into the empty net.
The win took Sphinx back into second place in the Premier Division South, a point behind Rugby, but the only way this club knows is to take every Saturday as it comes. This was a victory built on the back of a tremendous team performance and that must be at the core of what happens next.
What mattered here was going into an away ground with a big home crowd and putting in a stellar first half to come away with maximum points against the league leaders.
That shows steel and style, and this Sphinx team never shirks a challenge. On this occasion they got the reward.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Draper, Hayward, J. Downes, Guest, Bryson, Rawlings (Whiteside), Woodward (Noon), Shipman, Stewart (L. Downes), Stone (Johnson). Unused sub: Fraser