Coventry Sphinx (1)1-1(3) West Didsbury & Chorlton
Stuart Guest
For the second time in as many seasons, Coventry Sphinx suffered a gut-wrenching exit after taking the lead at home in the Fifth Round of the Isuzu FA Vase.
The opponents on this occasion were West Didsbury & Chorlton and they left Sphinx Drive looking forward to a quarter-final after winning a penalty shoot-out at the end of a 1-1 draw that could so easily have gone Sphinx’s way.
There’s no good way to lose on penalties. The players were understandably devastated but they’ve represented the club magnificently in this competition over the last two years. With the Birmingham Senior Cup and the league still to play for, there’s no time to dwell. They will bounce back.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas selected Luke Downes to replace suspended midfielder Max Johnson, with skipper Callum Woodward and Leo Stone continuing in front of him.
Scott Martin played in goal behind a back three of Jamie Draper, Louis Guest and James Bryson, with Jordan Hayward and Callum Martin at wing back. Matty Shipman partnered Callum Stewart up front.
Sphinx made a slow start but there soon developed a competitive game before two really good sides. West Didsbury mounted an early offensive that culminated in a simple save for Martin, and the home team played their way into the match.
They were presented with an unexpected chance in the twelfth minute. Visiting goalkeeper Andrew Jones came out of his box to intercept a forward pass and didn’t get enough distance on his clearance. Stone was able to get it under control but his long-distance chip drifted wide of the post.
Four minutes later, a reasonable start became a great one when Sphinx took the lead. Stone was involved again, turning in the hole and playing the ball out to the right and into Hayward’s path.
The wing back beat his marker, raced into the box and slipped in a low cross that was tapped over the line by Shipman. The striker’s excellent movement has earned him a tremendous scoring run and more than a few of them have been made to look easy by the work that goes into being there in the first place.
The goal galvanised the home team. They enjoyed a spell of possession and played some potent attacking football in the middle of the half, but West Didsbury & Chorlton made sure they knew they had to keep the back door closed. The visitors had a good chance in the 22nd minute but the player at the back post couldn’t get the right purchase on a free header.
Sphinx’s flurry came close to yielding a second goal. Stone’s shot was blocked inside the box – the suspicion of handball seemed to have some merit, albeit it would have been accidental – and they had the ball in the net on the half hour.
Woodward’s flat free kick was superbly served up for Bryson, who watched it arc over the back marker and finished with confidence past Jones. The assistant referee’s flag was already up and any complaints from Sphinx’s players were minimal.
While the home team looked capable of making something happen by getting West Didsbury turned, it was the North West Counties League outfit who did the pushing for the rest of the first half as the tension continued to build.
Sphinx were the architects of their own adversity, to a degree. In the latter part of the half they gave away too many free kicks and were forced back towards their own goal. Inevitably, they wobbled. West Didsbury forced Martin into a more challenging save in the 34th minute, their best chance of the half.
Woodward responded by testing Jones from a free kick but the 1-0 score felt particularly slim at the break. Guest’s monolithic performance at the back had helped to keep West Didsbury & Chorlton at bay but it was obvious they wouldn’t be going anywhere.
The home team rallied early in the second half. Stone was in the box making Jones work again in the first minute, with Stewart unable to snaffle the rebound and hitting the side netting with the goalkeeper out of the game.
Sphinx’s top scorer was the next to make Jones get his hands dirty, getting in behind in the 51st minute. It was a presentable chance but the quick feet of the West Didsbury goalkeeper denied him.
The visitors controlled the game for a spell before Sphinx got back on top. Shipman and Stewart combined well to cross for Stone, whose header was saved and held by the in-form away goalkeeper.
Disaster struck in the 65th minute. A deep cross from the West Didsbury & Chorlton right evaded the Sphinx defence and dropped at the feet of Tom Westall, who gathered the ball, composed himself, and fired it across Martin and into the bottom corner for the equalising goal.
Sphinx struggled thereafter. Martin held a shot after a good move with 15 minutes to play, by which time the home team were second best. Their quality wasn’t quite there and it was clear that their luck had deserted them too.
Despite those difficulties, they did put together one final burst after handling the assault after the equaliser, and produced the last two chances of the match.
Five minutes from time, substitute and FA Vase specialist Jamal Adams cut in from the left onto his right foot, drilling the shot towards the top corner and drawing the best save of the match from Jones. Then, in stoppage time, Shipman headed wide under pressure from a Woodward free kick.
And so to the awful fate of the penalty shoot-out. West Didsbury & Chorlton have had a little practice this season and it showed. Martin made one save but three nerveless penalties were buried for the visitors.
It wasn’t to be for Sphinx. Woodward smashed his spot kick in off the bar but West Didsbury won the shoot-out 3-1 and were able to celebrate a place in the last four and, it turned out, a home draw to boot.
As awful as it is to go out of this competition at this stage again – and on penalties, again – the players can be proud of their efforts both on the day and in the season so far as a whole.
West Didsbury gave Sphinx a taste of their own medicine, refusing to be beaten and dragging up every scrap of determination to turn their second-half superiority into the crucial equalising goal. They move on to face Ascot United in the quarter-finals.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Draper, C. Martin (Rawlings), L. Downes (J. Downes), Guest, Bryson, Hayward, Woodward, Shipman, Stewart, Stone (Adams). Unused subs: Whiteside, Kennedy, Van Den Top