Coventry Sphinx 2-0 Rothwell Corinthians
Marcus Robinson
On a day when a couple of other results went Coventry Sphinx’s way at the top of the Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South, the boys in sky blue and white had to dig deep to get their own fixture won.
Sphinx were beaten at Rothwell Corinthians in August, unable to score after conceding in the first minute. In this reverse fixture it took 85 minutes to break the resistance of the visitors and claim all three points thanks to a late goal each from the trusty front two.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas brought Scott Martin back into the side in goal after the midweek cup tie against Coventry City, with Callum Whiteside joining Louis Guest and James Bryson in the back three after a late enforced change.
Callum Martin and Loz Rawlings were the starting wing backs, while Max Johnson played in midfield with Luke Downes and captain Callum Woodward. Late scorers Matty Shipman and Callum Stewart played up front.
With Rothwell second from bottom in the league table there are a few teams that might take them lightly. Sphinx know better and made a decent start to the game, with the right attitude on display from the first whistle.
In the sixth minute, skipper Woodward lofted in a corner kick from the right and Bryson’s glancing header floated harmlessly over the Corinthians crossbar.
The visitors played a very direct game and they’re no pushovers. Despite their position in the league, Rothwell have a streetwise edge that threatened to deny Sphinx more points. Thomas and Woodward’s team needed to get the ball working for them and struggled to generate chances in the first half.
After 24 minutes they did produce a neat move up the left with Bryson, Martin and Shipman all playing big roles in creating the opportunity. Stewart’s header at the end of it went wide of Jude O’Connor’s post.
Another sharp move a few minutes later ended with another Stewart header, this time saved by O’Connor after Sphinx’s top scorer had started the attack and met a cross from Woodward.
Woodward’s set pieces were defended well in the first half but the ball did end up on the edge of the box with Whiteside from a corner in the 36th minute. The centre back curled a shot towards the bottom corner, where he too was thwarted by the goalkeeper.
Despite those openings there were meagre returns for Sphinx in the first half. They weren’t quite at their best and Rothwell were all over the second ball just as they were in the reverse fixture at the start of the season. After 45 goalless minutes, the home team set about putting that right after half time.
They started the second half with more life, more urgency and better quality all over the pitch but Rothwell were determined to keep them at bay. If Sphinx were going to get anything out of the game, it was clear they’d really have to dig it out.
In the middle of the half the home team were able to start moving the ball more fluidly and began to take charge of the match. The half-chances became more frequent and eventually the real chances followed.
With 71 minutes played Sphinx thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Shipman found himself on the end of a very high challenge inside the area – he ended the game with stud marks above the waist – but instead had a free kick and a yellow card go against Woodward in the aftermath.
When sequences like that occur it can be easy to think it’s not going to be your day. It’s not something these players tend to do, though, and they simply kept on pushing against the fates.
Rothwell finally wilted. Sam Jackson, on for Callum Martin, delivered an outstanding cross from the right. Shipman and Stewart both attacked the header but the ball ended up safely over the crossbar.
Five minutes from time, Sphinx got their breakthrough. After O’Connor had kicked away a shot from Stone, another substitute, the Sphinx attacking midfielder played a crucial role in an important goal. Rawlings fed the ball into his feet and his one-touch lay-off teed up Stewart at close range. Stewart’s composed finish was exactly what was needed and Sphinx had a late lead.
Stone had another effort saved a couple of minutes later. With Rothwell’s assignment now changed, Sphinx scored again in the last minute to put the gloss on a tricky afternoon at Sphinx Drive.
Woodward’s through ball for Shipman was superb and the in-form striker made the rest of it look easier than it really was, rounding O’Connor well outside the box before slotting a confident finish into the empty net for 2-0 and three massive points.
The day ended well for Sphinx but Corinths came to Coventry and made life very difficult for the hosts, as they had at the beginning of the season. Thomas and Woodward’s players had to grind it out, hold their nerve and take their two clear-cut chances when they came. This time, it worked out in their favour.
The two points gained on Rugby Town, combined with Newport Pagnell Town’s win, made things a little tighter at the top of the Premier Division South. The rest of March will do a lot to define the outcome, with the rest of the top four meeting in some vital games.
Those matches elsewhere won’t be a distraction as Sphinx go about their own business, starting with a trip to Long Buckby and an exciting Non-League Day home game against Histon. From this point forward, only wins will suffice.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Whiteside, C. Martin (Jackson), L. Downes, Guest, Bryson, Rawlings, Woodward, Shipman, Stewart, Johnson (Stone). Unused subs: Draper, Billing, Van Den Top