Coventry Sphinx 5-0 March Town United
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx’s February of ups and downs continued with a thumping win over March Town United in the Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South.
It was the first fixture of the season between the two teams and Sphinx outpaced the Hares with a 5-0 win at the Sphinx Industrial Supplies Arena. Five different players scored one apiece as the home team capitalised on a vital second goal at the end of the first half.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas were again able to call upon Scott Martin in goal behind the familiar back three of Jamie Draper, Louis Guest and James Bryson after a shuffled line-up in the Birmingham Senior Cup match against Halesowen Town.
Jordan Hayward and Callum Martin continued at wing back and Luke Downes reverted to the base of the midfield with captain Callum Woodward back in the starting eleven. Hat-trick hero Dylan Parker kept his place but dropped deeper behind strikers Matty Shipman and Calum Stewart.
March came to play and the first few minutes tore from end to end as a consequence. Fortunately, it was the home team who grabbed their moment and edged ahead in the sixth minute.
Woodward took a corner from the right and hung up a superb delivery for Guest at the back post. The central defender is always good for a few goals a season and made no mistake here, powering in a header from close range to give Sphinx the lead.
The game was a physical test from the off and one of the biggest challenges the hosts had to face early on was a stark need to settle down and get on the ball.
March are no mugs. Their addition to the league has made life difficult for a number of teams in the top half of the Premier Division South and it’s easy to see why. Their players will appeal for absolutely anything but make no mistake, they can play a bit too.
Nevertheless, Sphinx soon found their groove. In the 14th minute Hayward made a surging run into the penalty area and then along the byline before cutting the ball back into danger. March’s goalkeeper had to make a sharp save to prevent an own goal.
At the other end, the visitors were far from out of it at 1-0. Scott Martin had to swat a nicely struck shot away from his top corner to keep his team in front just a few minutes later.
Shipman forced Martin’s opposite number into a save of his own, following up after a blocked effort from Parker, but the frantic tempo continued. Martin made a wonderful save at his near post after March had broken dangerously and worked the ball out to the Sphinx left.
The first half wasn’t much of a spectacle but it was a fun scrap and Sphinx gradually took control thanks to effective pressing from the front. Hayward fired in a bouncer that demanded another good save after winning the ball in the attacking third, and a Woodward cross for Parker was headed just wide after another high turnover in the 32nd minute.
After that spell, Sphinx remained on top. The catalyst was a second goal and it arrived three minutes before half time.
Luke Downes won the ball in midfield, Woodward progressed it and Shipman went through on goal with the help of an attempted clearance. He’s in cracking form and his cool finish into the bottom corner proved it. March might feel aggrieved to have gone in at half time two goals down, but the half that followed made sure of the result with room to spare.
The visitors showed their grit and quality early in the second period but Sphinx were now in confident mood and put together a terrific move in the 50th minute. A clever Parker dummy sent Callum Martin into space on the left. His pass across the front of the goalkeeper was potentially lethal but there were no takers.
The sides exchanged chances before the hour mark. The first quarter of an hour of the half was punctuated by a deflected shot wide for the visitors and a devious Woodward free kick saved by the post, before Sphinx’s third goal put the contest to bed in the 59th minute.
The corner after Woodward’s set piece was lofted in again, this time for Shipman in a threatening position beyond the goalkeeper. His header down was diverted into the net by a deft touch from arch poacher Stewart, who was in the right place at the right time to add to his tally and make it 3-0 just before the heavens opened.
The home team cruised to victory from there and made all five substitutions at 3-0, having done a professional if unspectacular job against very competitive opposition. Two of the substitutes added the gloss of the late fourth and fifth goals after Stewart went close in the 83rd minute.
Jamal Adams, on for Shipman with quarter of an hour to go, made it 4-0 five minutes from time. He went through on goal and didn’t quite get the finish right, but had the tenacity and composure to keep the chance alive for himself and smash in a left-footed finish, his second in a few days.
In the final minute of normal time, Leo Stone – on for Parker – whipped in a corner kick from the Sphinx left. It was flicked on and then looped back into the middle off a March head. Callum Whiteside was in all sorts of space on the edge of the six-yard box and headed in the fifth goal to end the game on a high.
Sphinx put in a solid performance and claimed a win that wasn’t quite as comfortable as the final result might appear. But these were three hard-won points in the middle of a month that has proved tough going at times.
There’s no let up, with big games still to come in the league before the visit of Coventry City in the Birmingham Senior Cup in March. That the team can endure in difficult spells and continue to pick up points in this fashion is impressive. It bodes well for a strong finish to the season.
But the fixtures don’t get any easier and the durability of this team is being put to the test as we navigate the choppy waters of the late winter and early spring. The character consistently on show remains as unshakeable as ever.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Draper, C. Martin, L. Downes (Whiteside), Guest, Bryson, Hayward (Rawlings), Woodward (J. Downes), Shipman (Adams), Stewart, Parker (Stone)