Coventry United 1-2 Coventry Sphinx
Marcus Robinson
Coventry Sphinx’s Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South title hopes were kept on the boil in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.
In the 92nd minute of a local derby away from home against Coventry United, with the score at 1-1 and the title race seemingly about to be out of Sphinx’s hands, Leo Stone created a chance and then popped up in the penalty area to force in a stoppage time winner to put the boys in sky blue and white two wins away from promotion.
The incredible spirit, togetherness and determination of this Sphinx team were in evidence again both in the second half of this match and after full time, when a vital win was celebrated to the full just as every other victory has been this season.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas brought captain Callum Woodward back into the starting eleven for this Bank Holiday fixture after he was rested against Easington Sports, with Jack Downes and Luke Downes joining him in midfield.
Defenders Joe Pursey, Callum Whiteside, Louis Guest and Callum Martin continued in front of goalkeeper Scott Martin, while Kyle Carey came in after making a positive impact in the previous match. Callum Stewart started on the back of a vital goal at the weekend and Matty Shipman was the focal point of the attack once more.
The first half wasn’t Sphinx at their best. The expected horrible, scrappy start gave way to a number of attempts from the home team to hit Sphinx on the break and then a spell of United pressure.
They carved out a couple of chances in the ninth minute and should really have made more of the second. Sphinx sought to make them pay a few minutes later.
A threatening attack ended with Woodward slotting Shipman into the channel, but his pass across the face of goal was blocked with Luke Downes waiting to tap in.
Downes was soon involved again, delivering a ball into the box for Shipman. The striker won the header and improvised a clever volley when it dropped back to him. The United goalkeeper fielded it with little fuss.
After briefly finding their feet, Sphinx’s play got a little untidy again. United were using the ball better in the middle of the first half and the visitors weren’t able to get it down and play. Nevertheless, another incisive move led to Woodward getting into the box and cutting the ball back for Shipman. The referee gave a goal kick despite a defender knocking the ball wide of goal.
On the half hour, the officials elected not to award a penalty when Stewart skinned a marker who clearly fouled him in the box, the latest in a string of marginal decisions that went the way of the home side.
As ever Sphinx looked better when they played football, but they were only able to do so in patches in the first half. In the 41st minute great interplay between Stewart and Shipman left Carey with an opportunity to make something happen. He zipped a pass across the face but there were no takers.
Scott Martin had made a couple of comfortable saves late in the half as United found it too easy to get through the Sphinx lines. A couple of minutes before half time they caught the visitors flat-footed and took the lead.
A drop ball for United was hooked out to the right wing before the defence was fully set and a couple of touches later the ball was at the feet of Samir Muzaffar, who found the top corner from inside the penalty area. Sphinx went in behind at the break and an improvement would be required if they were to turn the game around.
That improvement in the second half wasn’t immediate. Sphinx started slowly but gradually found their rhythm and quality. Ten minutes into the half the strike of the match drew them level.
Jack Downes has been hunting for a goal all season and it couldn’t have come at a better time or been a cleaner strike. After a burst of Sphinx pressure around the United box, a desperate clearance was picked off by the midfielder 25 yards from goal.
His fabulous drilled shot found the bottom corner beyond the home team’s giant goalkeeper, an unsaveable arrow that made it 1-1 and got Sphinx’s tails up at last.
After an attack and a shot wide for the home side, Sphinx thought they had another strong penalty claim when Stewart was on the end of a forearm smash in the box in the 63rd minute.
A draw began to seem inevitable as the game lost its shape in the final quarter, with plenty of end-to-end action but precious little in the way of real chances.
Sphinx generated the exceptions. With eight minutes remaining a long throw-in from Pursey ended up with Shipman, whose overhead kick was kept out of the bottom corner by the United goalkeeper.
Two minutes later Stewart, on the stretch, sent the ball over the crossbar with his knee after a knock-down from Shipman.
By now the match's key man was on the pitch. Leo Stone came off the bench to calm Sphinx in possession and, ultimately, win the game. In the 87th minute his superb curled effort from the edge of the box was sharply tipped over by the goalkeeper. But Stone wasn't to be denied in stoppage time.
Setting up the move himself with a smart reverse pass into the box, Stone was in the right place at the right time when the ball popped loose at close range. He kept his strike low, forcing it into the net to save the day and bank two points that had looked out of reach.
This was Sphinx’s ninth league win in a row. Two months ago even a sensational run of form looked unlikely to be enough but in reality it’s hard to keep one’s nerve when there’s a team putting together that kind of streak right behind you. The team in second faltered and Sphinx just kept on going.
There was considerable relief at full time and not because Stone had struck a derby winner at the death. Sphinx have faced a number of big hurdles since February and this one looked especially tricky for obvious reasons. There’s more to come but with a number of top-half teams beaten the boys have responded well to the underappreciated pressure of going top.
When the rubber crumb dust dispersed and Sphinx looked ahead at what’s to come, the numbers were easy to understand. With 80 points won from 26 wins and a couple of draws, the end of the season is two games away.
Woodward and Thomas couldn’t ask for a much clearer picture of what has to happen now: if they can win against Godmanchester Rovers away and then Eynesbury Rovers at home, Sphinx will be champions. No ifs and buts. No complicated permutations. Six points and the title will be secure.
Anything can happen between this Bank Holiday Monday victory and the end of the season on 22nd April. The team in second place have two games in hand and will expect to win their remaining four. Buckle up.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Pursey, C. Martin (Hayward), L. Downes (Stone), Guest, Whiteside, Carey (Parker), J. Downes, Shipman, Stewart (Rawlings), Woodward. Unused sub: Johnson