Newport Pagnell Town 2-1 Coventry Sphinx
Stuart Guest
Conceding two late goals in a big match is always a bitter pill to swallow and Coventry Sphinx got a nasty taste of that in a 2-1 loss at Newport Pagnell Town in the Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South.
Sphinx started the game in second place in the league table. The recent form of the top few teams has been ridiculous; Sphinx had to put together a run of ten wins in all competitions just to stay in touch with first and keep third at bay. Newport Pagnell are rightly fancied as one of the teams looking to catch up.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas were able to name an unchanged starting eleven again for this match. A late red card for midfielder Max Johnson means it won’t happen again. Johnson played in the middle with Callum Woodward behind Leo Stone, who started at the point of the three in support of strikers Callum Stewart and Matty Shipman.
Callum Martin and Jordan Hayward continued at wing back after making vital contributions in the first month of the year. Jamie Draper, Louis Guest and James Bryson were the central defensive trio in front of goalkeeper Scott Martin.
The visitors had plenty of defending to do in a well-matched, competitive opening to a fixture that had a lot of quality on show. Given the stakes, it unsurprisingly started to get spicy within a quarter of an hour of kick-off.
Newport Pagnell were first to gain the initiative, putting Sphinx under significant pressure. They played direct, booming the ball into the box at every opportunity, and Sphinx’s back line had to be solid to weather the storm.
At the other end, the Sphinx attack looked lively. In the 19th minute, Stone fed the ball into the box for Stewart. The team’s top scorer dug out a low shot that hit the post, and Hayward’s follow-up effort was blocked on the rebound.
The momentum shifted in Sphinx’s favour. The away side were able to get on the ball more often in the opposition half but it was always going to be the case that the Swans kept Sphinx honest in defence.
On the half hour, a high ball in from the left was met by a glancing header that drifted wide, Scott Martin apparently troubled by it rather less than those of us looking on.
A few minutes later Stewart flicked the ball on for Stone and his shot was saved well by Newport Pagnell goalkeeper Martin Conway. It was a very presentable chance and seemed to knock the tension up a notch. Tempers flared and a couple of poor decisions against Sphinx were compounded in the 42nd minute.
Guest, the Sphinx player on the receiving end of the first decision, took umbrage with the inconsistency that followed. The use of the sin bin for dissent is woefully inadequate and applied without any sense of order, and Guest found himself off the field for a ten-minute break when the referee turned out to be willing to use it.
If he was sin binned for the comment that was audible immediately before the whistle, one might question exactly how low the bar was.
Despite being down a man, Sphinx made inroads. Stewart and Stone combined again, only for Conway to save once more, this time denying Stewart. Just before half time, Bryson got up to head a Woodward corner wide under pressure from the Newport Pagnell defenders. Thus, we reached the break goalless.
On another day, that would have been put right in only the third minute of the second half. Still with ten men, Sphinx exposed Newport Pagnell as they pushed to take advantage. Stewart went clear and entered the opposition half all on his own. He took a little too long, giving Conway enough time to get out and block. It was a golden chance but Guest returned to the fray at 0-0.
In the 58th minute of an even, hard-edged match, Sphinx finally took the lead. For the second time in a week it was a superb Callum Martin cross and a fantastic Shipman header that found the net. Though the match was close, it was a lead Sphinx deserved after a monstrous shift with ten men.
The two teams continued to slug it out. Sphinx, at last, seemed to be in some degree of meaningful superiority until 15 minutes from time, when Scott Martin finally had to make his first save of the match. There wasn’t much to it but there was plenty more to come.
In the 79th minute Sphinx were again reduced to ten men – permanently this time – by a straight red card for Johnson, who can have few complaints and will now sit out the next three matches as a result.
The shift of momentum was cruel and instant. Two minutes after the red card was shown, Newport Pagnell took a corner from their left and Lewis Wilson headed in from close range. Martin had no chance.
The hosts had an effort cleared off the line as they pushed to turn a point into three. Stewart pulled one wide in reply but Sphinx, with both ten men and eleven, had just wasted too many decent opportunities.
Newport Pagnell were awarded a soft free kick in the first minute of stoppage time. Inevitably, the quality of the delivery caused problems. Jake Watkinson stole in to head the winning goal.
It was a horrible way to lose. Sphinx’s performance warranted more and it was made obvious that they faced an uphill battle from the very first seconds of the game, yet they ultimately had the chances to claim all three points and were undone by set pieces amid a self-inflicted disadvantage.
Despite the unfortunate dropping of more points against Newport Pagnell, Sphinx played better in the second half than they had in any of their other meetings with the Swans so far, with the possible exception of the second half at Sphinx Drive last season.
They met the physical challenge, stood firm through a first half that really put them through their paces and eventually grew into a modicum of control after the break, eventually taking what was by then a justified lead.
What followed is best consigned to history. The match turned on Johnson’s dismissal and playing with ten men against opposition of this quality is going to be rough every single time. In the end, a couple of set pieces did the damage and lessons were learned. It must have been quite a game for any neutrals at Willen Road.
Both Sphinx and Newport Pagnell face Fifth Round ties in the Isuzu FA Vase seven days after this fixture, with Sphinx at home to West Didsbury & Chorlton for a quarter-final spot. February is full to bursting and will have a big influence on the team’s fortunes come April.
Sphinx team
S. Martin, Draper, C. Martin, Johnson, Guest, Bryson, Hayward (Whiteside), Woodward, Shipman, Stewart, Stone (Parker). Unused subs: L. Downes, J. Downes, Kennedy