Sutton Coldfield Town 4-1 Coventry Sphinx
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx’s frustrating start to life in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands continued with their first loss from a winning position. After a 4-1 defeat at Sutton Coldfield Town, the search for a win goes on.
Sphinx were able to welcome back goalkeeper Keelan Fallows and striker Matty Shipman, both of whom went straight back into the starting eleven.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas moved Joe Pursey to right wing back in the absence of the injured Jordan Hayward, so Dawid Peplinski made his first Sphinx start in defence alongside Callum Whiteside and Louis Guest.
Pursey's opposite number on the left was Callum Martin, who ended the day in hospital after sustaining an ankle injury that thankfully turned out to be less serious than initially feared. Shipman was paired up front with Dylan Parker, ahead of a midfield featuring a new face. New signing Jac Redhead started with Jack Downes and captain Callum Woodward.
Shipman’s return and the introduction of Redhead made a big difference in the first half. After an even start with little in the way of chances, the Sphinx striker forced Royals goalkeeper Jonothan Brown into the first save of the match, whipping his effort towards the top corner after being teed up by Pursey.
Sutton Coldfield played their way into the game with a patient move after quarter of an hour but their first effort of note sailed over. Sphinx went closer with the next attack, which led to Redhead chipping Brown from thirty yards only to see his improvised attempt drop just wide.
A few minutes later Sphinx had Brown working again, this time with a terrific move of their own. Redhead’s pass out to the right for Parker was beautifully weighted. Parker cut it back for Shipman. The goalkeeper was able to hold on to his shot relatively easily.
Brown was also equal to Parker’s strike after Shipman returned the favour but Sphinx were opening the home side up as an entertaining game emerged.
In the 25th minute the visitors wanted a penalty for a foul on Pursey, who was causing problems from his higher position on the right flank, before Sutton Coldfield went just over with a sharp shot on the turn.
The deadlock was broken with 27 minutes played. Parker’s pass into the left channel for Shipman got a slight touch from a defender that seemed to take the sting out of it, playing right into the hands of Shipman as he went clear to collect the ball. He slotted it past Brown and into the far corner to put Sphinx in front.
The home team saw a volley go over the crossbar after a free kick but Sphinx were on top as half time approached. Playing good football in the Sutton Coldfield half, the visitors also looked dangerous on the break but just couldn’t create the all-important opening for a second goal.
Fallows had to make a solid save with his feet a couple of minutes before half time at the end of a threatening break that had his team in real trouble. That problem dodged, there was no avoiding the stoppage time equaliser that knocked Sphinx for six.
Sam Fitzgerald’s ambitious shot from distance had tons of venom in it and took a nick as it curled away from Fallows and into the corner. It took the wind out of the away team’s sails after a good first half. The Royals brought their Step Four experience to the fore in a clinical second.
They came out firing and Fallows made one save before Sphinx eventually settled, only to be unsettled again by a long delay and the injury to Martin. The wing back was stretchered off ten minutes into the half, replaced by Leigh Phillips, and taken to hospital. The good news later was that his scans revealed no break.
The game lost its shape after the injury. Redhead had an attempt from outside the box but didn’t quite catch it, and Fallows had to save again with his feet as Sutton Coldfield kicked into gear in the middle of the second half.
They won the game thanks to two goals in four minutes. With Jack Downes on the deck at one end, the Royals exposed Sphinx at the other and Alex McSkeane shook off the attentions of the defence to smash the ball high beyond Fallows’ grasp to make it 2-1.
In the 77th minute, a similar route proved fruitful once more. This time it was Ryan Edmunds who got in behind Sphinx on the left – rather more easily on this occasion – before bearing down on the goalkeeper and blasting his shot in off the near post. Fallows had no chance.
Sphinx made a couple of changes and found their feet. Brown saved from Parker after a smart save. Phillips smacked his effort over under determined pressure from a defender. The visitors were pushing but by the time the match ticked into stoppage time it was painfully obvious they weren’t going to get any joy.
Sutton Coldfield capped a deserved win with a 95th-minute goal that looked, by now, far too familiar. Rhys Hilton had the easiest task of the three players who found space on Sphinx’s left after Martin’s withdrawal and had all the time in the world to pick his spot for 4-1. It was a poor goal to concede but one Hilton had earned with a fine performance.
The fourth goal was out of keeping with a match that was a little closer than it appeared but it can serve as an important reminder of exactly what Sphinx are up against as they hunt for their first win as a Step Four club.
Sutton Coldfield were ruthless in the second half, doubling their lead soon after getting their noses in front and then keeping the visitors largely at arm's length before the final stoppage time blow.
Martin's injury changed the mood but the equalising goal before the break changed the game. The Royals showed their eighth tier nous to put Sphinx away in the second half, but the visitors were the better team for most of the first.
Spalding United aside, Sphinx's challenging start to the season has been offset by their ability to stay in every game and find spells of supremacy.
They did the latter against Sutton Coldfield but not the former. Either way, as the season progresses they need to do more than stay close and look good. Wins must follow.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Whiteside, Martin (Phillips), J. Downes, Guest, Peplinski, Pursey, Woodward (Johnson), Shipman, Redhead (Ellis), Parker. Unused subs: L. Downes, Cristofaro