Coventry Sphinx 0-2 Worcester City
Stuart Guest
A pair of poorly defended second-half goals condemned Coventry Sphinx to a first home league defeat since September as third-placed Worcester City took all three points from their visit to the Sphinx Industrial Supplies Arena in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas brought Jordan Hayward and Finlay Shorrock back into the starting eleven and the wide positions. Goalkeeper Charlie Woods played behind Jamie Draper, Patrick Zito and Ryley Nicholson in the centre back spots.
Jack Downes continued to captain the side from midfield alongside Iddriss Fuseini, and Kyle Carey and Roan Newey played off striker Shay Willock. Vice-captain Louis Guest returned from suspension on the bench.
Sphinx didn’t get the result or performance they were looking for but the workrate that delivered points against Anstey Nomads and Sporting Khalsa over the previous week was still in evidence.
The early part of the game suggested it might be more fluid than it eventually was. Both teams wanted to keep the ball on the deck and both pressed with intent from the first whistle.
Sphinx started the better of the two teams and their passing play started to earn them some joy in attacking areas. With five minutes played, Newey turned and fired but didn’t fully catch the shot and sent it wide of the Worcester goal.
The visitors gradually took control and Woods had to make his first save, an easy one, with eight minutes gone. In the 14th minute, Worcester lined up a free kick right on the edge of his box and his save to flick the ball away from the top corner was rather more impressive.
The game lost its shape, largely as a result of Sphinx losing their way in the middle of the first half. It was mostly well matched before the break but scrappy, albeit with flashes of quality.
Worcester looked more of a threat. Sphinx, repeatedly putting pressure on themselves with bad decisions in their own half, had Woods to thank for keeping the score level at half time. His smart reaction to block Jordan Lymm was followed by a save in the next phase of play and the teams went back into the dressing rooms level at the break.
Sphinx went behind just seven minutes into the second half and only had themselves to blame. They allowed a runner to make far too much ground unchallenged and get into the box, where a square pass left Taylor Townsend with the easy task of gathering the ball and finishing past Woods to make it 1-0.
The home team clawed their way back into the game and had their best chance just before the hour mark, when Willock evaded successive attempted fouls on the right before clipping in a cross.
Carey was there to meet it with a header but saw his effort on target blocked by Lymm to keep Worcester in front.
There wasn’t a great deal to be enthused about in the second half. The match was uneventful but increasingly bad-tempered. Sphinx were second best throughout, not least as a result of their inability to look after the ball.
The Blues took advantage of another Sphinx error with 22 minutes left on the clock. It resulted in a simple finish for Elliott Hartley at close range, which he duly converted to make it 2-0 and settle the contest.
Sphinx weren’t on their game against Worcester and made it too easy for the visitors to score twice in a second half that wasn’t as competitive as the first.
After two positive results it was a setback for the home team, who will need to shake off the disappointment quickly with a Monday night fixture at Coleshill Town quickly coming around the corner.
The two fixtures after that will also be away, against Loughborough Students on Saturday 16th November and AFC Rushden & Diamonds on Tuesday 19th November, before the Sky Blue and Whites return home against Lye Town on Saturday 23rd November looking to get their solid home form back on track.
Sphinx team
Woods, Draper (Pursey), Shorrock, Downes, Zito, Nicholson, Hayward (Ballinger), Fuseini (Lock), Willock, Carey, Newey (Kelly). Unused sub: Guest