Coventry Sphinx 2-2 Loughborough Dynamo
Stuart Guest
A determined Coventry Sphinx performance saw the boys in sky blue and white capitalise on a bad night for the teams around them by claiming a point against high-flying Loughborough Dynamo.
The visitors had to come back from two goals down after a blistering Sphinx start, salvaging a 2-2 draw thanks to a couple of goals at key times in the match. Neither team should be disappointed with the outcome as Sphinx gained another point on both Rugby Town and AFC Rushden & Diamonds.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas restored captain Callum Woodward to the starting line-up after suspension and he played in midfield with Jack Downes, with Ashton Demulder operating behind striker Matty Shipman.
Shipman was flanked by Tyler Haddow and Jordan Hayward, while goalkeeper Keelan Fallows was protected by a back four without Louis Guest. Will Edjenguele and James Bryson got the nod at centre back, with Joe Pursey and Finlay Shorrock in the full back positions.
The home team kicked off and got the ball forward quickly, and led after just a few seconds. Demulder made the decisive run with the ball, got it back off a defender and fired past Dynamo goalkeeper Lewis King and into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
A great start looked as if it might become a phenomenal one in only the third minute. Hayward forced his way through a couple of tackles and shifted the ball onto his left foot, only to see his shot drift just wide of the Dynamo post.
Sphinx looked sharpest in the early exchanges but the visitors edged their way into the match, responding to the shock of the first-minute goal with a good amount of possession.
But it was an opening on the counter-attack that came their way first. A first-time effort in the ninth minute lacked the curl required to find the corner of Sphinx's goal. Three minutes later, Fallows denied a shot at the near post.
The match started to even out after quarter of an hour and Loughborough carved out first a few threatening attacks and then a noticeable spell of pressure.
Sphinx's second goal, with 27 minutes played, was somewhat against the run of play, at least in terms of possession.
Hayward was the architect. He made a powerful run through the left channel and showed excellent tenacity to stay on his feet when the defender who came across to meet him lost his.
A composed cut-back from the byline left striker Shipman with the simple task of knocking the ball past King and into the Dynamo net to double the home side's advantage.
Loughborough made Sphinx defend well throughout the first half. One of their better sources of danger was goalkeeper King's free kicks from the middle of the park. They tended to drop in between the penalty spot and the goal, and in the 32nd minute Fallows had to thwart a resulting header.
Dynamo’s first goal of the evening was equally direct. With five minutes left in the first half, a corner from their left was met by defender Mitch Robinson, who guided his header past Fallows to pull one back and halve the half-time Sphinx lead.
The home side started the second half well, albeit without the instant impact they had in the first. With the league's fourth-placed team expected to come out all guns blazing in search of an equaliser, Sphinx settled nicely.
It seemed that the fourth goal of the match might have gone either way and it arrived just after the hour in the form of a second for the visitors.
They quickly turned transition into attack and Evan Garnett was on hand to apply a confident finish having been given a clear look at goal for the first time in the game.
The last quarter of the match was feisty, sparked in no small part by what Sphinx thought should be a penalty in the 68th minute. Haddow nicked the ball past King and was clattered by the goalkeeper, but the referee wasn't interested.
A few minutes later the away team put together a dangerous move and forced Fallows to make a really good save with his toes. It was a demonstration that Dynamo, often direct, had a bit about them on the ball too.
The match was relatively even after the equalising goal, competitive and occasionally ill-tempered. Ten minutes from time Robinson inexplicably kicked Pursey’s boot after failing to tackle him, escaping a second yellow card.
Sphinx ended the game with a handful of half chances but the closest either team came to winning it was at the other end, when Jack Downes covered Fallows to make a crucial clearance off the line in the first minute of stoppage time.
Losing a two-goal lead is usually cause for disappointment, sometimes it's just getting the goals in the first place that matters. Sphinx had to score twice to pick up a result against one of the better teams in the division and so be it.
The challenge only gets tougher from here. Sphinx will play consecutive home fixtures against Harborough Town and Cambridge City over the next two Saturdays, the first a return game against the league leaders and the second a crunch battle nearer the bottom.
After that, they’ll visit Loughborough Dynamo. If the home fixture is anything to go by, it should be an entertaining encounter and Sphinx certainly have the ability to get a result again.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Pursey, Shorrock, J. Downes, Edjenguele, Bryson, Haddow (L. Downes), Woodward, Shipman, Demulder (Lock), Hayward (Wood). Unused subs: Whiteside, Castellano