Coventry Sphinx 1-2 Walsall Wood
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx produced an impressive response to going down to ten men but were unable to avoid defeat against Walsall Wood in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands.
The sending off of Keelan Fallows was a controversial decision by the referee with the Wood already leading 2-1 and it threatened to spoil the game. Instead, Sphinx rallied behind captain Callum Woodward, who went in goal for an hour, and looked as likely as the visitors to score the game’s fourth goal.
Woodward did his bit, keeping a clean sheet and making a string of saves to keep the match on an even keel despite the disadvantage in numbers. His double save from the penalty spot in the immediate aftermath of the red card was merely the start.
The skipper began the game in a new-look midfield, where he anchored Jack Downes, Alfonso Castellano and Cam Moore. Joe Pursey, Louis Guest, Jamie Draper and Finlay Shorrock made up an unchanged back four, while there was a start up front for Leo Wood alongside Leo Brown.
Walsall Wood settled into the game immediately despite the wind whipping around Sphinx Drive. They had a foot on the ball early, got forward quickly and were soon on top. The first shot on goal fell for the hosts, though, and Wood goalkeeper Dale Eve had to save well from Brown and react sharply to thwart Wood as he followed in.
But by the time the visitors took the lead, it had been coming. A neat passing move culminated in excellent footwork by Kevin Monteiro as he strode into the Sphinx penalty area. He kept his composure, opened the space up for a shot, and slotted it past Fallows and into the bottom corner.
The away side continued to have the bulk of the possession but Sphinx again had a good look at goal against the run of play in the 18th minute. This time, they took the chance. Wood’s determined work and deft touch in the penalty area allowed him to tee up Moore, who swung a sweetly struck left-footed shot into the corner of Eve’s net.
The frantic first half continued and Walsall Wood’s winning goal was scored as early as the 23rd minute. The referee awarded them a free kick not far outside the box and Corey Cooper’s low shot found its way through the wall and had plenty of power to hit the bottom corner.
Walsall Wood used the ball nicely throughout the first quarter of the match and were good value for the lead, with Sphinx barely at the races before the game’s big talking point seemed to kick them into gear.
With half an hour played, the Wood got in behind and Fallows came off his line to meet Charlie Manners. Manners beat the goalkeeper, took a step past him and missed the target with a shot off-balance. Having allowed the forward to go on and shoot, the referee pulled it back and awarded a penalty for what he deemed a foul by Fallows.
If Walsall Wood were as surprised as anyone else at the awarding of a penalty, they were stunned by the red card. Fallows had made a genuine attempt to play the ball and Manners was forced wide by his touch past the goalkeeper. Without a substitute goalkeeper, Sphinx had to turn to their skipper.
Monteiro, with a goal already to his name, stepped up to take the resulting penalty but was denied by Woodward, who also got down to block another attempt on the follow-up. Sphinx had cleared the first hurdle and started working towards digging out a second equaliser.
It's not always easier to play against ten men. Sphinx were clearly lifted by the adverse circumstances and had more of an edge when they were a man down than they had in the first half an hour.
Guest headed wide of the back post from a Moore corner before half time, and a partially cleared Downes cross from the right ended up with Castellano just outside the box. The midfielder didn't quite catch his volley but it didn't go far wide of Eve’s post.
Sphinx were further inconvenienced at half time, when Brown had to be withdrawn with a knock. Jordan Hayward's introduction from the bench necessitated some tweaks on the field and, while Sphinx were naturally up against it in the early knockings of the second half, the set-up after the break started to work in their favour.
Woodward was tested. On the hour, he made a superb diving save to keep out a shot from the edge of the penalty area. He made an even better save in the middle of the half but on either side of those stops, Sphinx fought hard to protect him and made plenty of headway at the other end too.
With 20 minutes left, Walsall Wood won another free kick from relatively close range. Cooper beat the wall again, over the top this time, and Woodward's best save of the half was needed to keep his team within a goal.
The captain wasn't alone in performing well. The second half display from the Sphinx was gutsy, not just defensively but in terms of attacking intent.
They were further hindered by injury with quarter of an hour remaining, when Draper was taken off and replaced by Will Edjenguele in the middle of the defence.
The home team pushed on regardless and nearly got caught out six minutes from time. Walsall Wood broke away and reached the final third with three attackers facing just Edjenguele and Woodward. They found their spare man to the runner’s right but Woodward, yet again, was able to make the save.
Eve didn't have nearly as many efforts to save in the second half but Sphinx’s determination was such that the visitors sought to manage the last few minutes and stoppage time by playing in the corners. With a midfielder in goal, that says plenty about the level of opposition they were facing.
Sphinx couldn’t overcome the odds after going down to ten men but Woodward’s heroics in goal gave his team-mates a platform from which to fight. They certainly did that, and could have grabbed a second equaliser on another day. Ultimately, with ten men against eleven for an hour, the hill was just too big to climb.
The management team can take encouragement from the character on display but the need for points remains and Sphinx are not yet safe from relegation. They face a crucial fixture against Shepshed Dynamo, one point ahead of them with a game in hand, before the remaining games pit them against Anstey Nomads, Boldmere St Michaels and Hinckley Leicester Road.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Pursey, Shorrock, Woodward, Guest, Draper (Edjenguele), J. Downes, Castellano, Brown (Hayward), Moore (Demulder), Wood. Unused sub: L. Downes