Sutton Coldfield Town 3-1 Coventry Sphinx
Stuart Guest
After a big win on opening day, Coventry Sphinx’s second Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division match of 2024/25 ended in a 3-2 away defeat against Sutton Coldfield Town.
Vice captain Louis Guest picked up a knock in the win against Shepshed Dynamo and dropped to the bench at the Domino’s Arena, meaning a first start of the season for Jamie Draper in defence. Goalkeeper Keelan Fallows continued behind a back four completed by Pat Zito, Joe Pursey and Jordan Hayward.
Jack Downes skippered the team in midfield, where he was paired with Callum Ballinger. Stan Dube and Andre Williams occupied the wide spots, with Kyle Carey playing off frontman Shay Willock to good effect once more.
Carey scored the Sphinx goal on a night that promised much at times but ultimately ended in disappointment thanks to a couple of impressive strikes and some defensive lapses that will need to be ironed out in short order.
Led by their stand-in captain, Sphinx made another excellent start. They played at full pelt right out of the gate and left the Royals with no room for manoeuvre in the first ten minutes.
When the home team found their feet they quickly reaped the rewards. They hauled themselves into the game, moving the ball well and getting it into the box quickly. But their opening goal, with twelve minutes played, was from a little further out.
The ball dropped to Ryan Edmunds 25 yards from goal and he cut across the strike brilliantly, starting it well wide of Fallows’ post and hooking it back inside and into the top corner to make it 1-0.
Though not quite rocked by the goal, Sphinx were second best for a spell in the middle of the first half. The work ethic was never found wanting and a chance from a set piece sparked a rousing response.
Carey’s free kick was delivered to perfection and Draper found himself in behind and onside. Goalkeeper James Wren had to get down smartly to turn his header past the far post.
Sphinx enjoyed a terrific spell in the Sutton Coldfield half that just seemed to keep on going. The tempo was causing problems for the hosts but the only opening of note was a Downes shot dragged wide from distance on the half-hour mark.
Sutton Coldfield hit back with a rally of their own. Owen Parry drilled a shot wide after gaining possession from a long free kick by Wren, and Sphinx had to hold off the home side for a few minutes while looking to turn their own defence into attack quickly.
The tactic paid off in style in the final minute of an absorbing half. Hayward clipped a deft long pass in behind the Royals defence and into the channel for Carey. The attacking midfielder ran his marker out of contention with ease and curled the ball past Wren and into the net to take the game into the break with the scores level.
If the very end of the first half is a good time to score, nobody told Sutton Coldfield. They imposed themselves from the start of the second half and carved out the first chances.
Pedro Lima headed over from a corner a couple of minutes into the half before Kyle Byrne fired into the side-netting. Dube volleyed a difficult chance wide from a Downes free kick at the other end but the game’s crucial moment went the way of the home team.
Edmunds struck from distance again, this time drawing a save from Fallows. A sitter was squandered on the follow-up and the ball went out for a corner. Sphinx hadn’t fully switched back on before Charlie Dowd blasted Sutton into the lead after the set piece.
Sutton Coldfield put the game beyond doubt halfway through the second period. Draper’s foul was punished by a penalty and Parry might have been relieved to see his kick squeeze through Fallows, who almost made a save to keep Sphinx in the contest.
It doesn’t matter what you deserve in football but there was a sense that Sphinx might have taken the game into its latter stages with a point still on the table. Instead, the home team took control of the remaining 20 minutes.
Sphinx managed to scramble the ball clear after two good chances for the Royals and felt they should have had a penalty of their own for a foul on Dube off the ball ten minutes from time.
Parry fired wide before Fallows made a final save from substitute Alex McSkeane. The visitors were unable to make any late inroads in a match that grew increasingly chippy as full time approached and indeed after it had passed.
Though Sphinx faded in the second half and left Sutton Coldfield defeated, there were many reasons to take encouragement from the performance. The first half built on the win against Shepshed and the visitors were deserving of Carey’s equaliser on the stroke of half time.
What followed was less positive but no real cause for alarm. The Royals were fired up for the second half, got their second goal, and did what good Step Four teams can do with their tails up. Sphinx will play worse and win this season.
Their next fixture is Darlaston Town’s visit to the Sphinx Industrial Supplies Arena, another Tuesday night fixture in an unusual August schedule. Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas will be keen to recapture the form that saw off Shepshed ten days earlier.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Pursey, Hayward, Downes, Zito, Draper (Pryce), Williams (Martin), Ballinger (Woodward), Willock, Carey, Dube (Newey). Unused sub: Guest