Coventry Sphinx 0-1 Ashby Ivanhoe
Stuart Guest
Coventry Sphinx exited the Emirates FA Cup at the Extra Preliminary Round stage thanks to a 1-0 home defeat against United Counties League Premier Division North outfit Ashby Ivanhoe.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas handed Sphinx debuts to defender Patrick Zito and striker Andre Williams, both new signings who went straight into the starting eleven.
Goalkeeper Keelan Fallows played behind Zito and Louis Guest, with Joe Pursey and Finlay Shorrock in the full back positions. Captain Callum Woodward partnered Jack Downes in midfield, with Kyle Carey, Jac Redhead and Jordan Hayward playing off Williams.
The match got off to a scrappy start with Sphinx showing some ring rust and Ivanhoe in no mood to make things easy for them, but the hosts were soon able to hold on to some possession.
The away team’s shape off the ball in Sphinx’s half was a problem for the hosts throughout and made it difficult to move the ball into midfield. Nevertheless, one or two half chances started to open up for Sphinx and only sharp defending kept the game scoreless.
Ivanhoe had their share of attacking play too. With twelve minutes played, Sam Grouse’s smart footwork in the Sphinx box led to a corner. Defender Liam Storer headed over from the dead ball and Fallows wasn’t troubled.
After quarter of an hour, Carey did superbly to ride successive fouls before unleashing a dipping shot from 30 yards that gave Ivanhoe goalkeeper Bradley Catlow something to think about but dropped safely over the crossbar.
Fallows was called into action to make a tidy low save with Ivanhoe showing their ability to get into the attacking third, and just as Sphinx started to play and seize the initiative, the visitors had the ball in the net.
A glancing header past Fallows looked to be on the way into the net before it was nudged over the line by an Ivanhoe player in an offside position. The assistant referee’s flag was duly raised.
The match grew heated and the sending off of Ivanhoe’s Jack Robinson did little to resolve the simmering hostility. With 32 minutes played, Robinson was shown his second yellow card to leave the frustrated visitors to see out an hour with ten men.
Carey had the only remaining Sphinx chance of the first half. Hayward did well to dig out a clipped cross from the right channel, picking out his team-mate but also forcing him to react quickly and change direction in an effort to divert the header towards goal. His attempt drifted wide and the teams went in at the break with the scoreline goalless.
Sphinx had to make a substitution at half time. Callum Martin replaced Shorrock, who’d picked up a knock in the first half. The impetus of the man advantage gave the home team some energy coming out of half time and they had chances to put themselves in the lead early in the second period.
Downes produced a tremendous run in the first minute of the half, surging through midfield and into the penalty area before forcing Catlow to parry his powerful shot. In the flurry that followed, Williams had an opening but couldn’t get the necessary purchase on his shot, and Redhead saw his follow-up effort cleared off the line.
In the 53rd minute, Carey went close again. He had a good look at Catlow’s goal and opened up his body to curl a shot towards the bottom corner, but his strike zipped wide with the big goalkeeper appearing comfortable about the situation.
Despite those early chances, Sphinx’s attacking play hadn’t really clicked and Robinson’s dismissal was having no discernible effect on Ivanhoe’s. The first ten minutes of the second half were well matched even with eleven versus ten, and it was the visitors who got to grips with the task in front of them.
By the hour, Sphinx were second best. Grouse fired in a speculative shot that swung harmlessly away from Fallows’ goal as the away team gradually took control. By the time the only goal of the game arrived, it wasn’t much of a surprise.
There was more than an element of good fortune in Ivanhoe’s winner ten minutes from time but undeserved it was not. Will Robson gets the credit after his high cross from the visitors’ right found its way into the bottom corner of the net.
After squandering what should have been a positive position at half time, Sphinx had it all to do with time running out fast.
It took the home team until the final five minutes to mount any serious pressure in pursuit of an equalising goal. There were long throw-ins, corners and free kicks late on, each one dealt with by the away defenders with relative ease.
Sphinx might have been given an opportunity to take the tie to a replay in the second minute of stoppage time.
Stan Dube – on from the bench in the second half to make his Sphinx debut along with Roan Newey – was upended in the Ivanhoe penalty area and a spot kick seemed the likeliest outcome. The officials weren’t interested and Sphinx’s chances of saving the day fizzled out.
Ivanhoe were good value for their win and go on to play Chasetown in the next round. Sphinx have work to do before the start of their league season, which starts at home against Shepshed Dynamo on Saturday 10th August.
Though they enjoyed spells of possession and made a handful of presentable chances, Sphinx took no advantage of the extra man and didn't do enough to warrant a better result.
Sphinx team
Fallows, Pursey, Shorrock (Martin), Downes, Guest, Zito, Hayward (Dube), Woodward (Newey), Williams (Pryce), Carey, Redhead (Moore). Unused subs: Ballinger, Hedge