Wellingborough Town 2-2 Coventry Sphinx
Stuart Guest
After a gutting home defeat against AFC Rushden & Diamonds last time out, Coventry Sphinx responded well with a 2-2 draw at Wellingborough Town in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division.
It might have turned out even better for Sphinx, who took the lead in stoppage time but were pegged back even later after themselves coming from behind. Sphinx’s Iddriss Fuseini and Will Jones of the Doughboys scored two goals apiece and a share of the points seemed the fairest outcome.
Joint managers John Woodward and Shaun Thomas are still contending with a number of injuries in the squad but were able to name a strong starting eleven.
Jamie Draper, Patrick Zito and Kyle Burke continued at centre back with Jordan Hayward on the right and Finlay Shorrock on the left. Iddriss Fuseini, Jack Downes and captain Callum Woodward formed a highly capable midfield that lived up to its promise behind roving attacker Kyle Carey and centre forward Harry Wakefield.
With Charlie Woods unavailable, Sphinx were able to draw on the services of Jason Alexander. The goalkeeper joined on loan from Kettering Town for this fixture at the Dog & Duck.
Wellingborough were quickest out of the blocks and were on the front foot from the start, but Sphinx looked dangerous on the break early on too. In the eighth minute, a vicious and dipping 25-yard effort from Wakefield clipped the top of the crossbar on the way over.
The visitors settled nicely and were in the ascendancy by the time quarter of an hour had passed. Nevertheless, it was Alexander who had to make the first save of the game by getting down well to keep out a low shot from close range.
Sphinx were the better side for much of the rest of the first half. Downes made a good run and exchanged passes with Hayward on the left in the 26th minute. The midfielder’s pull-back was diverted to Carey, whose left-footed strike was off-balance and sailed wide.
With half an hour played, Fuseini won the ball high up the field and prodded the ball forward for Hayward. His left-footed shot also drifted wide, past the far post this time, as the away side continued to hunt the first goal of the game.
Carey forced a save from Wellingborough goalkeeper Ashley Bodycote with ten minutes left in the half, pouncing on another nifty through-pass from Fuseini, before the Doughboys got a foot on the ball late in the half and went into the break at the end of another spell on top.
Wellingborough continued the second half as they ended the first but it was Bodycote who had to parry well to keep out a powerful Wakefield volley in the 49th minute. The ball squirted out to Burke from the subsequent corner and Bodycote had an easier save to make.
Wakefield got in behind and powered into the side-netting just before the hour. Five minutes later Wellingborough took the lead. A pass found Jones in space outside the Sphinx box and he stepped forward to slot a neat finish past Alexander and put the Doughboys in front.
Sphinx reacted well to going behind and were rewarded in the 71st minute. After fine work out wide by Downes and Hayward, Downes got into a shooting position in the box and fired towards goal from Hayward’s delivery.
Downes’ effort was blocked but Fuseini was on hand to force the ball in with the help of a deflection, claiming his third goal in a Sphinx shirt and setting up a blockbuster final 20 minutes and more on an entertaining afternoon of non-league football.
Wellingborough hit the post when they really should have scored with 15 minutes left on the clock, and an even conclusion to the game exploded into life in time added on.
Fuseini sparked the mayhem. Another attack made it as far as the Wellingborough box and another shot was blocked as the hosts put bodies on the line to keep Sphinx out. Again, Fuseini arrived at the perfect moment before rifling the loose ball in off Bodycote’s crossbar to make it 2-1 with less than four minutes of stoppage time remaining.
But the drama was only just beginning. A challenge by Zito was adjudged to be a foul immediately after the restart and Wellingborough were awarded a penalty. Jones stepped up to roll it confidently past Alexander to level the scores again.
In the seventh minute of stoppage time, the referee pointed to the spot again. Zito was the player whose challenge was the focus again but this time it was recognised by practically everyone in the ground that the decision was very clearly the wrong one regardless of whether the non-incident took place inside the box, which was questionable in itself.
Fortunately for Sphinx, that consensus included the assistant referee. After a lengthy consultation, the officials came to the right decision and overturned the penalty. Wellingborough headed over from the resulting corner and the teams split the points.
Taking the lead so late in the game and immediately surrendering it is just about the worst way to collect a point, but this was a hard-won point against an in-form team away from home – flip the order of the goals around and Sphinx would be more than satisfied with the outcome.
The performance was another good one. Individual contributions all over the pitch were impressive and Sphinx deserved to take something from the game. Losing it to a penalty awarded in error would have been frustrating in the extreme.
Thomas and Woodward’s side return home for their next fixture, a crucial meeting with Grantham Town and a game between two teams in the bottom part of the league table at the Sphinx Industrial Supplies Arena on Saturday 15th February.
Sphinx team
Alexander, Draper, Shorrock, Fuseini, Zito, Burke, Hayward, Woodward, Wakefield, Carey, Downes. Unused subs: Newey, Lock, Shearer, Smith, Nicholson