Coventry Sphinx have been in superb form in recent weeks and they followed up their four consecutive home wins with an impressive win on the road on Saturday. They were making their first trip to South Normanton and the Derbyshire club had none other than Marcus Tudgay up front for them. Coventry Sphinx had recently beaten South Normanton at Sphinx Drive with Harkin and Woodward goals enough to take them to a 2-1 win. On Saturday the game looked to be over within the first half an hour after a Harkin double and a Woodward penalty gave Sphinx a 3-0 advantage. South Normanton plugged away and got two goals back but Sphinx had done enough to take the points and move them into 5th place in the MFL Premier Division.

The Sphinx team was very similar to the team that had beaten South Normanton in early October and there was only one change from last weekend’s team that had overwhelmed Quorn 5-0 at Sphinx Drive. Aaron Donaldson came into the side on the right of midfield but otherwise it was the same again for manager Lee Knibbs.

We got off to a lively start on a crisp winters day but Sphinx were soon threatening goal and it didn’t take them long to open the scoring. Donaldson took up a more central position and his through ball picked out the run of HARKIN who went on to get the better of the keeper by slotting it past the exposed shot stopper. A calm finish to give Sphinx the ideal start and minutes later they were through on goal again with Towers being thwarted by the keeper this time. The loose ball was kept alive by Sphinx and Woodward headed back across goal from near the by-line for Faulkner to head into the gaping net from close range. It was only after the ball nestled in the back of the net that the linesman made the call for offside and that was an escape for the under pressure home defence. There was to be no such escape in the 17th minute when a determined run in the box from Donaldson was only ended by a foul on him and WOODWARD stepped up to make no mistake from the penalty spot to put Sphinx 2-0 up and it was no more than they deserved. South Normanton were providing a sporadic threat and Jake Allingan had to be on his game to come up with a flying save to preserve the two goal lead for Sphinx. Harkin continued to cause big problems for the hosts defence and on 24 minutes he mugged a defender to race away to goal but the keeper managed to keep him out this time. He wasn’t to be denied in the 30th minute after Guest stepped out of defence with the ball and played it forward to HARKIN who showed the defence a clean pair of heels before finishing well. 3-0 up on 30 minutes and South Normanton must have been wondering what had hit them. It could well have been more for Sphinx but South Normanton grabbed themselves a lifeline in the 38th minute. An initial shot was deflected over the bar for a corner and the resulting flag kick ended up being headed in from close range. That goal could well give the hosts some encouragement as they went into the break.
HALF TIME: SOUTH NORMANTON ATHLETIC 1 COVENTRY SPHINX 3

South Normanton started the second half better than they had looked in the first half. They were looking after the ball better when in possession but the Sphinx keeper Allingan was barely threatened due to the good defensive work from Coventry Sphinx. Sphinx continued to look a threat and Harkin was inches away from driving Sphinx into a bigger lead on 65 minutes. South Normanton took full advantage and went straight up the other end to get another goal back with a right wing cross finished tidily at the far post. An immediate response from Sphinx came and only the cross bar stopped Faulkner re-establishing the two goal advantage for Sphinx after good work from Harkin and Towers. South Normanton then exerted some pressure on the Sphinx defence as they went looking for what had earlier seemed like a highly unlikely equaliser. Lee Knibbs made a couple of substitutions as he looked to regain control of the game with new signing Pawel Tomczak and Nathan McGarrity introduced. Allingan was called into action again with a fine tip over from a free kick but Sphinx were still looking for a fourth goal to kill things off and Harkin almost got it after doing well to get on the end of a Towers cross but his near post first time effort was too high to trouble the keeper. It was a nervy end to the game but Sphinx saw it out to take the three points their first half performance had warranted. In the second half Sphinx had to show the other side to their game and stood up to any pressure manfully to record a 5th straight league win.

Sphinx are next in action on Saturday when they travel to AFC Wulfrunians looking to extend their impressive run of form.

COVENTRY SPHINX MAN OF THE MATCH: JAKE ALLINGAN
Donaldson made his first league start of the season for Coventry Sphinx and was heavily involved in the first two goals which more than justified his selection. Towers brought his experience to the table again and performed well. Harkin got two goals and could well have had more as he proved to be a regular menace to the home defence. Leader Callum Woodward and Liam Cairns battled superbly in midfield and Faulkner was a bundle of energy out wide. The back four are providing a great platform for Sphinx recently and today was no different. Lower, Quirke, Guest and Stringfellow ensured Marcus Tudgay made little impact on the game. My Man of the Match today is goalkeeper Jake Allingan. Goalkeepers can often be overlooked for Man of the Match consideration but today he can’t be ignored. Jake has played in five games for the club and won all five and he’s improving every week. He’s proven to be a real find and his shot stopping, catching, kicking and distribution have all proven to be reliable.

COVENTRY SPHINX TEAM: ALLINGAN, LOWER (C), STRINGFELLOW, CAIRNS, QUIRKE, GUEST, TOWERS, WOODWARD, HARKIN (Cherrie 85 mins), FAULKNER (McGarrity 73 mins), DONALDSON (Tomczak 70 mins