Dealing with hope, disappointment, early highs and last-gasp gut-punches is all part of the
business of being a football supporter. When Uhlsport United Counties League Premier
Division South leaders Hinckley LRFC visited Coventry Sphinx, we experienced them all.
The visitors had lost one, drawn one and won the rest up to that point but any suggestion of
faltering form had to be discarded by a Sphinx team keen to prove that they wouldn’t be
bullied into leaving anything in the tank for a big cup tie the following week.
Shaun Thomas and John Woodward’s team came within a whisker of scalping a Hinckley
side who will continue to back themselves despite having opened the championship door for
in-form Harborough Town. Conceding a stoppage time equaliser is a kick in the teeth but a
1-1 draw should be considered a positive result in the circumstances.
Sphinx brought Joe Smith and Jack Downes into the midfield after excellent performances
off the bench to turn around the game against Long Buckby AFC, and the return of Lewis
Chester at right wing back sent Loz Rawlings back to the left. New signing Felix Donkor was
among the substitutes.
With Hinckley coming off a rare defeat, the home team needed a bright start and that’s
exactly what they got. In the fourth minute, Smith made a driving run and smartly off-loaded
the ball to Chester. His chip was tipped over by Hinckley goalkeeper Will Highland and Louis
Guest went close after Callum Woodward delivered the resulting corner.
The hosts’ confidence grew in the early exchanges. Passes were connecting and they were
attacking with intent, finding their feet quickly in a way they hadn’t in the previous pair of
league matches.
Goalkeeper Tom Cross watched one curling effort safely over from Hinckley but the first
quarter of the game belonged to Sphinx. They put together a tremendous move after 14
minutes, with Chester and Harvey Smith heavily involved before Smith dropped it off for
Downes. His low shot went wide of Highland’s post.
Four minutes later Callum Stewart got in behind the Hinckley defence and was heading for
goal when his arm was pulled back by a defender. The young forward took the free kick
himself but it was a straightforward save for the Hinckley goalkeeper.
Sphinx were purring. The visitors’ passing around the box obviously showed their quality but
the number of fouls they gave away suggested that Thomas and Woodward’s men had the
drop on them for the time being. Sure enough, in the 23rd minute Sphinx took the lead.
It was an impressive opener. A good passing move led to Harvey Smith laying the ball out to
Loz Rawlings on the left. He drove inside, strode into the box and fired a powerful effort
through Highland and into the far corner, making it 1-0 with his tenth goal of the season.
Sphinx were good value for the advantage and the away team increasingly displayed their
displeasure at being behind. A flashpoint entirely of Hinckley’s making in the 29th minute might have led to worse repercussions for either side and the officials were made aware of
their opinions at every turn.
The visitors squandered a good chance in the 36th minute, Cross again untested, and it was
Sphinx who were most disappointed not to claim the second goal before half time. Highland
held a Joe Smith drive from 25 yards in the 39th minute but Hinckley were clawing their way
back into the match having successfully disrupted a positive Sphinx flow.
Woodward quickly set about the search for a second nonetheless, but his low curling shot in
the first minute of the second half was a shade too wide to trouble Highland. After that,
Hinckley’s quality began to show and the inevitable pressure started to build.
In the 57th minute they got a toe to a cross from a deep position but it wasn’t enough to
divert it goalwards, and by the hour mark they were on top.
Sphinx got Stewart in behind again in the 61st minute, however, with Woodward the
provider. Stewart’s strike across goal from a narrow angle clipped the foot of the post on its
way off target.
The home team had weathered a storm and were able to step back into their rhythm in the
middle of the half, but Hinckley’s increased threat remained evident. Sphinx were defending
well but defending often, and it was clear that only a second goal would truly ease the
danger.
With ten minutes remaining, Cross had to be agile to punch a header clear of his top corner
after a Hinckley corner. The loss of striker Harvey Smith to a late injury removed Sphinx’s
ability to effectively hold the ball up in attack and they gradually got pushed back as Hinckley
looked to dodge their second defeat in a week.
They got the equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time, aided by tired Sphinx
defending. The pass across the box from the left was avoidable from a defensive point of
view and the tap-in from substitute Lewis Jones was always the likeliest outcome.
Hinckley came closest to an even later winner and their second half ascendancy meant that
a draw, over the 94+ minutes at least, was a fair result, difficult though it was to stomach for
the home team.
Despite dropping a couple of points at the death, Sphinx can consider this match the
culmination of a decent run of results. After a couple of wins that were more about graft than
craft, the first half in particular was an encouraging demonstration of the standard of football
Sphinx have in their locker.
Carrying that form into the Buildbase FA Vase Fifth Round tie against Whitchurch Alport is
now the minimum requirement. With a quarter-final on the line, any weakness in either
attitude or application will be punished.
Teamsheet
Cross, Draper, Rawlings, J. Smith (Noon), Guest, Bryson, Chester, Woodward, H. Smith (L.
Downes), Stewart, J. Downes. Unused subs: Hallett, Martin, Donkor