After overturning an early deficit to beat Eynesbury Rovers at home in their previous league
game, Coventry Sphinx inadvertently set themselves the challenge of doing the same again
against Rugby Town at Butlin Road.
This time, two goals in the first eight minutes proved too high a mountain to climb and
Sphinx were beaten 3-2 after a spirited second half display almost erased the frustrations of
a difficult first.
John Woodward and Shaun Thomas were without midfielder Jack Downes, which meant a
reshuffled line-up and an attacking decision to pick MJ in support of forwards Ryan Harkin
and Harvey Smith.
In the pouring rain that began just a few minutes before kick-off, Sphinx were ultimately
beaten by what happened before they really got started.
The visitors almost got lucky in the first minute, when Smith’s cross beat goalkeeper Ashley
Bodycote and went just the wrong side of his far post. But with three minutes played, Rugby
took the lead.
Attacking down their right, they got numbers forward and flashed a pass across the face of
Sphinx goalkeeper Tom Cross, forcing his defenders to make a desperate attempt to clear.
Louis Guest got there ahead of his man but could only turn the ball into his own net under
pressure.
It was far from an ideal start and it would soon get worse, but not before Sphinx came close
to an instant equaliser. A wayward backpass with far too much zip left Bodycote well beaten;
again, it snuck just the wrong side of the post.
In the seventh minute Rugby were awarded a penalty when the ball was nicked past Guest
with the slightest of touches and the Sphinx defender was adjudged by the match referee to
have committed a foul.
Edwin Ahenkorah took the kick and swept it into the bottom corner with Cross heading the
other way. Sphinx were already in trouble and struggling to impose themselves on the
match.
Their best chances to get back in the game before half time came in the minutes
immediately after Rugby’s second. In the tenth minute a cross from the Sphinx right
deflected up and across goal, landing at the feet of Harkin. Bodycote came out sharply to
block his strike.
A minute later, Rugby were again fortunate not to score an own goal when Daniel
Kavanagh’s free kick from defence was flicked on with venom by a home defender. It flew
just out rather than just in once more.
The Rugby goalkeeper had the wind in his face and encountered problems with a series of
Sphinx corners. In the 22nd minute he got down well to save a Guest header after Loz
Rawlings had lofted a cross in from the left, with the visitors hunting a goal from the latest set
piece.
Despite these flashes of opportunity it was Rugby who consistently looked likelier to score
the third goal of the match. They had a succession of shots blocked at the near post and
looked competitive from the corners that followed, albeit without ever really getting the better
of the defence.
After Sphinx captain Callum Woodward had sent an ambitious effort over the crossbar from
35 yards, Rugby almost made it 3-0. With Cross beaten, James Bryson was called into
action to clear the ball from right under the crossbar.
The away side had come close but Rugby made the running in the first half. They might
have narrowly avoided a couple of spectacular own goals but their lead could have been
larger than 2-0 at half time. If they’ve seen anything of Sphinx this season, they’ll have
known they were in for a scrap with the game still alive.
The second half was a marked improvement but Sphinx had to ride their luck in the first ten
minutes of it. In the 50th minute a backheeled shot was deflected wide and those near-post
strikes continued, and continued to be blocked.
But in the 59th minute Sphinx got their breakthrough. Harkin produced a wicked turn and a
strong run into the right channel, and dug out a cross towards substitute Jamal Adams in a
dangerous position.
His marker got there first but could only direct the ball back into danger. Smith was on hand
to snare it, turn with composure and squeeze a bobbling shot across Bodycote and into the
far corner. It was just reward for his hard-working performances since returning from
suspension, and it got Sphinx right back in the game.
In the 66th minute came the goal that truly put the game beyond the visitors. Danico
Johnson was sent clear on the edge of the box and lifted his shot above the dive of Cross in
the Sphinx goal to make it 3-1.
Woodward went over from distance again with Sphinx’s next shot and the likelihood of the
visitors scoring three goals in the game looked slim. Score a second, though, and all bets
were off.
They could have had a chance with 20 minutes remaining. Callum Stewart, on for Harkin,
held the ball well and crossed deep for Smith. He was tackled and the referee waved away
what looked like a decent shout for a penalty.
That was the start of an ugly spell in the match, which culminated in a melee in the 74th
minute. Rugby were extremely fortunate to emerge from it with eleven men on the field.
Three minutes later, with the game now simmering, Sphinx pulled another goal back to make
it 3-2. Substitute Josh Willis took an in-swinging corner from the left and went deep, where
Guest was dominant beyond the back post to keep it alive and head back into the six-yard
box.
There, Rawlings flicked a deft touch round the corner and found the net via the post with a
somewhat scruffy but highly effective effort on the turn.
Rejuvenated, Sphinx were going for it. As the game entered its final ten minutes they were
finally applying some pressure and causing Rugby problems defensively. They answered
those questions, just about, and were given a chance to put the game to bed with another
penalty in the 83rd minute.
The award was a gift – dubious at best – but the penalty was missed. Substitute Max
Johnson hit the base of the post, and Cross was soon forced to make a solid block from the
other side to keep the difference at one.
In the 86th minute Smith’s looping header dropped onto the Rugby crossbar and the away
team weren’t able to sustain a threat into injury time.
The disappointment at not taking something from the match was understandable but scoring
three times just to get a draw is a huge task – too huge, on this occasion. If Sphinx are to
keep picking up wins, conceding early is a habit they must kick sooner rather than later.
Whatever happens, we know the boys will continue to give everything for the Sphinx shirt.
Even at 2-0 and 3-1, with the rain and wind in their faces and the rub of the green going
against them, they dragged themselves back into this match through sheer force of will.
Keep that attitude up and the wins will come. We’ve seen that already. The test now, as we
head into a long winter, is whether Sphinx can put together another run of them.

Teamsheet
Cross, Kavanagh, Fraser (Willis), Noon, Guest, Bryson, Rawlings, Woodward, Smith, MJ
(Adams), Harkin (Stewart). Unused subs: Draper, Holloway