COVENTRY SPHINX 2-4 COALVILLE TOWN BY KEV MONKS
Team
Farmer, Muldoon (Phillips 82), McAteer, Rhodes, Ward, A.Wilson-King (Hopkins 46), Donaldson, Woodward, Kinder, Ruff, Kabongo (Kimberlin 66). SNU Simmonds, Jardim
Coalville
Williams, J.Dodd, Stuart, Brown, Everitt, Attwood (Johnson 51), L.Dodd, Carney, Thompson (Gordon 78), Gardner, Miveld
HT CSFC 1-4 CTFC FT CSFC 2-4 CTFC
Referee P.Bliss
Goals Matt Gardner (12), Cameron Stuart (21), Martin Thompson (28 & 42), Adam Kinder (45), Kyle Rhodes (63)
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Coventry Sphinx went down to a 4-2 home defeat to Coalville Town tonight.
At a rainy Sphinx Drive, Danny McSheffrey's team struggled to get into the game early on and were made to pay by the big budget visiting side.
In the 12th minute, a long ball forward was seized upon by Matt Gardner who was allowed room by the Sphinx defence to fire a low drive into the corner of the net.
Coalville attacked seven minutes later with home keeper Tom Farmer making an excellent save to deny Carney. This led to a free kick for Coalville and with the ball in perfect range for Cameron Stuart, it was the visitors set piece specialist who curled high into the net for Coalville's second goal.
The Sphinx defence had been their own worst enemies and in the 28th minute, a woeful ball back into their own half, saw Martin Thompson collect on the right hand side of the area and slot the ball home.
Stuart curled a free kick round the wall but into the side netting before Arron Donaldson danced his way through the Coalville defence but could not get the finish he wanted.
Three minutes before the break, the Ravens scored a fourth goal when Martin Thompson made the most of the play being waved on and broke through to slip the ball past Farmer.
Then deep in stoppage time, there was something finally for the Sphinx support to cheer when a stunning twenty-five yard lob from Adam Kinder flew into the net.
After a half-time team talk, Sphinx were much better in the second. Kyle Rhodes, who was Sphinx's Man Of The Match, got into the area in the 63rd minute and turned to lash the ball high into the net.
Rhodes was denied a second goal in the 71st minute when keeper Richard Williams superbly got to his right to concede a corner.
Adam Kinder dragged a shot from the edge of the area just wide, six minutes later, as Sphinx continued to try and get back in the match.
Coalville, who are in the race for second in the Midland Alliance table, hit the bar from a Stuart free kick with four minutes left before they departed with three points.
Coventry Sphinx travel to Kirby Muxlow on Saturday before facing Causeway United in the League Cup Semi-Final 1st leg next Tuesday.