Coventry Sphinx manager Luke Hopkins felt that his side’s 3-3 draw at Westfields in their final Midland Alliance game of the season was an enjoyable game.
“Apart from the two hour journey either way it was a last enjoyable game,” Hopkins said.
“Both teams wanted to win to sign off the season and both were playing it in a footballing sense. We started the game very bright and the first fifteen minutes, we managed to get a goal through a great piece of football with Adam Bilic pulling the strings and Luke Downes getting in a great finish.
“Westfields then had a grip of the game for the next fifteen before the end was again even for the last part of the half with both sides having chances and playing some good bits of football and the 1-1 score at half time was a fair result to be honest.
“We wasn’t doing much wrong in decision making but it was perhaps a little in first or second gear and we had a bit more to give all round and more tempo to play at, we went out and carried on at the same level and it allowed Westfields to get a second and put them in the lead.
That didn’t last long and it kicked us into action. It was a shame that it took a goal to get us going. We had a little shape change and brought in Jackson Downie for a tired Tom Muldoon in his first game back for two months.
“We got Jackson on the ball and played to his strengths and got an equaliser from Rickie Cutting who signed off a good second season at this level with another goal to put him top goal scorer for the club who will need more off him next year.
“We had all the play and it was with Gio Dainty running dangerous in a wide area. He had been industrious all day and drove into the box after starting in his own box and unselfish squared to Ash Cain to get what we thought was the winner.
“A matter of 5 minutes and through tired legs we backed off, despite shouts to squeeze and we sank deeper when and a lucky deflected shot off Ash Wilks, who had been outstanding all game beat Carlo and made it 3-3.
“I was proud of the lads today and it certainly put a little right from the previous game against Coleshill.
“3-3 probably a fair result, but not normally is football fair. I did think we had snuck the 3 points but we still would have finished seventh.
“Looking at the table, points are king as always, but goal difference sometimes helps and for the positions we are in, we were not going to get any help but it tells me we are not scoring enough and conceding too many!!
“I think we the FA Cup run and the improved league position have made it a successful season and as I have previously said, the next step to improve is to be challenging for the league with a view to looking to win it.
“As a management team we are looking to improve and we have completed nearly 100 games now at this level and hopefully we have a better understanding than we did this time last year and that can only help us progress and repay the old, the new and yet to come fans we have.
Six weeks of rest and distance between the group, absence makes the heart grow fonder etc and we come back bigger, better, stronger. We have plans are to add three or four to the current squad we have. I don’t want to lose anyone, but sometimes that’s football.”