Coventry Sphinx manager Luke Hopkins felt that his side seemed to have lost their match fitness in the 4-2 defeat at Causeway United on Saturday.
“We seem to have lost our match fitness,” Hopkins said to the Sphinx website. “Causeway is always a hard place to go and no matter what they are a side who always tough to beat or get a result at their place, but with this group of players, I expected to be picking up something.
“We started slow and found ourselves a goal down very early on and it was again a mistake, we made a few changes, some forced through work and injury and some to freshen the team up, but Ricky Fletcher has been brilliant all season and you forget he is only eighteen, so I suppose one mistake giving a goal away can be forgiven.
“We were soon back in the game with a goal of the season contender from Rickie Cutting, proving he can score different types of goals although I think the keeper was rooted in the beach of his goalmouth!!
“We found ourselves behind due to a very strange incident. A shot from 25 yards which we didn’t press, so our own problem but on route to goal the ball was brought down by another causeway player, using just the two hands and everyone stopped as it was that obvious, another one of our problems and the player rolled it into an open net, goal given. For it was a tough decision to swallow but numerous mistakes by us helped them along the way and we were 2-1 down at half time.
“We came out for the second half, reacted positive and were the better team, we had chances, Luke Williams headed wide, Jackson Downie striking wide, Keeper saving from Cutting, Baxter and Galdins.
“We got back in the game with a good free kick from Luke Williams and were on top. We had the chances to put the game to bed but we didn’t seem sharp at all and it cost us.
“Causeway countered attacked, winning a corner and we still weren’t in and set up. This gave them a free shot from a short corner and Carlo (Carl O’Neill) saved, their striker followed up making it 3-2.
“We pushed for a goal ending up with four up top and their fourth came at the death as we pushed on. Losing 4-2 seems like they battered us, but it wasn’t the case at all.
“I am not happy with the mistakes we had and it’s been proven over the last three weeks, that unless we are match sharp and flying, we make mistakes and they are punished. That’s one point from the last nine, but I also look at it as two defeats in the last twelve games.
“We have a chance to move on and put it to bed quickly with a game tonight against Westfields, whom we owe them after the M42 incident and a 6-1 beating in the FA Vase.”