COVENTRY SPHINX 3-4 COVENTRY CITY
TUE AUG 02 At Sphinx Drive, Coventry
TEAM: Burge, Willis, Phillips, Daniels (Wiseman 70), Henderson (Fletcher 70), McPake, Roberts (Harris-Clarke 52), Ruffles, Jeffers, Wilson, Richards. SNU Maund, Fagan, Pegg, Donald.
Sphinx: O'Neill, Long, Robbins, Saunders, Ward, McAteer, Tomczak, Billic, Donaldson, Edwards, Jackson. Subs Used Kay, Rawlings, Caggini, Hayden, Muldoon, Barnett, Fraser
HT CSFC 2-0 CCFC FT CSFC 3-4 CCFC ATT 148
REFEREE Ken Andrews Assistants Ian Murphy & Mark Brooks
GOALS Arron Donaldson (15), Pavel Tomczak (30), Courtney Richards (54), Jack Edwards (59), Billy Daniels (67), Arron Phillips (86), Shaun Jeffers (88)
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REPORT BY KEV MONKS
Coventry City came back to win 4-3 in an entertaining game at Coventry Sphinx FC.
Gregor Rioch and Lee Carsley brought a side which included a mix of U18's players, young first team squad players and James McPake and they face a strong Sphinx side.
Sphinx wearing their new yellow and black away kit as City were in sky blue, took the lead in the fifteenth minute when Arron Donaldson got to a ball from the right of the area and slipped the ball past Lee Burge to delight the home fans in a Sphinx Drive crowd of 148.
The Midland Alliance League side were thankfully to their keeper Carl O'Neill when he bravely blocked with his legs to thwart Shaun Jeffers.
James McPake, who was getting more match time, after breaking his back, headed a Daniels free kick wide in the 24th minute and Callum Wilson fired over from twenty yards.
But on the half hour mark, Danny McSheffrey's side doubled their lead when talented Polish forward Pavel Tomczak sent a twenty five yarder looping into the net.
Tomcazk was denied a penalty and both sides won corners before the half end with Sphinx two goals up.
McSheffrey had made changes at the interval but Gregor Rioch decide to wait until the 52nd minute before making his first change when he brought on Jonson Harris-Clarke.
That change came after Callum Wilson had curled a shot at O'Neill and City who were on the attack more in the early second half exchanges, pulled a goal back in the 54th minute thanks to Courtney Richards who had hit a hat-trick in the 11-0 win over Burton Albion on Saturday, scoring from close range.
In the 59th minute, Sphinx won a corner and nobody picked up Jack Edwards, at the back stick, who was able to head home to restore Sphinx's two goal lead.
Sphinx had plenty of guile and spirit but City had the fitness as you would expect from players training five days a week and it was starting to tell when the Sky Blues got a corner and the ball came back to Billy Daniels who drove home from twenty yards.
City's man of the match for me was Arron Phillips and with eleven minutes left, he volleyed over before O'Neill saved his shot two minutes later.
Phillips deserved a goal and in the 86th minute, he got it with a stunning long ranger high into the net to draw the Sky Blues level.
Six goals in an excellent game with two sides always looking to play football, was enough reward for any of those who saw this match but with just over ninety seconds of normal time remaining, Shaun Jeffers popped up to get his foot in and score from close range to give Coventry City a 4-3 victory.
Pictures copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit Pete Chambers