COVENTRY SPHINX 5 NUNEATON GRIFF 2: pre-season friendly game; Match Report by The Mowdog...

Griff Overhauled By Inscrutable Sphinx

Coventry Spinx 5 Nuneaton Griff 2

Sphinx ran out comfortable winners over a plucky Griff squad and the concession of two late goals was perhaps slightly tough on the visitors. Firstly, I must thank the Griff coach who painstakingly wrote down the entire squad's names and numbers for this report and I must also thank Jackie, the Sphinx secretary, who emailed me the home squad's players too, even before the Belgium v USA game had finished. Talking of the World Cup, it was kind of Sphinx to wear Argentina-like shirts, thus softening the blow of missing Messi against the Swiss, although I believe that Sphinx Drive provided the better entertainment! The American Football pitch markings and posts decorated the main Sphinx pitch, as last pre-season, and both teams settled to attempt a passing game, with Griff beginning more purposefully. Please forgive any errors with names below, for I have worked solely from the lists given to me by the two clubs!

Ah, to be at Sphinx, now that July is here...

Sphinx had been looking to work the ball through the middle in the opening moments but suddenly, Griff forward Jack Webb dispossessed Jack Rooney, moved away on the left and although his low right-footed centre flew straight towards home defender Matty Fowler, the ball beat him, leaving Aden Moore free beyond the far upright, from whence the lean striker drove a low shot past Carl O'Neil and just inside the left post. After more Sphinx work through the centre, Moore lobbed an effort off target for Griff and with right-back Daz Hutch looking lively on the right for Nuneaton, the hosts seemed a little uncomfortable with their neighbours. Tom Bates then tried a long shot for Griff but the ball swerved off target and high, leaving O'Neil scrambling in the stingers to retrieve the lost ball. That's why I wore jeans, for several wayward shots by Griff players during the warm-up were retrieved by me, as the players' legs would have been a mockery of scratches and marks and colour, rather like professional footballers' legs and arms daubed with tiresome tattoos.

0-1 and Griff's players look pleased, but where are the Sphinx defenders?

Kyle Baxter then began to affect the proceedings for Sphinx and from one of his corners, visiting 'keeper Dave Watson, not the ex-England central defender, I hastily add, fell left to clutch a low shot. Tom Randle then threatened for Griff and won a right-side corner, before visiting skipper Mark Latham lobbed goalwards, the ball was scrambled clear but only as far as Moore at an angle on the left, who shoved a low delivery across the goalmouth, which went unmolested. Sphinx were not yet in sync' and Griff were mildly dangerous on the break by this point, although after defending one Griff attack in a melee, the hosts moved forwards quickly and Luke Downes, he of the green shoes, shot past a post. However, Downes would not be denied and after Baxter and Kyle Jaynes combined, Kiam Galdins pushed a pass back towards Downes, who played an instant short one-two with Galdins and the midfielder's 18 yard shot slapped against the left upright and ricocheted into the opposite corner of the net. A man in a garden chair, presumably doing the job of 'goal-line technology' signalled 'Goal', although he hadn't needed to really, but pleasingly we were all thus saved from the BBC's Jonathan Pearce's high-pitched whining about the technology he finds irritating for 20 minutes afterwards...

1-1 and Sphinx begin to make an impression...

Sphinx really took advantage of their equaliser, also of the referee's failure to allow skipper Ash Jackson the opportunity to continue an attack, also of Griff's failure to switch on and also of me, for after Brad Hardwick had been fouled, the free-kick was taken quickly, too quickly for me to activate the video button on my camera and when Williams jumped to head Jackson's centre downwards and into the left corner of the net, I only caught the ball bouncing into goal. Apologies! Right-footed Chris Mitchell had replaced left-back Charlie Readon for Griff and he really looked useful, defending and supporting his midfielders with aplomb but it was right-back Hutch who caused a scare, slipping a back-pass beyond the stranded Watson and past his own right upright. The subsequent corner was dutifully cleared by the visiting defence, in which Ben Scoffham was outstanding at times.

2-1 to Sphinx and a header from Williams...

Downes was finding too much time in midfield by now, as his team began to take control and he drove another shot too high, before Griff's Webb was replaced by Jason Bouable. Sphinx's Kyle Jaynes was denied by Watson and then the hosts won a right-wing corner, from which they eventually scored. Jackson's shot was partially blocked by Hutch but the ball flew left to Kiam Galdins, who smashed an angled, rising, left-foot volley through the 'keeper's leap and deep into goal, a similar finish to Ozil's for Germany the other day. As the first period waned, Bouable showed clever feet but then fired a weak shot at O'Neil, Jaynes struck a shot at Watson from a good position and following good work on the right by Jaynes, Galdins shot wildly over the crossbar from 15 yards, an effort which might just have risen even higher than the new, impressive netting behind the goal on the proper pitch.

3-1: Galdins (7)...

Half-time meant multi-replacements and new Sphinx forward Kyle Carey tested the Griff goalie at his near post, within seconds of the restart. The ensuing right-wing corner floated onto the tall Matty Fowler's head at the far stick but the defender failed to keep his effort down. Bates struck a Griff free-kick into the Sphinx defensive wall and at the other end, following errant Griff defending, Jacob Dodds curled a shot over the crossbar. A poor shot trickled well wide for Sphinx, I think by either Jaynes or substitute Rickie Cutting but suddenly, from a long ball forward, Moore found himself onside on the left flank and after cutting inside, finding little support, he curled a shot, which bounced off the hapless Fowler's boot into his own net at the near post, with his 'keeper bamboozled. Fowler is a great name for a defender and Cutting is a great name for an incisive attacker... A dangerous tackle by a Griff defender led to a free-kick, left of centre for the hosts but Downes' effort at goal rose way too high, although he appeared to be leaning back slightly.

Carey attacking for Argentina...

3-2 by Moore, with help from a Fowler...

Replacement 19 for Sphinx, Harry White then began to look rather effective, first receiving a pass on the left from Carey and smacking an angled shot, which Watson parried away for a corner. Mitchell then did well to hack another White drive away at the right stick, as the powerful number 19 threatened again. Bouable, who was strong in holding up the ball but lacked some meaningful and necessary support, was hacked down to win a free-kick, which resulted in nothing for Griff but a superb tackle by Scoffham on White saved his own team further embarrassment. Paul Winn entered the fray for Griff and Mitchell continued to impress in possession but the diminutive visiting winger Connor Faulkbridge placed a centre into the side-netting, as Griff forced the pace once more. Then Bouable showed some trickery but was harshly fouled and although one of the Griff players on the sideline wanted Moore to shoot for his hat-trick, Bates lined up to take a shot instead, from a central position. The referee was exact in his lining up of the Sphinx defensive wall, then either couldn't find his marker-foam in his shorts or perhaps scratched his bum, then the substitute Sphinx 'keeper fell left to catch Bates' eventual shot from 24 yards.

Awaiting a Sphinx corner...

Ali Abdi, who remembered me writing reports for Heather St John a while back, was introduced by Griff, Adam Bilic drove too high for Sphinx but as time petered out, the hosts made the game safe. First White passed the ball into the penalty-box, Carey unselfishly squared the ball left for Cutting and he was too sharp, slicing past a defender and stabbing a low shot into goal, then, after Latham raced through the centre for Griff and was denied by the goalie, although the linesman on the far side had rather tamely and surely wrongly raised an offside flag, Sphinx netted again. This time, White began and ended the move; he kept the ball in on the right touchline, ran inside and fed Cutting on the right, who made it to the byeline and crossed low into the middle of the 6 yard area, where the eager White had run to and he nudged an easy fifth goal for his team.

4-2: Cutting...

5-2 and a deserved goal for the yellow-booted White, who takes a bow...

The end was signalled to a decent run-out for both teams, in which I felt that Josh Ruff worked hard in midfield for Griff, with both Mitchell and Scoffham performing well. Certainly White was really effective for the hosts in the second-half and with Baxter busy, the hosts looked stronger as an attacking force during the evening. I chased the Sphinx secretary to ask for a list of names and numbers, when convenient and drove home to Solihull, just in time for cheese, biscuits, a bowl of Weetabix and a deserved seat in front of the TV for the Belgium v USA epic; a match worthy of getting back for.

It's what I do...

Sphinx sunset; even the weeds look good...