FLASHBACK TO 2016 WHEN COVENTRY UNITED GRABBED A VERY DRAMATIC EQUALISER v HINCKLEY AFC...

 Coventry United 2-2 Hinckley AFC: 2015-16 season…

A coach drove a good number of Hinckley followers to Sphinx Drive for an important, tense encounter, which rose to an unlikely crescendo in cold and damp conditions. The Hinckley fans must have liked their team’s approach, as United struggled to get any real offense going, missing the powerful Gift Mussa in midfield and being unable to trouble visiting defenders Alex Penny and Greg Pearson too much at all. The running and dribbling of Sean Williams tested home left-back Ben Vallance to the full and striker Sam Agar, who had a header ruled out by the referee, worked home central defender Martin Hutchcox for ninety minutes. With the elements at their backs however, The Cagemen released some attacking after the break, level at 1-1, with Josh O’Grady causing Hinckley's Lee Thomas a good deal of consternation. A couple of Coventry strikes were ruled out for offside but then Hinckley scored a magnificent late second goal, before the game suddenly blasted into excitement: United failed to score a penalty and then with seconds remaining, they scored from a corner to ignite spectacular, if not too gymnastic celebrations on a wet touchline. All that remained knitted were the visitors’ brows, although parity seemed a reasonable outcome from a hard-fought match.   

SPHINX DRIVE, WHERE COVENTRY UNITED PLAYED THEN...

The guests took the game to their hosts from the beginning, with vociferous skipper Ryan Seal and the swashbuckling Darius Darkin looking comfortable upon the poor Sphinx Drive surface and wingers Williams and Javier Roberts not only threatening by running freely at the home defence but also, obscurely, often winning aerial duels. Coventry were prominent on their right flank, through the lithe Pierre Moudime and his tricky colleague Josh O’Grady but apart from a couple of attacking throws, little endangered the commanding Hinckley goalie Tom Cross. A couple of half-chances fell Hinckley’s way with low passes across the penalty-box from Seal and Thomas but a little hesitancy, maybe due to the uneven surface, let United off the hook. Matt Brown was heavily clattered, which didn’t impress the officials, then Roberts unfortunately slipped as he attempted an 18 yard shot and Dave Allen (‘may your god go with you’) was relieved to bend and collect. If he’s got a bad back, maybe that’s click and collect…

SEAL & COX TOSS...

O’Grady had attempted a few tricks already on the right and Thomas endured some turning practice but soon, Williams blasted a 25 yard shot off target for the visitors. Dead-ball playmaker Lee Butler for the guests, set up Williams on the left but after cutting inside Moudime, the winger’s delivery flew across the face of the home goal, before both teams tested the respective ‘keepers. First, a run into space at inside-right by Brown for the hosts led to a pass for O’Grady, whose trickery caused problems on the left side of the penalty-box for Hinckley but as the falling forward finally got in a shot, the ball struck the torso of the advanced Cross and AFC cleared it gratefully. Then neat play by the guests, again making inroads too easily into the home defence, freed Seal, right of centre but his low shot struck the feet of the goalkeeper. However, Seal’s next effort brought a better reward…

Slapdash defending by Coventry allowed possession to pass to Hinckley, Penny pushed the ball to Darkin and he had no trouble at all in feeding a pass for Ryan, who Sealed the opening goal by ghosting past Callum Burgess and tucking a neat shot inside the right post past Allen.

HINCKLEY CELEBRATE...

...AFTER SEAL'S GOAL...

United looked surprised at the ease of the strike but O’Grady’s flick soon released Moudime for a run on the right, which was halted illegally and earned Pearson a caution. O’Grady’s low free-kick was wasted however, but immediately afterwards he was fouled by Penny who wasn’t cautioned, highlighting the inconsistency of officialdom. O’Grady’s free-kick was easily caught by Cross this time. Vallance was then beaten by Williams as the left-back stumbled in his attempt to recover but Burgess did well to concede a right-side corner from Williams’ centre, yet from the flag-kick Hinckley were denied a goal by the officials. Butler’s delivery beat Chris Cox’s jump but Sam Agar out-leapt Richard Blythe and nodded the ball into the net off the gloves of Allen. Delight turned to frustration for the Hinckley contingent however, as Coventry were awarded a free-kick. Perhaps the referee thought Pearson’s nudge on Allen was key, or maybe the ball had swung out of play from the corner-kick. 

WHEN CAGEMEN BECAME RAGEMEN...

Incredibly, following this escape, The Cagemen regained parity from an unlikely source in Burgess. Brown won a left-side corner, O’Grady’s kick was flicked on by Ross Briscoe and Burgess was birthday-gifted time to control the ball beyond the far stick and clip it over defenders and goalkeeper high into the left corner of the net. 

BURGESS LIFTS A SMART SHOT...

...WHICH CLEARS GOALIE CROSS...

...& DROPS INTO THE FAR CORNER OF THE GOAL...

CELEBRATING PARITY...

Hinckley responded with a volleyed delivery by Thomas which was too hard and a wild first-time shot by Agar, following a weak kick by Allen. A fine challenge by Vallance helped his team out, a weak header by Agar was cleared by the hosts but then Brown was apparently fouled 20 yards from the AFC goal and United looked to shoot. O’Grady didn’t but skipper Cox drove the ball into the defensive wall, before cheekily lifting the rebound over defenders for O’Grady, who may or may not have been fouled by Thomas. In the event, a corner was awarded, which Briscoe headed well wide when well placed. Blythe passed smartly to O’Grady on the right but the winger’s shot was disappointing and simple for Cross to pick up but the final real action of the competitive half was precipitated by Roberts, who cut inside from the right but his low shot was poor and well wide of the near upright.

Hinckley had proven to be the slicker of the two outfits, Darkin and Seal had looked comfortable in midfield, the defence had smothered the threats of Brown and Briscoe, but despite a few twists and turns by O’Grady, Thomas had competed well against the tricky customer. 

After the interval, Williams’ first shot bobbled to Allen but when Briscoe collected the ball on the half-way line, he cultivated a frown, shoved down his head, lifted his thighs like he was pumping water into the Fazeley canal and set off on a gallop at inside-right. When Brown fastened onto his strike-partner’s pass and scored off the underside of the crossbar, a linesman’s flag signalled offside.

Coventry, with the breeze and fine rain now at their backs, were getting more possession and following a defensive header by Cox, Brown clipped over two offensive crosses for the hosts, before an elbow-challenge on Cox led to a Burgess free-kick, a head-down by Briscoe and a turning shot from close range by Brown, which flashed well wide. Marcus Jackson and Luke Richards, both of whom contributed usefully for the Knitters, replaced Darkin and Roberts but Coventry nearly added a second goal as the substitutes settled in. Moudime’s forward header released Brown at inside-right and Cross was forced to dive right to beat out the striker’s low drive, although no support was forthcoming from a United forward. Neat Coventry play led to a punch by Cross and a volley from 18 yards by Blythe but luckily for the stranded ‘keeper, Thomas hacked the ball from his goal-line.

O'GRADY ON THE RUN...

Hinckley replaced skipper Seal with forward Marco Adaggio but in hindsight, when Penny dropped, injured, the manager might have rued that change. Neat control by Jackson 28 yards out led to a shot which was always climbing, before the canny Jackson passed cleverly inside Moudime for Richards to run onto but under pressure and from an angle, the replacement could only smack the ball low into the side-netting. Coventry were under a little pressure at this point but a hard O’Grady cross from the right did cannon off a defender, before the return of Rob Prinzel to United’s fold was completed, as he replaced the combative Tommy Glasscoe. Moudime was then beaten again by Richards on the AFC left but when the centre found Williams beyond the far stick, his weak centre was dealt with by Allen.

A Moudime cross went too far, Brown was replaced by Wendel Moyo for the hosts and Prinzel suddenly had the chance to snatch the lead for his team. Brown’s delivery from the left was headed out by efficient Hinckley right-back Mitchell Tomlinson and straight to the unmarked Prinzel on the 18 yard line, but the subsequent volley flew way off target. This would prove costly, for almost immediately, a needless foul by Hutchcox offered a deep free-kick opportunity to Hinckley and when Butler’s delivery was flicked on by Agar, who was winning a lot of headers, Pearson timed his run perfectly but his flicked shot was brilliantly parried by Allen. 

Pearson though, recovered and passed short to Richards, who fed Butler just outside the penalty-box and he laid the ball into Williams’ path, 25 yards out and the winger simply launched a missile into the top left-hand corner of the net for a quite superb and memorable goal.  

WILLIAMS RUNS ONTO THE BALL...

...& HIS SPECTACULAR DRIVE FINDS THE TOP LEFT CORNER OF THE NET...

1-2 & JOY FOR HINCKLEY...

Stunned, behind to ten men, Coventry had to push forward but this left a few defensive gaps too and Agar was fed by Adaggio at inside-right, only to be denied by Allen, who swooped low and left to deflect the ball for a corner. Time was running out and Agar looked to be wasting time in the left corner with some fine control of the ball but something made him turn towards the goal-frame and his cross flew over the goal-frame, offering the ball back to Coventry. O’Grady and Moudime worked a throw routine on the right flank, O’Grady slithered into the penalty-box, Butler stuck out a tackling boot, O’Grady fell and a penalty was awarded. Cross was unhappy with O’Grady but hadn’t seen what the Butler saw, yet the ‘keeper delayed Blythe’s spot-kick with excellent aforethought, then dived right to make a decent save from the midfielder’s low shot. 

Moments ticked away, a Briscoe header from a corner dropped for Blythe to poke into the net but he was flagged offside and the tension for both sets of fans and players became unbearable. O’Grady stroked a low shot, with time ebbing away but Cross threw himself left to push the ball behind for a right-side, almost last-gasp corner. 

O’Grady’s delivery was flicked on at the near post by an imperious Hutchcox, Cross swabbed the ball down but there was Blythe to control it, turn and smack the ball high into the net from a few yards, off the goalkeeper’s leg. 

BLYTHE TURNS...

...& HIS SHOT DEFLECTS INTO THE ROOF OF THE NET OFF CROSS' BOOT...

His expression cross, Cross could hardly have believed his ill-luck, as The Cagemen ran towards the left byeline as one, slid, then were vaulted over, leapt upon and flattened by a variety of fellows from the dugout area. Quite remarkable, but Brian Ndlovu had practised his leaps at half-time whilst attempting and failing to find the net with a couple of flying volleys. He knew how to fall…

Luke Richards not only escaped a red card, but also a cursory yellow for his rather colourful comment to the referee near the end, which went something along the lines of: “Referee, thou art a rutting cavity…”  

A breathtaking end to a very watchable and rather even game but when anyone wonders what it is about non-league football which is attractive, well, this game summed it up. Both teams kept at it, no-one more so than Blythe, who had a shot kicked off the goal-line, a penalty saved and a goal disallowed, but kept going and finally earned his reward in the dying seconds. Agar would be thinking, “What if…” but I reckon both managers would be reasonably satisfied with a point, especially as both Bromsgrove and Lichfield were beaten on the same day. 

Me? Drove back to Solihull hoping I’d got Sean Williams’ goal on video and do it justice… I hope I did. Sausages, onion gravy and mash were negotiated but I was just so happy to get The Bodging back, after his short stay at Greaves Hall in Coventry. 

TEAMS:

COVENTRY UNITED:

David Allen, Pierre Moudime, Ben Vallance, Rich Blythe, Martin Hutchcox, Callum Burgess, Josh O’Grady, Tommy Glasscoe, Ross Briscoe, Matt Brown, Chris Cox (Capt).

SUBS: 

Jamie Coleman, Wendel Moyo, Brian ‘Messiah’ Ndlovu, Muzzi ‘Young Messiah’ Nduna, Rob Prinzel.

HINCKLEY AFC:

Tom Cross, Mitch Tomlinson, Lee Thomas, Alex Penny, Greg Pearson, Lee Butler, Sean Williams, Darius Darkin, Sam Agar, Ryan Seal (Capt), Javier Roberts.

SUBS:

Alex Morris, Tom Bates, Marcus Jackson, Luke Richards, Marco Adaggio.