Page 26 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.33 2022-23

The 2022-23 season will go down as a memorable one for Coventry Sphinx, which has seen
them carry off the West Midlands League Division One South title with a 100% record.
Coventry Sphinx are managed by Paddy Richards and Williams Lennie and are captained
on the pitch by Jodie McGuckin, with Kirsty Farnsworth as their leading goalscorer.
“The season overall as been a really good one for us both on and off the pitch,” joint
manager Paddy Richards told Women’s Soccer Scene. “On the pitch, our first challenge was to
get two sets of players to gel as one and if honest, I felt we were probably four weeks behind
schedule going into the opening fixture through no fault of the players or the new management
team. The players managed the first part of the season very well, not dropping any points in the
league and battling their way past Walsall Wood 4-3 in the FA Cup which I think was the first
key result of the season.”
The Sphinx season started to gain momentum from that point and confidence was
growing within the dressing room, games were coming thick and fast in both the league and the
next two rounds of the FA Cup by seeing off Kidderminster Harriers and Worcester City from
the league above in those two rounds.
“The next key moment was against Knowle Ladies in the league, them like us were still
unbeaten in the league so it was a top of the table clash,” recalled Richards. “Some nerves were
apparent early doors in the game and although we managed to get our noses in front, we spent
most of the first half giving away possession cheaply. The second half started much the same
till our keeper Jade made an excellent save to deny Knowle, then we sprung into life a little and
started creating more chances and eventually getting the second goal to seal the victory.
“Two weeks later we had the reverse fixture against Knowle, which was a totally different
game as we dominated large parts of the game and a hat-trick from Lottie Rosevear helped seal
a convincing win and gave us that six point gap at the top. Those two results really pushed us
on again and we found goals coming frequently in other matches till we faced a very tough
Sedgley & Gornal side who made us battle out a tough 2-1 victory after going a goal behind early
doors.
“We are currently in training preparing for our Cup Final against Knowle as our league
campaign is over and we are expecting another tough game against them, as they will have that
competitive edge going into the final because they are still playing competitive league fixtures.
However it’s a fixture we are all looking forward to and want to enjoy the occasion and
hopefully lift the trophy at the end making us the league and cup double winners.”

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