Coventry Sphinx continued their unbeaten pre-season campaign with a 5-1 victory tonight at Southam United.

A good following of Sphinx supporters to Banbury Road, only had to wait for three minutes to see Jerome Murdock force his way into the area before being pulled down.

Murdock stepped up to take the penalty and hit the keeper's right hand post. Thankfully, Tom Maguire was on his toes and he nipped in to slip the ball past the keeper.

Murdock was denied, two minutes after the opening goal by a brilliant save from the home keeper after a sublime pass from Kyle Rhodes had picked him out.

Jamie McAteer and Liam Kay defended superbly for Sphinx but in the 15th minute, it was the brilliance of keeper Scott Furlong who pushed a long ranger over the bar for a corner.

A back heel from the resulting corner skimmed past the far post but Sphinx got straight back at the Midland Combination Premier Division side and doubled their tally in the 19th minute when Jerome Murdock rounded the keeper to score.

It was a back heel in the 25th minute that briefly allowed Southam to reduce the arrears thanks to Jimmy Graham getting his heel to a corner and the ball deceiving the Sphinx defence.

With Tom Maguire and Jerome Murdock proving more than a handful for the Southam defence, the Sphinx supporters were expecting another goal and it duly arrived in the 31st minute when a stunning run from Murdock saw him fire a drive into the net off the far post.

Luke Hopkins had been deployed at right back so Danny McSheffrey and his backroom staff could get a look at Kelvin Phillips and in the 35th minute, Hopkins ran through the home defence before firing a shot that was brilliantly stopped by the keeper who also saved well when Maguire's rebound came in.

Iyseden Christie replaced Phillips at the break and McSheffrey used the second half to give his substitutes a run out.

Andrew Woodall, who had a fine game in midfield, was one of those replaced as Sphinx kept their foot on the gas.

A 67th minute Christie free kick was pushed round for a corner and three minutes later, Jerome Murdock completed his hat-trick when Christie held the ball up to play in Murdock, who slipped the ball under the keeper for Sphinx's fourth goal.

Four minutes from time, Sphinx finished off a good performance when Kyle Rhodes got to a corner first and lashed the ball home to complete a good night's work.

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Sphinx: Furlong (Allen 76), Hopkins (Green 58), McAteer, Rhodes, Hayward (Maddax 69), Kay, Muldoon, Woodall (Kimberlin 56), Phillips (Christie 46), Murdock, Muldoon.
 

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