Coventry Sphinx manager Luke Hopkins described Sphinx’s trip to Loughborough University by saying: “Nice place nice facilities but we weren’t switched on.”
“I think there was a few where the body was there but the mind was elsewhere” Hopkins told the Sphinx website about the 3-1 defeat.
“We started the game poorly and there was only two changes which were forced upon me, with Rickie Cutting not available and Luke Williams returning from working night shifts the starting eleven were not far from full strength.
“It took us ten minutes to adapt to the size of the pitch, as ours is large but Loughborough’s is ten yards wider and 4 yards longer so creates plenty more space and with their excess movement, it took us time to adapt.
“Carl O’Neil pulled off two good saves and kept us in the game in the first twenty minutes, but we didn’t really create much and to be honest Loughborough had 70% of the possession, all be it most of it was across their back four and keeper.
“We didn’t deal with their runners and that is what punished us and saw us 1-0 down going into half time, but the last 15 minutes we got on top but didn’t take our chances and that was the difference as I’ve mentioned previously.
“We came out for the second half with new information on board and tried it. It didn’t work, a few players lost their way and Loughborough got a second.
“That was what sprung us into life a little, we started to play our way, not pretty but effective and pressured them for ten minutes. We had a penalty turned down which was stone wall, but again as in the first half we didn’t take our chances. We got one back through Ash Wilks closing down their back four and they made a mistake to gift us a goal, it was too little too late.
“We go into a big week with games Tuesday away at Quorn, the League leaders and then Thursday home to Westfields. No matte, where they are in the league, they are always a hard team to beat for us before we are at home to Stourport Swifts on Saturday.
“Over the last five games in March, I have gone with minimal changes to the team as people have earned their shirt and done a job as asked, but Saturday that went out the window and it’s created a chance for the lads who have sat patiently on the bench and out of the squad to get a shirt.”