Grantham Town lose to Coventry Sphinx in the Northern Premier League

A goal as the clock ticked into 90 minutes took a point away from a Grantham side that had shown character to come back from conceding early in the second half in Tuesday's match at Coventry Sphinx.

For a while Grantham looked the better side in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division match, but the late goal was too much to come back from.

Harry Wakefield got the late winner for Sphinx after Freddie Allen had got Grantham back onto level terms following Joe Pursey's opener for the hosts.

"I sound like a broken record," said Gingerbreads manager Nathan Arnold.

"Again our decision making at a key moment has let us down and we are talking about a defeat in a game that we probably should have got something from."

In a scrappy first half with very few chances, Grantham almost took the lead on six minutes.

Leke Shodunke's cross was not cleared by the Coventry defence and it fell for Elliott Riches but his shot was saved by home goalkeeper Charlie Woods.

Neither side kept possession or strung passes together for long periods of a first half where chances were few and far between.

A mistake by Ryan Ebanks gave Coventry an opening midway through the first half but the Gingerbreads defender got back well to snuff out the danger.

Late in the first half, Grantham began to play better football but still struggled to threaten Woods' goal.

The home side had also created nothing in a poor first half, yet almost went into the break in front.

Kyle Carey spotted James Leverton off his line and, as time ran down to half-time, tried a lob from inside his own half and the Gingerbreads goalkeeper had to backpedal quickly to turn the effort over the crossbar.

Coventry started quicker than Grantham after the break, but it was the Gingerbreads who created the first opening.

Sam Muggleton delivered a long throw beyond the far post and over the Coventry defence but no yellow shirt was there to meet it.

The home side took the lead on 56 minutes as two quick passes opened up the Gingerbreads defence on the left side and a low cross was fired into the net by Pursey.

Arnold immediately made two substitutions that gave Grantham a different dimension to their game.

Jeavon Seaton started to hold the ball up well against a Coventry defence who had got used to comfortably winning everything that came their way while Sam Edgington gave the Gingerbreads new energy in midfield.

Seaton rolled one shot past the post before working hard to create the chance for the equaliser.

Seaton's shot was blocked by Woods but the Coventry goalkeeper could not hold the effort and the ball fell for Allen to fire home the equaliser.

Grantham had more of the play for the rest of the 90 minutes, pushing the home side back without creating a chance to test Woods again. The Gingerbreads' back line in turn denied the home side until the last minute.

The game was entering the six minutes of added time when Grantham lost the ball in midfield. A deep cross from the Gingerbreads right went beyond the far post where it was headed back across goal and Wakefield powered a header past Leverton for the winner.

Despite playing nine added minutes, the Gingerbreads could not fashion another equaliser and remain bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety, with seven matches remaining.

They host 14th-placed Hinckley Leicester Road at the Meres on Saturday.