The Opposition - Key Facts
Full name: Coventry Sphinx Football Club
Nickname: The Sphinx
Founded: 1946)
Ground: Cameron Slater Arena
Capacity: 1,000
Chairman: Joey Fletcher
Manager: John Woodward (originally Joint Manager, solo since start of 24/25 season)
Last season: 17th/21 (NPL Midlands)
Journey distance: 58 miles

The Opposition - History
The club was established in 1946 as a works team for Armstrong Siddeley under the name Armstrong Siddeley Motors Football Club. In 1960 they were renamed Sphinx Football Club. The club were founder members of the Coventry Alliance and remained in the league until moving up to Division Two of the Midland Combination in 1993. They finished fourth in their first season in the league, earning promotion to Division One. The club went on to finish as runners-up in Division One in 1994–95, and were promoted to the Premier Division, at which point they adopted their current name.

Sphinx were Premier Division runners-up in 1995–96 and again in 2001–02, a season which also saw them win the league's Challenge Cup. They went on to finish as runners-up in consecutive seasons in 2004–05 (also winning the Challenge Cup again) and 2005–06 before winning the Premier Division title in 2006–07, earning promotion to the Midland Alliance. In 2009–10 the club won the Midland Alliance League Cup, beating Westfields 3–1 in the final. When the league merged with the Midland Combination in 2014 to form the Midland League in 2014, the club became members of the Premier Division.

At the end of the 2020–21 season Coventry Sphinx were transferred to the Premier Division South of the United Counties League. They were Premier Division South champions in 2022–23, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League.

(Source - Wikipedia)

The Opposition - This Season
The Sphinx had a great start to the season, going undefeated in their first seven matches in all competitions, finally coming unstuck at Step Three Stamford in the FA Cup.
The following weekend saw another reversal as they exited the FA Trophy but they bounced back with wins over Lichfield City and Wellingborough Town.
They have however lost their last two coming in to the match tonight, St. Neots Town at home and Loughborough Students on the road.
League (4th/22): P 9 W 5 D 2 L 2 F 16 A 10 Pts. 17
Cups: P 4 W 2 D 0 L 2 F 5 A 3

Top goalscorers: Matthew Shipman & Kyle Carey (4)
Biggest victory: 3-0 vs. Dudley Town (16th August)
Heaviest defeat: 0-2 vs. Lincoln United (6th September)
Highest home attendance: 201 vs. Bedworth United (25th August)
Average home attendance: 149 (19th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 4
Most games without a win: 3
Most consecutive defeats: 2
Most games without a defeat: 7

The Nailers
After an indifferent pre-season Belper got off to a winning start in the NPL at St. Neots Town.
The first home match saw a narrow win over Loughborough Students but this was followed by a disappointing FA Cup exit at the hands of Kidsgrove Athletic.
The following midweek saw a trip to league newcomers Lichfield City and the Nailers come away with a 1-1 draw but a few days later it was back to winning ways as Boldmere St. Michaels were defeated at the Raygar Stadium.
A trip to Basford on Bank Holiday Monday resulted in a first goalless draw since March and a second successive clean sheet for Kieran Preston and his defence.
In the following game Belper took the lead at home to Rugby Town before being forced to settle for a point but the following weekend they secured progress in the FA Trophy with a win over Newcastle Town.
Another 2-1 home win against Bedworth United followed, this time back in the NPL but ten days ago the Nailers exited the FA Trophy at the hands of Rugby Town.
It was back to winning ways at the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Wellingborough Town.
Kevin Bastos leads the goalscoring charts with six, while Ben Rhodes has three. Jacob Fenton and Jonathan Wafula have two each while a further five players have a single goal.
Eight players have appeared in every match so far, with Kieran Preston and Ioan Evans having played every minute of the season.

Head to Head
This will be a first meeting between the sides.

The return fixture at Belper is scheduled for Saturday, 13th December.

Form Guide (all competitive matches)
Coventry Sphinx: LWWLL
Belper Town: DWWLW

Team News
Full team news will be confirmed at 7:00pm. There are no major injury concerns or suspensions.

Permutations
With the two sides above Belper not playing this evening, a point or more would take them to the top of the table due to a superior goal difference.
The Sphinx will overtake the Nailers if they win but the other teams in action tonight cannot catch them just yet.

Match details
Coventry Sphinx vs. Belper Town
Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division

Tuesday, 30th September 2025 - 7:45pm kick off

The Cameron Slater Arena
Sphinx Drive
Coventry
CV3 1WA

Admission prices: Adults £10, Concessions £7, Under 18s £3

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

• Audio commentary with Tom on Radio Belper Town
• Full text coverage on X and Facebook
• Match reports on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only)

NPL Midlands fixtures
(12th) Anstey Nomads vs. Coleshill Town (20th)
(7th) Basford United vs. St. Neots Town (9th)
(4th) Coventry Sphinx vs. Belper Town (3rd)
(21st) Racing Club Warwick vs. Carlton Town (8th)
(18th) Rugby Town vs. Boldmere St. Michaels (16th)
(17th) Sutton Coldfield Town vs. Long Eaton United (11th)