A QUICK start saw City make light work of despatching Coventry Sphinx 5-1. Here, we rate the players…

MATCH REPORT: City 5 Sphinx 1 

AS IT HAPPENED: City 5 Sphinx 1

TOM PALMER 7

Had little to do but was assertive and quick from his line when required in the first half.

Would have impressed Kevin Phillips, the goalkeeping coach from his parent club Kidderminster Harriers, who was in the stand.

TOM FISHWICK 6

Played as a left-sided centre-half and generally did okay on his return in spite of one or two moments of City’s own making.

JAMIE SMITH 7

Solid enough defensively while adding a bit of drive and composure having dropped into a more defensive position.

A pity to see him come off injured having shone.

ALEXANDRU ALBERT 6

Shifted out to cover at right-back and got caught out of position on occasion, although that was partly down to being asked to push forward to win flick-ons. A mixed evening.

MARK SMITH 6

Solid in the air and good enough on the floor, had one or two troubles when covering the space vacated by Albert.

STAR MAN - NATHAN HAYWARD 8

Played a pivotal role in making City more fluent and getting the ball into danger areas more quickly than in recent weeks. Grafted whenever required.

MAT BIRLEY 7

Started on the right and then shifted into the centre. Again did a solid job wherever he was asked to play. City’s Mr Reliable.

BRAD BIRCH 7

Was up for it from minute one but you got the sense he was struggling after a robust early challenge. Scored with a bullet header and was clearly gutted to exit early.

MARK DANKS 7

Not as involved as he has been in recent weeks but still oozed class, particularly from set pieces. In the right mood, Danks is very hard to stop at this level.

DAVE REYNOLDS 8

Two well-taken goals but by his own admission could have had more. Always in the right place at the right time to torture another backline.

ALEX TOMKINSON 8

A persistent menace on his favoured left side, should have had his name on the score sheet again but John Snape and Lee Hughes would have been delighted with his contribution to a fluent display.

Subs: Sarmento 8 (Birch, 16), Griffiths 7 (J Smith, 63), Baldwin 7 (Danks, 72). Unused subs: Chiwara, Gwynne (g/k).

Sphinx: Dutton 5, Lower 6 (Whitelan, 72, 6), Stringfellow 5, Dakouri 6 (Stokes, 23, 5) Guest 3, Quirke 6, Faulkner 6, Woodward 5, Towers 6, Cairns 5, McGarrity 5 (Harkin, 67, 6). Unused sub: Brown.

Attendance: 281.

Ref: Daniel Stokes 8/10.

Match rating: 4/5.