SUTTON HIT SEVEN IN DOMINANT DISPLAY
BY ANDREW DELANEY
Sutton United delivered a superb team performance to thrash Earlswood Town 7-0 on their first league match at their new home on Coleshill Road.
Joe Gildea and Joe Delaney both scored twice with strikes from Leyton Hines, Jonny Grigg and Andy Matthews completing the rout on fourth placed Earlswood Town. It is the third time this season that high-scoring Sutton have put seven goals past their league opponents.
United began the match on the offensive, with Gildea testing the visiting keeper, Daniel Farr with a low free kick in the opening minute. And it wasn’t long after, that Grigg’s back-post shot had Farr beaten, only for a defender to clear it off the goal line.
Earlswood were forced into a very early change when Joe Tobin came off with a recurring injury in the 4th minute and Harry Street took his place.
Sutton looked dangerous from their wide attackers and Delaney’s deliveries from the left were exceptional all game and it didn’t take long for a striker to get on the end of one, with Hines neatly finishing at the near post in the 7th minute.
Likewise on the right, Grigg had a great game which was capped off with an early goal that doubled Sutton’s lead, as he drilled his shot perfectly from 20 yards into the bottom corner of the net, after Gildea had set him up. Grigg came close again shortly after with a well taken volley that Farr managed to hold onto.
Earlswood recovered from the early onslaught to test Sutton’s defence, with Reiss Wagstaff punching a corner kick off his goal line and Thomas Kinsey hitting the upright with only Wagstaff to beat.
Yet it was United who continued to dominate, scoring a third goal five minutes before the break with a swift counterattack. Captain Josh Duggan had a superb game for Sutton controlling the midfield and when he released Gildea, his one-two with Delaney was finished with precision by the striker.
There was more of same as the second half got underway with Sutton extending their lead in the 50th minute. It was the hosts first corner of the match, swung in by Sef Semlali for Gildea to nod home from close range for his second of the match and his twentieth goal of the season.
Delaney was looking dangerous, and he hit the post with a first-time effort from twenty yards on a counter before he did get himself a goal in the 65th minute. Gildea provided the assist as Delaney cut inside to shoot with his right foot and give Sutton a five-goal lead. The twenty-year-old had his brace four minutes later with a cool finish from six yards after a great passing move involving Hines and Semlali.
Sutton made it seven when a good distribution from Wagstaff had Hines sprinting down the right, his shot came off the far post and substitute Matthews was on hand to tap in the rebound to score is first goal for United against his former club.
For the visitors, it was their biggest defeat of the season as they struggled to deal with Sutton’s movement and found chances in front of goal difficult to come by. Archie Spittle-McGuire was quick on their right side, but he had little joy coming up against Brad Gregory. Wagstaff controlled his area well from set-pieces and he made a good save in the 60th minute, diving to tip a shot into the side netting.
In the closing stages Sutton’s substitutes Matt Hurrell, Jordan Hall and Pete Bannister combined well on the right, with Hall coming close to a goal with a shot from distance.
Now sitting four points clear at the top of MFL 2, Sutton take a break from league action with consecutive cup games. First up is an away trip to fellow MFL 2 side Lane Head in the Les James Challenge Cup with a 2pm kick off.
| Sutton United | Statistics | Earlswood Town |
| 7 | Goals | 0 |
| 22 | Attempts | 8 |
| 13 | Attempts on Target | 4 |
| 4 | Corners | 7 |
| 7 | Fouls Committed | 7 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Joe Delaney | Man of the Match |