SLUGGISH SUTTON SUFFER HOME DEFEAT
BY ANDREW DELANEY
A cruel deflection condemned Sutton United 1st Team to their first defeat at Coleshill Road Stadium as visitors Knowle FC took all three points.
It was a jaded performance from Sutton who never really got into their stride, struggling to match the tempo of their huge performance in midweek. In contrast, Knowle came with a clear game plan; they were organised and worked extremely hard to press their hosts.
After a closely contested opening thirty minutes, it was Sutton who broke the deadlock when Tom Massey finished from six yards after Joe Gildea had taken a swing at Joe Delaney’s cross from the left.
The lead didn’t last long as Jack Mullen was played through, and he cut past the outrushing Reiss Wagstaff, for a composed finish from the right in the 38th minute.
Knowle were boosted by the goal and finished the half on top, coming close to a second when Charlie Morris hit the post.
The visitors did get themselves ahead early in the second half, when Kartel O’Neil-Martin’s shot from 25 yards took a huge deflection off Kaine Donald to wrongfoot Wagstaff and end up the back of the net.
The second half became very scrappy with numerous stoppages and there was very little action in front of goal for either keeper to contend with. Both teams finished with ten men when an altercation between Lewis James, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes, and Knowle’s goal scorer O’Neil-Martin, resulted in red cards for both.
It wasn’t until around ten minutes to go that Sutton finally started to pose a threat going forward: Matty Lewis headed over the cross bar from close range and Josh Duggan drilled a 25-yard effort that keeper Craig Johnson gathered.
United’s final chance came when Jonny Grigg rose superbly to meet Duggan’s free kick but could only direct his header over the bar. Unfortunately, it was all too little, too late from Sutton, as Knowle held onto their lead for a deserved victory.
Sutton must now plan to get back to winning ways with their next fixture on Saturday 11th February, when they visit Bolehall Swifts Firsts in the County Cup Saturday Vase, 2pm kick off.
Team: Sutton United
1. Reiss Wagstaff
2. Jonny Grigg
3. Jake Murrell – Matty Lewis 58’
4. Kaine Donald
5. Brad Gregory – Matt Hurrell 77’
6. Josh Duggan (c)
7. Tom Massey
8. Sef Semlali – Lewis James 71’
9. Joe Gildea – Pete Bannister 58’
10. Leyton Hines – Remi Bell 52’
11. Joe Delaney
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Management/Coaches:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Matt Gough
Chris Bratt-Rose
Derek Cullen
Louis Singh
Team: Knowle
1. Craig Johnson
2. Lewis Rainey
3. Hayden Seymour
4. Lewis Clarke
5. Christian McArdle
6. Dylon Bennett
7. Charlie Morris – Nathan Corry 77’
8. Reece Staley
9. Jack Mullen
10. George Seeley (c) – Ben Jones 83’
11. Kartel O’Neil-Martin
Management/Coaches:
Matthew Seeley
Clive Seeley
Craig Gaziewski
Match Officials: David Leary, Jonathan Phillips
| Sutton United | Statistics | Knowle |
| 1 | Goals | 2 |
| 8 | Attempts | 7 |
| 4 | Attempts on Target | 4 |
| 48% | Possession | 52% |
| 6 | Corners | 3 |
| 16 | Fouls Committed | 22 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 1 | Red Cards | 1 |
| Kaine Donald | Man of the Match | Reece Staley |