Coton edge battle of the greens
Andrew Delaney12 Aug – 10:30
A late penalty condemned Sutton United to their second defeat of the season in a closely contested away match at Coton Green.
With injuries and a bout of Covid afflicting United, there were three new additions brought into the squad from Saturday: Charlie Busst began on the bench, as Sam Jeeves and Aaron Cameron both made their debuts.
The first half was evenly matched with good chances for both sides. Early opportunities at the back post fell to Sutton’s Hayden Froggatt and Coton’s Tyrike Richards-Burke with both unable to find the target.
It was Sutton who took the lead in the 12th minute, when some good work from Froggett saw him pick out Joe Gildea in the box, who opened his account for the season with a clever finish from the outside of his boot into the bottom corner of the net.
Tom Weale then had a strong effort for the hosts, with an 18-yard strike that curled over the crossbar, and for Sutton, both Froggart and Gildea had opportunities quickly closed down by keeper Josh Benton.
The hosts then equalised on the stroke of half time when the ball broke through to James Henry on the right of goal and he made no mistake with a powerful shot.
Both sides continued to press after the restart, as Gildea hit the woodwork with a superb effort from 20 yards and a good move from Coton in the 59th minute had both Jon Grigg and Kye Billingham-Belle making great challenges to prevent a final shot.
It was Coton Green who took the lead on the hour mark, with an excellent strike by Corey Powell at the edge of the penalty box.
Coton Green began to apply some pressure on their visitors, as Sutton keeper, Connor Byrne, tipped a shot from Henry onto the crossbar, before the forward saw a goal chalked off for handball.
Substitute Jack Whelan looked lively for Sutton as he hit the crossbar with a cross-come-shot from the left. And it was Whelan who found the equaliser for United in the 78th minute, as he shrugged off two defenders to finish from the edge of the box, after Ronan Sheehan had headed on Byrne’s goal kick.
However, it was the hosts who finished strongly, pressing Sutton into conceding a penalty two minutes from time, and their new signing Weale stepped up to convert the spot kick and regain the lead for Coton.
Sutton chased for an equaliser, but it was the hosts who had the best chance in added time, when Dean Morris struck from distance and Byrne made an excellent save, diving to prevent the shot finding the top corner.
Despite the defeat, this was an improved performance from Sutton, who can carry this into their next match on Saturday 10th August when make to trip to Allexton & New Parks for a 3pm kick off.
Team: Coton Green
1. Josh Benton
2. Tyrike Richards-Burke – 84’ Luke Francis
3. Luke Fox
4. Dean Morris
5. Matthew Mark Hunt (c)
6. Cameron Lee
7. Corey Powell
8. Louie O’Connor
9. Matthew Gardner – 90+3’ Conor Wright
10. Tom Weale
11. James Henry – 90+9’ Luco Bassett
Management/Assistants:
Nick Oakley
Matt Minton
Tom Reece
Indy Bosca
Team: Sutton United
1. Connor Byrne
2. Kye Billingham-Belle
3. Sam Jeeves – 70’ Robbie Brown
4. George Ray
5. Tion Pearce
6. Jon Grigg – 91’ Charlie Busst
7. Hayden Froggatt – 63’ Jack Whelan
8. Abdul Touaiti – 63’ Aaron Cameron
9. Joe Gildea
10. Tom Massey (c) – 90’ Louis Malin
11. Ronan Sheehan
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Adam Watson
Chris Bratt-Rose
Bobby Brittan
Derek Culling
Match Officials: Jamie Howe, Grosu Ciprian, Robert Hathaway
| Coton Green | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 3 | Goals | 2 |
| 12 | Attempts | 10 |
| 7 | Attempts on Target | 6 |
| 52% | Possession | 48% |
| 10 | Corners | 2 |
| 6 | Fouls Committed | 11 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Corey Powell | Opp Man of the Match | Ronan Sheehan |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Whelan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hayden Froggatt | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Abdul Touaiti | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Byrne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Ray | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Grigg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Brown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronan Sheehan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tion Pearce | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Massey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Cameron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aidan Jeynes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leyton Hines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Jeeves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Hardy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 2 |