SWEET SUCCESS FOR SUTTON
BY ANDREW DELANEY
Sutton completed a successful Easter Bank Holiday weekend with a thrilling 4-2 win over Cadbury Athletic at Coleshill Road.
With both teams in the hunt for promotion the 150 strong crowd were treated to an action-packed afternoon. It was Sutton who raced into an early two-goal lead, only to be pegged back by two Cadbury goals in three minutes, in a pulsating first half hour. The second half was closely contested until substitute Leyton Hines scored and then created the chance for Joe Delaney to make sure of the points for United.
Sutton made five changes to the starting line-up from Friday’s cup victory, and it was new signing Freddie Cockerell who fired them into an early lead when he rounded the keeper to net his first goal for the club, with Joe Gildea providing the assist.
Ethan Hanks then hit the woodwork for the visitors with a sweeping effort from the left of goal as the match went into a frantic ten minutes. First, Sutton were awarded a penalty for a foul on Delaney, challenging for a loose ball in the box. Skipper Josh Duggan saw his penalty saved by Fraser Oliver before scooping the rebound over the crossbar.
Duggan redeemed himself two minutes later when he set up Delaney in the box to strike across the keeper and give Sutton that two-goal lead.
The Chocolate Men responded with two quick goals to level to score, as they were awarded a penalty themselves which Ethan Hanks stepped up to score, and two minutes later Jeson Dinanga ran in behind Sutton’s defence to execute a clinical finish after Kedeiah Warren-Paul had headed on.
Cadbury were boosted by their goals, but Sutton reacted well and came close again with two set-pieces before the break: Delaney volleyed over Duggan’s delivery and Gildea saw his 20-yard free-kick gathered on the deck by Oliver.
United gave a strong second half performance, with an extra day of rest compared to Cadbury that possibly gave them an edge, as early chances fell to Gildea, who curled an effort marginally wide of the target and Hines, who forced a superb save from Oliver, before Cockerell fired the rebound over the crossbar.
Sutton’s substitutes were making an impact and when Tom Massey beat two defenders on the right to deliver a cross in the 76th minute, it was Shane Smith who set up Delaney on the edge of the box and when Oliver dived low to keep his shot out of the bottom corner, Hines was lurking to slot home the rebound at the back post and fire United into the lead once more.
Worryingly for Sutton, Smith only lasted five minutes on the pitch before coming off injured, joining Kaine Donald on the bench, having pulled up in the first half. Short on centre-backs, Duggan had played most of the match there, and he led a strong defence as the visitors pushed for an equaliser. And when Thomas Craine did break through the middle in the 86th minute, Wagstaff was off his line to gather the shot.
United made sure of the points in the 88th minute when the excellent energy and pressing from Hines led to a rushed pass out of defence that Delaney was quick to intercept and tuck away his 25th goal of the season with a precise finish past Oliver.
Next Saturday sees Sutton take on Coventrians at the third time of asking, in the semi-final of the County Cup, 3pm kick-off at Coleshill Road Stadium.
Team: Sutton United
1. Reiss Wagstaff
2. Will Jones
3. Finlay Ballantyne
4. Kaine Donald – Jonny Grigg 39’
5. Aaron Evans
6. Josh Duggan (c)
7. Remi Bell – Tom Massey 59’
8. Sef Semlali
9. Freddie Cockerell – Shane Smith 74’ – Lewis James 79’
10. Joe Gildea – Leyton Hines 67’
11. Joe Delaney
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Matt Gough
Chris Bratt-Rose
Louis Singh
Derek Cullen
Team: Cadbury Athletic
1. Fraser Oliver
2. Owain Taylor – Thomas Craine 57’
3. Syrus Warren-Paul
4. Jack McGinn
5. Daniel Morris (c)
6. Myles Brooks
7. Ethan Hanks
8. Andrew Cooper – Liam O’Donnell 55’
9. Taylor Homer – Wade Malley 85’
10. Jeson Dinanga – Adam Bourn 55’
20. Kedeiah Warren-Paul
Management/Assistants:
Oliver Hartill
Sam Smith
John Hunter
Match Officials: Simon Lane, Reece Crowton, John Sproson
| Sutton United | Statistics | Cadbury Athletic |
| 4 | Goals | 2 |
| 18 | Attempts | 13 |
| 10 | Attempts on Target | 6 |
| 63% | Possession | 37% |
| 4 | Corners | 6 |
| 10 | Fouls Committed | 9 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Joe Delaney | Man of the Match |