Sutton secure first win of the season
Andrew Delaney12 Aug – 10:40
A positive display earned Sutton United their first win of the season against Allexton & New Parks at New College Leicester.
Both teams came into the match on the back of two defeats in search of their first points of the season and it was the West Midlands side who came out on top, with first half goals from Jack Whelan and Joe Gildea, before Hayden Froggatt added a third deep into added time.
Defender Matt Bishop returned after suspension to help United secure a welcome clean sheet after conceding eight in their first two games.
Both sides almost scored in a frantic opening minute, as Christian Ngueusseu hit the post for Allexton with only seventeen seconds on the clock, and United responded with a break down the left flank where Ronan Sheehan crossed for Whelan, who struck straight at the keeper.
It was Sutton who took the lead in the 9th minute, when Bishop’s cross was headed back out to the edge of the box by George Ray, for Whelan to turn and strike in under the keeper for his second goal of the season.
Sutton continued to have the better of the chances with Gildea’s 18-yard effort tipped behind by keeper Freddie Young, and Whelan came close to a second with a shot across goal that skimmed narrowly wide of the far post.
United did double their lead on the half hour mark when Abdul Touaiti rode his challenge in midfield to slip the ball into the path of Sheehan, and his perfect cross was slotted home by Gildea for his second in two matches.
For the home side, their best chance fell to David Gittao who was clear through the middle before a heavy touch allowed Sutton keeper Connor Byrne to beat him to ball. And Sutton’s full back, Kye Billingham-Belle worked hard to contain Allexton’s target man Ngueusseu, whose only other shot at goal was comfortable for Byrne.
Allexton came out positively in the second half and had their best fifteen minutes of the match. Dante Naute-Brown came close with two efforts that glanced wide of the far post and another effort from the left that saw Ray get a vital touch to deflect wide of the target.
Sutton defended well and began to create the better chances in attack. Jon Grigg’s clever through ball saw Whelan in behind the Allexton defense, but his shot on goal was well saved by Young, and Gildea had another effort blocked after Sam Jeeves had won the ball high up the pitch for Sutton.
The hosts suffered a setback in the 68th minute when substitute Brandon Jarratt came off with an injured arm after only being on the pitch for eight minutes, and in the 84th minute they had substitute Ayrton Carter-Fell dismissed for a reckless challenge on Billingham-Belle.
Sutton finished strongly with Froggatt coming off the bench to net his first goal for the club deep into added time, as his first effort was saved by Young, before he made no mistake with the rebound.
Next up for Sutton is a home match against early league leaders Nuneaton Town on Tuesday 13th August with a 7.45pm kick off at Coleshill Road Stadium.
Team: Allexton & New Parks
1. Freddie Young
2. Ash Jones
3. Jordan Brown-March (c)
4. Lloyd Nelson
5. Matt Dennis
6. Tommy Read – 60’ Brandon Jarratt – 68’ Flavien Mbane
7. Christian Ngueusseu
9. David Gittao – 46’ Patrick Dugbo
10. Cain Beckett
11. Dante Naute-Brown – 60’ Ayrton Carter-Fell
15. Josh Gough – 60’ Diego Ramos
Management/Assistants:
Ryan Haycock
Steve Finch
Harrison Stuart
Connor Burrows
Team: Sutton United
1. Connor Byrne
2. Kye Billingham-Belle
3. George Ray
4. Matt Bishop (c)
5. Tion Pearce
6. Jon Grigg – 90+3’ Sef Semlali
7. Ronan Sheehan – 90’ Leyton Hines
8. Sam Jeeves – 87’ Robbie Brown
9. Joe Gildea
10. Abdul Touaiti – 58’ Tom Massey
11. Jack Whelan – 58’ Hayden Froggatt
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Adam Watson
Bobby Brittan
Derek Culling
Match Officials: Orkan Bedre, Robert Hathaway, David Collett
| Allexton & New Parks | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 0 | Goals | 3 |
| 8 | Attempts | 15 |
| 4 | Attempts on Target | 11 |
| 50% | Possession | 50% |
| 3 | Corners | 7 |
| 13 | Fouls Committed | 8 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 1 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Whelan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Hayden Froggatt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ronan Sheehan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| George Ray | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Abdul Touaiti | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Byrne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Grigg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tion Pearce | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Massey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leyton Hines | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Jeeves | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Cameron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aidan Jeynes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Busst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matthew Bishop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Hardy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yousef Semlali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 5 |