Massey Massacre
Andrew Delaney12 Sep – 20:27
Captain Tom Massey scored a brace as Sutton United came from behind to beat Stapenhill 4-1 at the Coleshill Road Stadium.
It was a frustrating first half for Sutton as they trailed at the break to a James Frost finish. A Jonny Grigg volley, early in the second half, put them on level terms, and then when Hayden Froggatt was brought down in the penalty box, Joe Gildea converted the spot kick to put the hosts ahead.
The Swans keeper, Paul Hollis, was then given a sin bin and United capitalised as they bombarded the opposition goal for ten minutes, with Massey netting two superb finishes that put Sutton in a commanding position.
Sutton made six changes to their line-up, with starts for Ben Friel, Jonny Grigg, Robbie Brown, Scott Hardy, Ronan Sheehan and Sef Semlali.
The match began tentatively, with nothing much to trouble either keeper for the opening fifteen minutes. The visitors had the first chance on goal when Jack Henchcliffe intercepted a Sutton pass, but his shot from 20 yards went well over the cross bar.
United then defended a spell of pressure from the visitors, as Lewis Campbell had a great chance from six yards, but his final shot was comfortable for Connor Byrne. Henchcliffe pinged a free kick wide of the post and Oliver Roome’s powerful effort from outside the box was well held by Byrne.
Sutton responded with some quick passing that saw Hardy square the ball at the byline and Massey’s back heel across the face of goal was smothered by Hollis just ahead of Sef Semlali.
Then the Swans took the lead in the 41st minute with a good move that finished with Harry Landsdowne’s cross from the left slotted in by Frost at the back post.
Sutton made a strong start to the second half, with efforts from Brown, Hardy and Massey, before Tion Pearce almost found the net at the back post from Hardy’s free kick.
United pulled level in the 72nd minute when Hardy’s delivery was knocked back across goal by Grigg, and with Ronan Sheehan surrounded by three defenders, his flick back to Grigg was calmly touched and volleyed home from six yards by the 22-year-old.
Byrne then made a brilliant save to tip behind a super shot from Henchcliffe that was curling into the top corner. Sutton made three substitutions before defending the resultant corner kick, with Hayden Froggatt, Joe Gildea and Abdul Touaiti coming off the bench.
Their impact was immediate, as United counter attacked from Stapenhill’s corner kick and Froggatt charged into the Swans penalty area before being clipped down at the byline. Gildea stepped up and with his first touch of the ball, struck the spot kick in under Hollis to give Sutton the lead.
Hollis was then shown a yellow card and sin bin for dissent, handing over his gloves for ten minutes to Lansdowne. Sutton made the most of their advantage, pegging the opposition back into their own half and it wasn’t long before they extended their lead when Massey flicked the ball around his defender and found the net from a tight angle.
Sutton kept up the pressure, with chances falling to Massey and Gildea. Lansdowne made a couple of great saves but could do nothing about Sutton’s fourth goal, as Massey crafted himself a yard in a crowded penalty box, to find the roof of the net.
It’s another home match for Sutton on Saturday 14th September when they host the MFL 1 leaders Smethwick Rangers.
Team: Sutton United
1. Connor Byrne
2. Jake Murrell
3. Ben Friel – 80’ Aaron Cameron
4. Matt Bishop
5. Tion Pearce
6. Jon Grigg
7. Robbie Brown – 64’ Abdul Touaiti
8. Scott Hardy – 78’ Sam Simmonds
9. Ronan Sheehan – 64’ Hayden Froggatt
10. Tom Massey (c)
11. Sef Semlali – 64’ Joe Gildea
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Adam Watson
Chris Bratt-Rose
Bobby Brittan
Derek Culling
Team: Stapenhill
1. Paul Hollis
2. James Frost
3. Harry Lansdowne
4. Josh Watson
5. Cameron Steele – 64’ Ben Novis
6. Zach Hill – 84’ Niall Dawkins
7. Oliver Roome – 79’ Ashton Frost
8. Jack Henchcliffe – 79’ Brad Wright
9. Lewis Campbell (c)
10. Cade Chadwick
11. Charlie Rumin – 57’ Connor Ward
Management/Assistants:
Louis Briscoe
Stuart Beckett
Andrew Beeston
Bob Elliot
Match Officials: Danny Meers, Adam Gittens, Paul Gordon
| Sutton United | Statistics | Stapenhill |
| 4 | Goals | 1 |
| 17 | Attempts | 10 |
| 11 | Attempts on Target | 6 |
| 57% | Possession | 43% |
| 5 | Corners | 5 |
| 10 | Fouls Committed | 16 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 5 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Matt Bishop | Opp Man of the Match | Harry Lansdowne |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 11 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Hayden Froggatt | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Tom Massey | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronan Sheehan | 9 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| George Ray | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Whelan | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sam Jeeves | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jon Grigg | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Cameron | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sef Semlali | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Abdul Touaiti | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Leyton Hines | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tion Pearce | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Brown | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Byrne | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Bishop | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Hardy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jake Murrell | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Simmonds | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Woodroofe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabe Newey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aidan Jeynes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Friel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Busst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Ward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Binns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 22 | 19 |