Greens Left Drenched but Determined
It was a night of frustration for Sutton United who fell to their first home defeat of the season against Birmingham OJM, despite a spirited second-half display at the Coleshill Road Stadium.
The Greens were punished for a sluggish first half in which the visitors’ clinical finishing saw them race into a three-goal lead before half time. Although Sutton rallied after the break and came close to completing an unlikely comeback, Birmingham held on, thanks in part to their goalkeeper and the woodwork, to take home all three points.
Sutton never found their rhythm in a sloppy first half and struggled to cope with OJM’s intensity and high pressing. The visitors looked sharp from the outset and opened the scoring in the 8th minute, when Dominic Latham’s cross fell to Michael Nelson in the box, with his shot taking a wicked deflection to wrong-foot Greg Lewis, who did well to adjust but couldn’t quite keep the ball out of his net.
United tried to respond but were finding little joy in the opposition’s half. Tom Massey’s surging run and 20-yard effort was their best moment, drawing a fine fingertip save from Joe Neeson in the Birmingham goal.
The visitors continued to cause problems for Sutton, and they doubled their lead on 34 minutes after winning the ball high up the pitch. Lukman Darboe-Suwareh let fly from distance and another slight deflection took the strike beyond Lewis and into the top corner.
Things went from bad to worse for Sutton just before half-time, when a defensive mix-up presented Leslie Omorodion with a chance, and he made no mistake with a composed left-footed finish into the side netting to give the visitors a commanding, and well-deserved, three-goal lead at the break.
United made changes at half-time, introducing James Spruce, James Gallagher and Oli Jeeves, alongside a change in shape and an increase in tempo that immediately saw results. Jeeves almost made an instant impact, rounding Neeson only to see his goal-bound effort cleared away by Stefan Cameron.
Sutton kept up the pressure as Spruce was twice denied in quick succession; first by a strong block from Callum Nimmo, and then by a superb point-blank save from Neeson following a corner.
The OJM keeper continued to frustrate Sutton, tipping Ollie Burgundy’s powerful drive onto the crossbar, before Jeeves fired narrowly wide of the far post from Tion Pearce’s teasing delivery.
Sutton’s pressure finally paid off in the 63rd minute, when Matt Bishop’s header struck Jordan Sangha’s hand inside the box, and Jeeves calmly smashed home the resulting penalty to give Sutton hope.
Burgundy, later named Sutton’s man-of-the-match, came close to reducing the deficit further when his in-swinging corner struck the crossbar and bounced on the line, before the visitors managed to scramble the ball clear.
Neeson again came to Birmingham’s rescue late on, producing another fine save to deny Spruce once more, before holding a close-range header from Gildea.
As torrential rain poured down in the closing stages, Sutton finally grabbed a second in stoppage time, when Gildea reacted sharply at the edge of the box to find the bottom corner for his fourth goal in his last three games.
Time eventually ran out for the hosts, who were left to rue a frustrating first-half performance that ultimately cost them the points. Nevertheless, despite the loss, their spirited and determined second-half display should provide the momentum for their next match, with a trip to Ingles on Saturday 15th November, kick off 3pm.
Team: Sutton United
1. Gabe Newey
2. Aidan Mee
3. Joel Newman – 46’ James Gallagher
4. Matt Bishop
5. Tion Pearce – 73’ Dan Wootten
6. Lewis Wall
7. Ollie Burgundy
8. Lewis Hayden – 84’ Jonny Grigg
9. Joe Gildea
10. Tom Massey (c) – 46’ James Spruce
11. Dylan Green – 46’ Oli Jeeves
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath, Liam Burke
Aidan Jeynes, Bobby Brittan
Evija Stauga, Derek Culling
Team: Birmingham OJM
1. Joseph Neeson
2. Sebastian Pearsall
3. Dominic Latham
4. Lukman Darboe-Suwareh
5. Stefan Cameron
6. Callum Nimmo
7. Jordon Sangha (c) – 90+2’ Raheem Akhtar
8. Thomas Cox
9. Casey Collins
10. Michael Nelson – 84’ Liam Spink
11. Leslie Omorodion – 68’ Jarrell Hylton
Unused subs: Aaron Weston, Yasen Omar
Management/Assistants:
Adam Younis, Steven Leslie
Marco Adaggio, Ashley Brown
Dave Hallam, Mia Cole
Adam Keough
Match Officials: Luis James, Oliver Brackenbury, Benjamin Kular
| Sutton United | Statistics | Birmingham OJM |
| 2 | Goals | 3 |
| 13 | Attempts | 6 |
| 10 | Attempts on Target | 4 |
| 51% | Possession | 49% |
| 11 | Corners | 0 |
| 10 | Fouls Committed | 10 |
| 4 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Ollie Burgundy | Club Man of the Match | Sebastian Pearsall |