Clean sheet at Cradley
Andrew Delaney14 Jan –
Sutton United extended their unbeaten run to eight matches as they played out an entertaining goalless draw against second in the table Cradley Town.
In the first goalless draw of the season for both sides, Sutton were probably the happier, with a hard-earned, yet well-deserved point on the road against a very strong Cradley side. United had Will Jones back from suspension as Kye Billingham-Belle and Sam Price returned to the starting line-up.
In a tight first half there were chances created for both sides, with Sutton’s first sight at goal coming in the fourth minute, when a Cradley clearance fell kindly to Joe Gildea in the box, but his shot went straight into the hands of the keeper.
The home side hit the woodwork with a header from a corner kick before Sutton’s Tom Massey tested the Cradley keeper Nana Frimpong, with a twenty-yard volley that was pushed over the crossbar.
Sutton’s keeper Connor Byrne then pulled off a fantastic save to deny Chris Bladen from six yards and shortly after, Cradley’s Casey Collins missed the target with a great chance from inside the box.
United’s midfielders worked incredibly hard and when Jones crafted an effort from the edge of the box in the 31st minute, Frimpong did well to smother the ball marginally ahead of Gildea, running in at the back post.
Just before half time, the Hammers had a golden chance to take the lead with a break down the left side, and when Byrne blocked their first effort at goal, Bladen then dragged the rebound wide of the far post.
There were fewer clear-cut chances for either side in a closely contested second half. The home side moved the ball well but United were defensively solid, with a particularly strong performance from right back Jon Grigg, who kept Cradley’s impressive winger Joshua Marsden at bay, whilst making some crucial challenges inside the Sutton penalty box.
United get a rest next weekend and travel to Shawbury United on Saturday 27th January.
Team: Cradley Town
1. Nana Frimpong
2. Harry Edwards
3. Declan Bibb
4. Jamie Underhill
5. Daniel Hadley
6. Darren Whitley (c)
7. Casey Collins – 60’ Sam Banner
8. Brad Ward
9. Chris Bladen – 67’ Kane Harrold
10. Jordan Crump – 51’ Cameron Milne
11. Joshua Marsden
Management/Assistants:
Aaron Morris
Andrew Thompson
Luke Messer
Matt Clark
Lee Slater
Albert Gould
Team: Sutton United
1. Connor Byrne
2. Jon Grigg
3. Alex O’Keefe – 72’ Jake Murrell
4. Mark Moore
5. Tion Pearce-Copeland
6. Kye Billingham-Belle
7. Sam Price – 63’ Kyle Hayden
8. Will Jones – 79’ Sef Semlali
9. Joe Gildea
10. Tom Massey (c)
11. Joe Delaney – 79’ Ben Friel
Management/Assistants:
Liam Burke
Richard Heath
Ryan Lugg
Amelia Small
Match Officials: Matthew Perry, Simon Lane, Joshua Cattell
| Cradley Town | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 0 | Goals | 0 |
| 11 | Attempts | 8 |
| 4 | Attempts on Target | 4 |
| 60% | Possession | 40% |
| 4 | Corners | 2 |
| 17 | Fouls Committed | 9 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Opposition MOTM | Tion Pearce-Copeland |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 27 | 26 | 8 | 10 |
| Sam Price | 20 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Leyton Hines | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Massey | 28 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Sef Semlali | 26 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Tom Cullen | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kieran McConville | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Matt Bishop | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jon Grigg | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Joe Delaney | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Shane Smith | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Gregory | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex O’Keefe | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Lewan Tobin | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jake Murrell | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ethan Hanks | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyle Hayden | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Delport | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kaine Donald | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Will Buchanan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shevron Channer | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lewis James | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mark Moore | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reiss Wagstaff | 18 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tion Pearce-Copeland | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Jones | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Byrne | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrison Coe | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Friel | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Weston | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Remi Bell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Simmonds | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hassan Said | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Cooper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hurrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shakeer Abdelkhalek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 56 | 47 |