Hammers hero Hewett stuns Sutton
Nathan Hewett’s second half penalty save denied Sutton a point in their difficult away trip to Cradley Town.
Hewett went into goal for Cradley after regular keeper Reece Francis was dismissed with a sinbin and the Kidderminster Harriers loanee dived the right way to deny Joe Gildea from twelve yards.
The penalty save came straight after Callum North had marked his debut for the Hammers with a second half goal that proved decisive, as United struggled to match the highs of their recent cup performances.
The talking point of the first half was the yellow card for Sutton’s goalkeeper, Greg Lewis, after he clipped a Cradley player running clean through the centre of the pitch in the 40th minute. Sutton had been caught out on the counter and many were expecting the keeper to see red.
It came at the end of a scrappy first half, where the hosts had edged the chances in front of goal, with Jordan Crump hitting the crossbar in the early stages and Daniel Harvey with an effort deflected wide.
For Sutton, Hayden Froggart’s effort on the half volley proved comfortable for the Cradley goalkeeper, and Matt Bishop saw a header at the back post chalked off for an infringement.
Town threatened early in the second half as Lewis made an excellent diving save to push behind Ben Billingham’s shot from the edge of the penalty box, and Tion Pearce did well to take the sting off Kane Harrold’s effort, allowing Lewis to gather at his near post.
The hosts took the lead in the 63rd minute, thanks to a Sutton goal kick picked up by North, and the ex-Boldmere St Michaels player fired a shot in off the post from twenty yards.
Sutton had an immediate opportunity to get back into the match when they were awarded a penalty for handball and Cradley goalkeeper, Francis, received a sin bin for his protestations. However, Hewett proved equal to the task as he saved Joe Gildea’s penalty kick and the rebound from Bishop went over the target.
North proved a handful for Sutton and came close to a second goal with a shot that had Lewis diving superbly to push the ball behind.
New signing Jonathan Baka came on in the second half for Sutton as they pushed for an equaliser, with efforts from Reece Gibson and Tom Massey coming close.
Sutton called for another penalty in the 83rd minute when Harry Howard was pushed over in the penalty box, but instead they were reduced to ten men when Oli Jeeves received a sin bin for dissent.
In the end it was a game of few chances with United falling to a narrow defeat. And after three consecutive away games, Sutton now return home to host Ingles in their league fixture on Saturday 23rd November at Coleshill Road Stadium.
Team: Cradley Town
1. Reece Francis (c) SB
2. Jack Ricketts
3. Declan Bibb
4. Cameron Milne – 78’ Joe Fitzpatrick
5. Nathanael Hewett
6. Daniel Hadley
7. Kane Harrold – 56’ Traevay Wright
8. Daniel Harvey
9. Jordan Crump – 56’ Callum North
10. Brad Ward – 83’ Callum Powell
11. Ben Billingham
Unused Sub: Joseph Bevan
Management/Assistants:
Stuart How, Andrew Thompson
Matt Clark, Luke Messer
James Caswell, Adam Callingswood
Team: Sutton United
1. Greg Lewis
2. Abdul Touaiti
3. Zach Binns – 69’ Harry Manton
4. Matt Bishop
5. Tion Pearce
6. Sam Simmonds – 75’ Jonathan Baka
7. Oli Jeeves SB
8. Tom Massey (c)
9. Reece Gibson
10. Joe Gildea – 69’ Harry Howard
11. Hayden Froggatt – 75’ Sef Semlali
Unused Sub: Jonny Grigg
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath, Liam Burke
Adam Watson
Amelia Small
Match Officials: Kian Soulsby, Christopher Winchurch, Tom Edwards