Reduced but Relentless – Sutton March On
The ten men of Sutton United marched into the semi-finals of the Floodlit Cup with a resilient 3-0 win over Alcester Town.
Ollie Burgundy’s first half breakthrough set Sutton on the road to victory, as Lewis Wall and Joe Gildea both found the net in the second half, despite Sutton being reduced to ten men shortly after the break. United produced a controlled performance with tremendous defensive discipline to book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup.
The opening twenty minutes were evenly balanced, with both sides carving out only half chances until Tom Massey’s powerful strike from the right forced a superb reaction save from Alcester goalkeeper Sam Hart.
The hosts then saw their best chance of the half when Jack Cole lifted a promising effort over the bar off a corner kick.
As the half progressed, Sutton began to assert themselves. Oli Jeeves headed narrowly wide from an Aidan Mee teasing delivery, and when James Gallagher delivered an equally strong ball from the left, Spruce saw a sweetly struck half-volley brilliantly tipped over by the impressive Hart.
The Greens found the breakthrough in the 32nd minute when Tom Massey set up Burgundy to drive a low shot through a crowded box for his fourth goal of the season.
Oli Jeeves continued to torment the Alcester defence and forced another sharp block from Hart before the interval, leaving Sutton in a strong but slender position at the break.
The game shifted early in the second half when Tion Pearce was shown a straight red card after reacting to a challenge from William Skelton. The Romans almost made Sutton pay immediately from the resulting free kick, but Greg Lewis made a fine save to deny Adam Garmson, and Liam O’Donnell could only blaze the rebound over.
Sutton reacted smartly to the sending off, with Oli Jeeves making way for Matt Bishop to reinforce the defense, and what followed was a display of remarkable organisation and composure from the ten-men.
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And just as the hosts were sensing a comeback, Sutton struck again to dent their confidence. Sam Jeeves delivered a beautifully floated free kick into the box, Bishop rose to cushion a header back across goal, and Wall was on hand at the back post to nod home his fourth and Sutton’s fiftieth goal of the season
Forced to push forward, Alcester did create more chances as Sutton sat deeper. Garmson fired narrowly wide from 20 yards, and George Davis found himself one-on-one late on, but Lewis stood tall to preserve his clean sheet with a calm and decisive save.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Sutton looked largely in control, defending as a unit and managing the game superbly. And there was still time for one final moment of quality, as deep into stoppage time, Gildea stepped up and lashed a 25-yard free-kick into the net with the last kick of the match, sealing a commanding victory and Sutton’s place in the next round.
But before that, Sutton return to league action with a crucial home fixture against Saffron Dynamo on Saturday 22nd November at the Coleshill Road Stadium, kick off 3pm.
Team: Alcester Town
1. Sam Hart
2. Drew Ricketts
3. Aaron Xavier
4. Liam O’Donnell – 73’ Joel Bell
5. Luke Dugmore – 62’ Aaron Bunn
6. Ashley Bunn
7. George Davis
8. Jake Wicketts (c) – 85’ Triston Roberts
9. Adam Garmson
10. William Skelton – 73’ Adam Bourn
11. Jack Cole – 39’ Josh Bowen
Management/Assistant:
A. Blackwood
C. Tomlinson
R. Faulkner
R.Dipple
G. Armond
A. Richmond
Team: Sutton United
1. Greg Lewis
2. Aidan Mee
3. James Gallagher
4. Tion Pearce
5. Lewis Wall
6. Lewis Hayden
7. Tom Massey – 90+1’ Joel Newman
8. Harry Howard – 55’ Sam Jeeves
9. Oli Jeeves – 53’ Matt Bishop
10. Ollie Burgundy – 85’ Dylan Green
11. James Spruce – 76’ Joe Gildea
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Aidan Jeynes
Marcus Davies
Evija Stauga
Match Officials: Oliver Brackenbury, R. Peel, S. Nugent
| Alcester Town | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 0 | Goals | 3 |
| 6 | Attempts | 11 |
| 4 | Attempts on Target | 7 |
| 49% | Possession | 51% |
| 4 | Corners | 8 |
| 11 | Fouls Committed | 10 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 1 |
| Club Man of the Match | Lewis Wall |