Frogtastic win for Sutton
Hayden Froggatt’s 96th minute penalty gave Sutton a dramatic win against the nine men of Knowle FC at Coleshill Road Stadium.
This was a very tight and competitive match between two teams that currently have the best defensive records in the MFL1, and things looked to be heading for a stalemate until drama erupted minutes from the end. Knowle were reduced to nine men in the 89th minute allowing Sutton to push for a winner, which came courtesy of a spot kick calmly tucked away by the Sutton forward to maintain United’s winning start to the season.
Sutton had made four changes to the team that won on Saturday, including an impressive debut for Ben Harrison who was called into the sticks to replace the injured Greg Lewis.
The first half was closely contested with very few opportunities in front of goal for either side. The Robins pressed Sutton high up the pitch and the home side struggled to find any rhythm going forward. Defensively United looked well organised, with Lewis Wall impressing as centre back.
Both sides could only muster half chances in front of goal and when they did break through, both George Seeley for Knowle, and Sam Jeeves for Sutton, both had the ball in the net only to see the offside flag raised.
Knowle finished the half stronger with Talib Copeland twice trying his luck from the left; his first attempt was a powerful strike from outside the box that was well held by Harrison, and then when he broke into the penalty area his effort from six yards was superbly blocked by Matt Bishop.
The visitors thought they had scored early in the second half when a quickly taken throw-in caught Sutton napping, but Lewis Hayden rushed back and did enough to put off Mark Webster who shot inches wide of the post.
Then, a defining moment of the match came in the 61st minute, when Odane Barnes broke through the centre for the Robins and with only the keeper to beat, Harrison made a fantastic stop with an outstretched leg to deny the forward a goal. Knowle continued to look dangerous going forward as substitute Md Shimul volleyed an effort from 20 yards that Harrison again had to deal with for Sutton.
United improved as the match went on and they edged the final 20 minutes. Dan Wootten came on and looked a threat up front, curling an effort from just outside the penalty box that narrowly missed the target.
Wootten came close again when Ollie Burgundy set him up at the edge of the penalty area, only to be denied by goalkeeper Oscar Slater, who dived brilliantly to push out the shot heading for the bottom corner of his net, before Guy Clark blocked the rebound effort off Tom Massey.
The match was so tight to call at this point and tensions were rising as the minutes ticked down. Aidan Mee had been fantastic defending at right back for United, however, his energy to drive forward in the final minutes helped put them on the offensive. And in the 89th minute, it was the youngster who was on the end of a late challenge from Copeland, resulting in the Knowle player’s second yellow in four minutes and his exit from the match, closely followed by his captain, Seeley, with a sin bin for his protestations.
Now down to nine men, the Robins were defending for their lives as Sutton pressed their advantage. Mee continued to be a nuisance for the visitors, coming close to heading in off a corner kick, before he was brought down in the penalty box deep into added time. Froggatt stepped up to make no mistake with the crucial spot kick that sent the fantastic home support into raptures.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Sutton must now turn their attention to Saturday when they travel to the league leaders Gornal Athletic for an enticing top-of-the-table clash.
Team: Sutton United
1. Ben Harrison
2. Aidan Mee
3. Harry Manton
4. Matt Bishop
5. Lewis Wall
6. Lewis Hayden
7. Harry Howard – 52’ Dan Wootten
8. Sam Jeeves
9. Joe Gildea – 59’ Hayden Froggatt pen
10. Tom Massey (c)
11. Dylan Green – 52’ Ollie Burgendy
Subs unused: Jon Grigg, Tion Pearce
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Jon Huckfield
Aidan Jeynes
Marcus Davies
Evija Stauga
Team: Knowle FC
1. Oscar Slater
2. Connor Mort
3. Anton Powell
4. Guy Clark
5. Ricardo Dudley
6. Dylon Bennett – 76’ Toby Scott
7. Talib Copeland
8. Callum Scott
9. Mark Webster – 58’ Md Shimul – 93’ Lewis Rainey
10. George Seeley (c) sb
11. Odane Barnes
Sub Unused: Owain Taylor, Zak Parsons
Management/Assistants:
Matt Seeley
Clive Seeley
Dave Morrow
Match Officials: Nicholas Gray, Callum Finnegan, Ryan Bryne
| Sutton United | Statistics | Knowle FC |
| 1 | Goals | 0 |
| 8 | Attempts | 7 |
| 3 | Attempts on Target | 3 |
| 57% | Possession | 43% |
| 6 | Corners | 5 |
| 9 | Fouls Committed | 14 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 1 |
| Aidan Mee | Opp Man of the Match | Callum Scott |
| Lewis Wall | Club Man of the Match |