First defeat of the season
Sutton United suffered their first defeat of the season in a hotly contested top-of-the-table clash, going down 2-1 away to Gornal Athletic.
Both teams came into the game boasting perfect records – six wins from six – but it was the hosts who maintained their 100% start and laid down an early marker in the title race.
The match was a great showcase for the MFL 1, with two strong sides going head-to-head. United had the better of the first half and should have gone into the break with a clear lead, only to be pegged back on the brink of half time.
Gornal came back stronger in the second half as both teams were going for the win. Then with half an hour still to play, Sutton had to replace their goalkeeper through injury, and whilst Lewis Wall did an excellent job as replacement, he couldn’t keep out the Gornal winner in the 85th minute, as Taylor Homer curled the ball in, direct off a corner.
Sutton made five changes from the midweek win, with Greg Lewis returning in goal and starts for Perry Cotton, Reiss Hick, Hayden Froggatt and Ollie Burgundy.
United started the brighter and took the lead in the 18th minute, when Froggatt controlled Cotton’s inviting ball forward, before Aidan Mee took over to dribble to the by line and cross back to the striker. However, Gornal’s Dan Hadley intercepted the cross only to tap into his own net.
The hosts were moving the ball well, yet they had created very little in the first half to trouble Lewis in the Sutton goal. Their best chance had fallen to Jake Short who found space to shoot in the penalty area, only to be denied with a brilliant block from Cotton.
Late in the half Sutton had two great chances to extend their lead, first a sweeping move down the right had Mee crossing into the penalty area, where Froggatt’s close-range effort was deflected onto the cross bar by the outstretched leg of the goalkeeper Reece Francis, before both Dan Hadley and Ben Podmore lunged to block the follow up from Burgundy.
Just a couple minutes later, the Sutton skipper Sam Jeeves, had a great chance to score with a header off Froggatt’s delivery, but the quick reactions of Francis saw the goalkeeper tip behind.
The Greens were made to pay for their missed opportunities when Gornal equalised in added time at the end of the first half. A rare misjudgement at the back from Sutton saw Hadley in on goal and he made no mistake with a composed finish from the right.
The goal brought Gornal back into the game and they came out for the second half with renewed intensity. Soon after the restart, a long throw-in caused some chaos in Sutton’s penalty area before the well positioned Reiss Hick blocked in front of goal to deny Jack Till.
It was end-to-end action at this stage of the match, as Frances made another great save to deny Froggatt when the ball had fallen kindly to the Sutton striker after a ricochet off Mee.
Then, up the other end of the pitch, a close-range header by Podmore off a corner kick was headed down and off the crossbar for the hosts. Unfortunately for United, Lewis suffered a rolled ankle whilst challenging for the ball, resulting in the goalkeeper limping off the field in the 59th minute. Lewis Wall picked up the gloves for Sutton and Jon Grigg came on to take his place in the midfield.
Wall did incredibly well to deny substitute Brad Ward a goal for the Peacocks, when he dived low to his left to push Ward’s twenty-yard strike behind the post.
With the match seemingly heading for a draw, Gornal struck late to complete their comeback. Hadley curled his corner kick straight into the back of the net for his second of the match to ensure all three points stayed in the Black Country.
Despite a spirited performance, Sutton left empty-handed for the first time this campaign. They’ll now look to bounce back and reignite their early season form with a bank holiday trip to Stapenhill on Monday 25th August.
Team: Gornal Athletic
1. Reece Frances (c)
2. Harry Edwards
3. Declan Bibb – 46’ Dan Harvey
4. Tom Turton – 65’ Brad Ward
5. Ben Podmore
6. Dan Hadley og
7. Taylor Homer – 90+1’ Matty Hewitt
8. Ryan Winwood
9. Traevay Wright – 82’ Jordan Crump
10. Jake Short
11. Jack Till
Sub unused: Ben Billingham
Management/Assistants:
Stu Howe
Andy Thompson
Adam Callingswood
Richard Upton
Shane Priest
Savannah Hunt
James Caswell
Team: Sutton United
1. Greg Lewis – 59’ Jon Grigg
2. Perry Cotton
3. Harry Manton – 67’ Dan Wootten
4. Matt Bishop
5. Reiss Hick
6. Lewis Wall
7. Aidan Mee
8. Sam Jeeves
9. Hayden Froggatt – 76’ Joe Gildea
10. Ollie Burgundy
11. Dylan Green – 81’ Harry Howard
Sub unused: Tion Pearce
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Jon Huckfield
Aidan Jeynes
Marcus Davies
Derek Culling
Match Officials: Calberth Charles, Philip Magness, Andrew Holmes
| Gornal Athletic | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 2 | Goals | 1 |
| 7 | Attempts | 10 |
| 5 | Attempts on Target | 4 |
| 47% | Possession | 53% |
| 6 | Corners | 6 |
| 13 | Fouls Committed | 7 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Club Man of the Match | Sam Jeeves | |
| Opp Man of the Match | Reiss Hick |