GILDEA GOAL WINS IT FOR SUTTON
BY ANDREW DELANEY
Joe Gildea’s first half goal was enough to give Sutton United a hard-fought win at Lane Head.
Sutton’s top goal-scorer struck in the 26th minute to tuck away a close range shot after the Lane Head keeper, Christopher Adamson had made a double save to deny Gildea his first effort and Tom Massey’s follow-up.
United’s work rate, on a bitterly cold afternoon, was tremendous as they ground out an important away win. There was a club debut for centre-back Finlay Ballantyne, who joins Sutton from Coton Green and his performance in the back line alongside Kaine Donald, Jonny Grigg and Jake Murrell secured a well-deserved clean sheet for Sutton.
The match itself contained very few goal scoring opportunities. The home side’s best chance came just before Sutton scored, with a free kick from Sam Baxter on the edge of the penalty box that Reiss Wagstaff brilliantly tipped over his crossbar.
Sutton edged the chances in the second half, as Joe Delaney had a shot deflected wide, and soon after, when he won the ball in the opposition penalty box, his pass to Gildea was intercepted and the chance to increase their lead was gone.
Overall, this may not have been the most entertaining match of the season, but it was a solid team performance and an important three points for Sutton in the hunt for promotion.
Next Saturday United will welcome AFC Coventry Rangers to Coleshill Road for a 3pm kick off. Rangers currently sit fourth in the MFL 2 with five games in hand over Sutton which makes this match a real six pointer!
Team: Lane Head
1. Christopher Adamson
2. Sam Giles
3. Harry Parrish
4. Joshua Clifford
5. Ben Styles
6. Lateef Giwa
7. Sam Lynex
8. Sam Baxter
9. Jack Arnold
10. Wesley Grey
11. Adam Cole
Subs:
Abdou Bajo
Thomas Lawton
Luke Smith
Management/Assistants:
Martin Davies
Ray Swann
Steven Stearn
Team: Sutton United
1. Reiss Wagstaff
2. Jonny Grigg
3. Jake Murrell
4. Finlay Ballantyne
5. Kaine Donald
6. Josh Duggan (c)
7. Tom Massey – Andy Matthews 90+5’
8. Sef Semlali – Matty Lewis 63’
9. Leyton Hines – Remi Bell 75’
10. Joe Gildea – Pete Bannister 86’
11. Joe Delaney – Matt Hurrell 90+3’
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Matt Gough
Chris Bratt-Rose
Louis Singh
Match Officials: Alan Salisbury, James Connolly, Terence Connolly
| Lane Head | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 0 | Goals | 1 |
| 6 | Attempts | 9 |
| 2 | Attempts on Target | 5 |
| 47% | Possession | 53% |
| 4 | Corners | 4 |
| 12 | Fouls Committed | 5 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Man of the Match | Tom Massey |