Sutton knocked out of the Fazeley Cup
Andrew Delaney26 Nov 2023 –
Holders Sutton United were knocked out of the Fazeley Charity Cup at the quarter final stage with a home defeat against Coton Green.
Coton Green were unrecognisable from the team that came to Coleshill Road just last month, with only four players returning from that squad and they came into the match on the back of a run of five consecutive defeats.
Sutton made three changes from the starting line-up that drew against Stapenhill last time out, with Kye Billingham-Belle and Tion Pearce-Copeland replacing Will Jones and Jake Murrell, whilst Sef Semlali started ahead of youngster James Stretton.
The opening twenty minutes were closely contested with opportunities for both sides before the visitors took the lead when Sahel Ahmed Yessen’s shot from a corner kick was saved by Connor Byrne, before Tyrike Richards-Burke tapped home the rebound.
Sutton pressed for an equaliser with Tom Cullen denied at the back post after Jonny Grigg had picked him out and for Coton Green, Yessen’s shot from the right was well saved by Byrne.
The visitors did increase their lead in added time at the end of the first half with a cross from the right that looped straight in off the post.
Sutton managed to reduce the deficit before the break with a fantastic strike from Sam Price for his third goal of the season.
United began the second half positively with Joe Gildea through on goal in the opening minute, but his final shot proved comfortable for Josh Benton. Gildea came close again when his freekick was tipped onto the crossbar by Benton, and then his header from the resultant corner kick was cleared off the line.
Coton Green doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Danny Kitching’s set piece was headed in over Byrne by Alex Taylorson.
United responded with a goal two minutes later, when Gildea set up Tom Cullen to execute a tremendous shot from the edge of the box that gave Benton no chance.
Sutton pressed forward with substitute Kyle Hayden injecting some pace down the left flank and his effort at goal in the 66th minute ended up in the side netting.
Cullen came close to another goal when he struck the crossbar from the right wing and just as it looked like Sutton could get back into the match, it was the visitors who scored again with a bit of skill from Yessen to win himself space in the box to finish with precision.
United couldn’t find a way back this time and when Grigg had to come off with a knock in the 79th minute, there were no other defenders to replace him, and they ended up conceding two late goals with Jack Doak tapping in from close range and Richard-Burke scoring his second of the match with a superb shot from a tight angle.
Sutton return to league action next Saturday when they host Wolverhampton Sporting for the first meeting of these two teams this season.
Team: Sutton United
1. Connor Byrne
2. Kye Billingham-Belle
3. Tion Pearce-Copeland – 45’ Kyle Hayden
4. Lewis James
5. Mark Moore
6. Sef Semlali – 70’ James Stretton
7. Sam Price – 68’ Kieron Pearce-Copeland
8. Tom Cullen
9. Joe Gildea
10. Tom Massey (c)
11. Jon Grigg – 79’ Lewan Tobin
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Matt Gough
Chris Bratt-Rose
Derek Culling
Team: Coton Green
1. Josh Benton
2. Danny Kitching – 89’ Aaron Cameron
3. Charlie Noakes
4. Ellis Whitelaw
5. Troy Anderson
6. Lewis Riley-Stewart (c)
7. Tyrike Richards-Burke
8. Callum Thorpe – 68’ Jack Doak
9. Kyle Crawford – 83’ Jordan Blake
10. Alex Taylorson – 89’ Joe Bolton
11. Sahel Ahmed Yessen
Management/Assistants:
Russell Bosworth-Munday
Jon Huckfield
Tom Reece
Chris Dolmand
Madison Jordan
Match Officials: Robert Blagden, Jake Chyla, Ben Chyla
| Sutton United | Statistics | Coton Green |
| 2 | Goals | 6 |
| 13 | Attempts | 12 |
| 7 | Attempts on Target | 8 |
| 55% | Possession | 45% |
| 2 | Corners | 2 |
| 5 | Fouls Committed | 8 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 20 | 17 | 6 | 6 |
| Leyton Hines | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Sam Price | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Thomas Cullen | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Massey | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Sef Semlali | 19 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Kieran McConville | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Matt Bishop | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jon Grigg | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Joe Delaney | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Shane Smith | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Gregory | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewan Tobin | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jake Murrell | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ethan Hanks | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Delport | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kaine Donald | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Will Buchanan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewis James | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reiss Wagstaff | 18 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mark Moore | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tion Pearce-Copeland | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Jones | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrison Coe | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Remi Bell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Simmonds | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Byrne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Hayden | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Cooper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hurrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shakeer Abdelkhalek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 39 | 33 |