Bilston Steel the show
Andrew Delaney27 Aug – 22:54
The Steelmen dealt a bank holiday blow to Sutton United who were on the end of a 4-0 defeat at Queen Street, Bilston.
Sutton’s Charlie Woodroofe made a fantastic penalty save to deny Jake Short in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Steelmen leading at the break, as Short fired home an 18-yard strike in the 27th minute. Then a well-organised Bilston side added three more goals in the second half to claim a comprehensive win.
Sutton had twelve players unavailable for this match and called up Sam Simmonds and Chris Ward for the first time this season, with Woodroofe back in goal for his second consecutive game.
There were early chances on goal for both sides, as first Short had two good efforts from the left which were both blocked by Kye Billingham-Belle and then for Sutton, Hayden Froggatt’s shot from the right of goal had Bilston goalkeeper Dominic Cooper reacting quickly to save at his near post.
Bilston were awarded a penalty in the 25th minute for Woodroofe’s late challenge on Samuel Yankson as they both chased down a loose ball. The Sutton keeper then pulled off a superb save to deny Short from the spot.
However, the joy was short-lived as the hosts kept up the pressure and took the lead just two minutes later, when a corner kick was delivered to the edge of the penalty area for Short to drive home.
Sutton battled hard and when Froggatt won possession on the right to find Jack Whelan in the box, he was unlucky not to find the target. And just before the break, Mitchell Evans came close for Bilston with a shot from distance that was not too far over the crossbar.
United saw their best chance to equalise at the start of the second half, when George Ray headed a Sam Jeeves corner, only to be denied by a fine reaction save from Cooper.
Bilston saw efforts from Short and Joe Scriven fired wide of the target before they doubled their lead in the 55th minute, as Adam Nazir remained onside to run in behind Sutton’s defence and execute a clinical finish past Woodroofe.
And it wasn’t long before the hosts put the match beyond Sutton with a third goal in the 67th minute. Eesa Sawyers scored at the second attempt after Woodroofe had initially saved his first shot.
Sutton rarely troubled Cooper in the second half with only a couple of half chances created, as Whelan cut inside before striking over the bar and Froggatt headed a cross wide of the post.
It was the hosts who continued to look a threat and substitute Soms Sibanda put the gloss on their result six minutes from time, when he headed home a pinpoint cross from the left.
Sutton almost picked up a consolation goal minutes from the end, when Tion Pearce headed over at the back post, but the hosts had already wrapped up the points with a solid team performance.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Sutton can put a disappointing bank holiday behind them and focus on a return to winning ways with a home match against Cradley Town on Saturday 31st August.
Team: Bilston Town
1. Dominic Cooper
2. Joe Scriven – 81’ Ethan Peck
3. Aaron Weston (c)
4. Lewis Wall
5. Jordan Spragg
6. Haydn Hall
7. Adam Nazir
8. Mitchell Evans – 68’ Donovan Westwood
9. Samuel Yankson – 76’ Soms Sibanda
10. Eesa Sawyers – 78’ Harreson Clarke
11. Jake Short
Management/Assistants:
Ryan Westley
Kyle Wainwright
Alfie Stanick
Team: Sutton United
1. Charlie Woodroofe
2. Kye Billingham-Belle
3. Aaron Cameron – 55’ Louis Malin
4. George Ray
5. Tion Pearce
6. Sam Jeeves (c) – 74’ Sam Simmonds
7. Ronan Sheehan – 63’ Chris Ward
8. Abdul Touaiti – 55’ Tom Massey
9. Hayden Froggatt
10. Scott Hardy
11. Jack Whelan – 63’ Robbie Brown
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Adam Watson
Derek Culling
Match Officials: Lewis Richards, Andrew Luckett, Tom Edwards
| Bilston Town | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 4 | Goals | 0 |
| 17 | Attempts | 8 |
| 10 | Attempts on Target | 2 |
| 59% | Possession | 41% |
| 7 | Corners | 4 |
| 4 | Fouls Committed | 5 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Samuel Yankson | Opp Man of the Match | Scott Hardy |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Hayden Froggatt | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| George Ray | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Whelan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ronan Sheehan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Sam Jeeves | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sef Semlali | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Abdul Touaiti | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Leyton Hines | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Robbie Brown | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tion Pearce | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Massey | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Grigg | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Hardy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Byrne | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Bishop | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Cameron | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Woodroofe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabe Newey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aidan Jeynes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Busst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christopher Ward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Murrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Simmonds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Binns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 11 |