Goals galore in draw
Sutton United had to settle for a point as they finished with 10 ten men against Birstall United Social at Coleshill Road Stadium.
Sutton trailed at the break before a second half brace from Joe Gildea put them ahead, only for Birstall to hit straight back with a free kick from Karl Whymark to secure a share of the points.
The home side made three changes to their starting line-up from midweek, with Oli Jeeves and Hayden Froggatt coming in, and a debut for new signing Harry Manton at left back.
Sutton had a difficult first half, with mistakes all round as they struggled to get a grip on the game. Unsurprisingly, Birstall took the lead when Ryan Seal muscled his way through in the penalty box to find the back of the net in the 13th minute.
An unsettled Sutton gave the ball away straight from the restart and could easily have been two down if not for an excellent fingertip save from Gabe Newey, as Aaron Preston tried his luck from thirty yards. And just a few minutes later, the striker came even closer with a shot that hit the post.
Sutton tried a change in formation, and they did pull level with their first attempt on goal in the 25th minute. Tom Massey’s near post shot from a corner kick was saved off the line and when the ball came back to Scott Hardy, he delivered to the back post for Froggatt to net his ninth goal of the season.
However, it wasn’t long before the visitors regained the lead when Sam Burton found the net at the second attempt after Newey had saved his initial shot.
Sutton made three changes for the start of the second half, with George Ray, Joe Gildea and Leyton Hines coming on, and within a minute of the restart Hines had set up Gildea for a shot inside the penalty area that was blocked by a Birstall defender.
Posing much more of a threat going forward Sutton equalised in the 53rd minute. The goal came from Gildea’s winning challenge in the centre of the pitch, with Massey and Hines then involved in the build-up before Sam Jeeves delivered a dangerous cross from the right, and as Birstall keeper Charlie Doherty punched the ball out, Gildea was there to finish on the half volley.
The striker scored again four minutes later to put Sutton ahead for the first time in the match, with a fantastic free-kick from 20-yards, after Massey had been brought down.
Their lead, however, did not last long, as Birstall levelled with a free kick of their own that Whymark fired into the bottom corner of the net.
The match could have gone either way at this point. A dangerous cross from Hines after winning the ball on the edge of Birstall’s penalty area, was well intercepted by Doherty ahead of Oli Jeeves. And for the visitors, Nicholas Reeves had a shot from the edge of the box deflected wide of the post by Ray.
Then with fifteen minutes to go, Sutton were reduced to ten men when Sam Jeeves retaliated a decision against him. Sutton then defended well to see out the match, with Birstall’s best chance coming from a set piece, as Seal struck wide of the post. And Sutton came close to winning it late on, but Doherty was quickly off his line with a strong save to deny Abdul Touaiti.
Sutton return to cup action on Tuesday 29th October when they host Wolverhampton Casuals in the Midland Football League Cup Round 2.
Team: Sutton United
1. Gabe Newey
2. Jon Grigg
3. Harry Manton – 46’ George Ray
4. Matt Bishop
5. Tion Pearce
6. Sam Jeeves
7. Tom Massey (c) – 68’ Abdul Touaiti
8. Scott Hardy – 46’ Leyton Hines
9. Oli Jeeves – 77’ Sef Semlali
10. Harry Howard – 46’ Joe Gildea
11. Hayden Froggatt
Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Adam Watson
Chris Bratt-Rose
Derek Culling
Amelia Small
Team: Birstall United Social
1. Charlie Doherty
2. Billy Tebbatt
3. Reif Armstrong (c)
4. Reece Lefley
5. Owen Dewing
6. Alistair Tierney
7. Jackson Parkin – 83’ Sheunesu Kanonda
8. Ryan Seal
9. Aaron Preston – 73’ Nicholas Reeves
10. Sam Burton
11. Karl Whymark – 63’ Arjun Jundal
Management/Assistants:
Paul Pallett
Sean Phillips
Tom Burton
Steve Toon
Callum Seal
Match Officials: James Hosie, Stuart Betteridge, Finlay Betteridge