Bank holiday defeat against Allscott

Andrew Delaney

Sutton let slip an early lead to suffer a narrow defeat against in-form Allscott Heath at Coleshill Road.

Fellow promoted side Allscott Heath, have enjoyed a great start to life in MFL 1 with four wins from six, whilst Sutton have been struggling for points since their opening day win. Nevertheless, this was a closely contested match and Sutton can feel disappointed not to have picked up something for their efforts.

United made a great start, taking the lead in the 6th minute when Allscott keeper Jaden Bevan’s clearance fell kindly for striker Joe Gildea to sweep home from the edge of the box.

The visitors pulled level in the 21st minute from a corner kick that was tapped in at the back post by Aiden Jehu.

Mark Moore returned to the first team for Sutton, with a solid performance at centre back alongside Tion Pearce-Copeland. There was also a debut start for newcomer Ethan Hanks, who was involved in much of United’s attacking threat in the first half and almost bagged a debut goal from a volley at the edge of the box, with Bevan stranded.

Sutton finished the half strongly, but it was Allscott who had a great chance to take the lead just before the break when Ben Davies crafted himself space in front of goal only to drag his shot wide of the post.

Both teams had chances early in the second half, with Alscott just missing the target from a set-piece and for Sutton, Tom Cullen deserved a goal with a blistering 25-yard effort that had Bevan beaten as it rocked his crossbar.

But it was the visitors who managed to find the net again when Harry Morris headed in Ryan Mansell’s cross in the 63rd minute.
United pushed hard for an equaliser, as Tom Massey saw an effort deflected wide and there was a big shout for a penalty that the referee waved away. Jon Grigg added an attacking threat when he came on, and there were also debuts for Daniel Cooper and Sam Price who both gave promising performances.

But despite Sutton’s best efforts, Allscott held onto their lead to take all three points. There were however positives for Sutton take into their next match on Saturday 2nd September, when they host Stapenhill at Coleshill Road.

Team: Sutton United
1. Reiss Wagstaff (c)
2. Lewis James – 70’ Harrison Coe
3. Jake Murrell – 60’ Daniel Cooper
4. Mark Moore
5. Tion Pearce-Copeland
6. Will Jones – 65’ Kye Billingham-Belle
7. Sef Semlali
8. Tom Cullen – 65’ Jonny Grigg
9. Joe Gildea
10. Tom Massey
11. Ethan Hanks – 60’ Sam Price

Management/Assistants:
Richard Heath
Liam Burke
Chris Bratt-Rose
Amelia Small, Derek Culling

Team: Allscott Heath
1. Jaden Bevan
2. William Rogers
3. Connor Courtney
4. Aiden Jehu
5. Leigh Brindley
6. Cameron Davies (c)
7. Ben Hines – 81’ Joey Nixon
8. Carl Rogers
9. Ryan Mansell – 85’ Dominic Hall
10. Tom Fallon
11. Harry Morris

Management/Assistants:
Steve Rogers
Peter Richardson
Tom Sheppard
Tom Felo

Match Officials: Abderrahmane Chourakane, Daniel Hill, Stuart Mallows

Sutton United	Statistics	Allscott Heath
1	Goals	2
9	Attempts	11
5	Attempts on Target	4
53%	Possession	47%
3	Corners	7
14	Fouls Committed	8
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
Tom Massey	Man of the Match	Cameron Davies

Player	Appearances	Goals	Assists	opp MOTM
Leyton Hines	5	4	1	1
Joe Gildea	6	4	0	2
Tom Massey	6	1	2	1
Joe Delaney	3	1	2	1
Jon Grigg	6	1	1	0
Brad Gregory	5	1	0	0
Thomas Cullen	5	1	0	0
Yousef Semlali	6	0	2	0
Kaine Donald	4	0	1	0
Lewan Tobin	3	0	1	0
Kye Billingham-Belle	6	0	0	0
Lewis James	6	0	0	0
Reiss Wagstaff	6	0	0	1
Tion Pearce-Copeland	6	0	0	0
Jake Murrell	4	0	0	0
Harrison Coe	3	0	0	0
Remi Bell	3	0	0	0
Will Jones	3	0	0	0
Ryan Delport	2	0	0	0
Daniel Cooper	1	0	0	0
Ethan Hanks	1	0	0	0
Kieran McConville	1	0	0	0
Mark Moore	1	0	0	0
Sam Price	1	0	0	0
Cameron Day	0	0	0	0
Ethan Barnett	0	0	0	0
James Taylor	0	0	0	0
Matt Bishop	0	0	0	0
Matt Hurrell	0	0	0	0
Matt Lewis	0	0	0	0
Shane Smith	0	0	0	0
Will Buchanan	0	0	0	0
Total		13	10