Gildea double from the spot
Andrew Delaney 29 Oct 2023 –
Joe Gildea converted two penalties as Sutton United defeated bottom of the table Smethwick Rangers in MFL 1.
Gildea’s precise penalty in the 30th minute gave Sutton a deserved lead following a handball from the Smethwick number four, Jake Wilkes. The striker then made sure of the win in added time when he confidently tucked away his second spot kick.
Smethwick Rangers began brightly as Khenan Barrett found himself in on goal in the opening minute and Will Jones, who had an excellent game for Sutton, reacted quickly to negate the shot.
Sutton responded with a half volley from Gildea, forcing keeper Sam Cooksey into an early save. But it was fellow striker Kieron McConville who had the best chance for Sutton, although his lob over Cooksey didn’t quite come off.
The breakthrough came for United in the 30th minute when they won the ball high up the pitch, followed by a neat interchange between McConville and Ethan Hanks that resulted in a handball by Wilkes, and Gildea made no mistake with the spot kick to put Sutton ahead.
Hanks came close to scoring early in the second half when he was through on the left, but Cooksey came off his line quickly to block the shot.
There were very few clear-cut opportunities for either side in the second half and it wasn’t until added time when Sutton made sure of the win with a second goal. Gildea was pushed over at the near post as he went to meet Shane Smith’s cross, and he stepped up to convert the penalty that guaranteed United went home with all three points.
The win moves Sutton up to eighth in the table and they can now look forward to returning home next Saturday when they take on Shawbury United in the league.
Team: Smethwick Rangers
1. Sam Cooksey
2. Dylan Green – 64’ Tobias Hurlock
3. Favour Omoruyi
4. Jake Wilkes
5. Charlie Aston
6. Jake Lamb
7. Jake Allen (c)
8. Kenjy Camara
9. Khenan Barrett – 79’ Stanford Stewart
10. Kosh Sappleton
11. Jamie Biddle – 73’ Tivon Henry
Substitutes unused: Ben Stanley, Helio Santos
Management/Assistants:
Sam Heath
Dean Conway
Team: Sutton United
1. Reiss Wagstaff (c)
2. Jonny Grigg
3. Will Jones
4. Matt Bishop
5. Mark Moore
6. Kye Billingham-Belle – 83’ Lewis James
7. Ethan Hanks – 70’ Sam Price
8. Lewan Tobin
9. Kieron McConville – 64’ Tom Massey
10. Joe Gildea
11. Sef Semlali – 69’ Shane Smith
Management/Assistants:
Liam Burke
Chris Bratt-Rose
Matt Gough
Amelia Small
Match Officials: Kyle Mowbray, Andrew Genders, Sarah Garrett
| Smethwick Rangers | Statistics | Sutton United |
| 0 | Goals | 2 |
| 6 | Attempts | 13 |
| 3 | Attempts on Target | 8 |
| 43% | Possession | 57% |
| 1 | Corners | 5 |
| 9 | Fouls Committed | 9 |
| 4 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Opp MOTM |
| Joe Gildea | 17 | 15 | 4 | 4 |
| Leyton Hines | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Tom Massey | 17 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Sef Semlali | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Kieran McConville | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Sam Price | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Matt Bishop | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Delaney | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Jon Grigg | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shane Smith | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Gregory | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Cullen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewan Tobin | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kaine Donald | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ryan Delport | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Will Buchanan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kye Billingham-Belle | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reiss Wagstaff | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lewis James | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Moore | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tion Pearce-Copeland | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Jones | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Hanks | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Murrell | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrison Coe | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Remi Bell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Simmonds | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Cooper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Malin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hurrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shakeer Abdelkhalek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 34 | 28 |