Bishop Bags the Winner
Sutton United make it two from two with a hard-fought home victory against Lye Town at Coleshill Road Stadium.
Matt Bishop’s second-half strike earned United a narrow victory over Lye Town as the Greens maintained their perfect start to the season with maximum points from their opening two league fixtures.
Playing their first home match at Step 5, Sutton were forced to do so behind closed doors as the club served a one-match stadium suspension at Coleshill Road. While the lack of supporters perhaps contributed to a subdued opening, it did little to diminish the commitment shown by both sides throughout a competitive contest.
United made two changes from Saturday’s opening-day victory, with Jake Wilkes and James Gallagher coming into the defence.
Despite the slow start from both teams, it was the visitors who created the better opportunities during the first half. It was in the 21st minute that Danny Cartwright won possession just outside the Sutton penalty area before unleashing a powerful effort that dipped narrowly over the crossbar.
Lye then came even closer when captain Samuel Hall struck the post from a well-worked free kick. Jack Till also threatened for the visitors, glancing a header just over the crossbar from close range.
Sutton’s chances were limited before the break, although Jayden Hunter tested goalkeeper Gael Saba Mfuamba with a strike from the edge of the box and James Gallagher headed a corner kick just over the crossbar.
The Greens upped the tempo after the break and thought they had taken the lead just two minutes into the second half when Bishop powered home a fine header, only for the assistant referee’s flag to rule it out for offside.
Lye responded as Till raced through on goal, but excellent defending from Lewis Wall and Gallagher forced him wide, with his eventual effort sailing over the bar.
Sutton began to build momentum and were rewarded with a goal fifteen minutes from time. The Lye defenders were working hard to clear their lines after some sustained pressure from Sutton, but when Aidan Mee delivered an inviting ball back into the danger area, Bishop controlled it superbly on his chest before calmly firing beyond Mfuamba to score his first goal of the season and hand United a deserved lead.
The Greens continued to press for a second with Jordan Clement striking a low effort just wide of the far post and Joe Gildea coming close with a direct free kick.
The victory gives United plenty of confidence ahead of another milestone on Saturday, when they host Coventry Sphinx in their first ever appearance in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday 8 August, kick off 3pm.