06.10.2026 Vs AFC Wolverhampton City

United were ruthless from the outset, striking twice inside the opening ten minutes of each half, before Wolverhampton pulled back two late goals through Joe Clarke and Simon Krezel.

It was in the 5th minute when Lewis Hayden released Afful down the left, where the winger’s pace took him clear of his defender, before he delivered a precise cross for Gildea to guide home ahead of his marker to give the Greens an early lead.

Just four minutes later, United doubled their advantage when Gildea won possession just inside his own half and sent Afful racing away down the left again. This time the winger cut inside and finished low into the corner for his second of the season, giving the Greens early control.

Afful continued to threaten, forcing a strong save from Sam Arnold when he cut inside again and struck a clean shot from eighteen yards.

After Sutton’s blistering start, the hosts grew into the game and finished the half strongly. Greg Lewis had to parry Marara McNulty-Hartnett’s close-range effort before Red Simmons got the vital clearance. Then shortly after, Oliver West tested the Sutton keeper with a powerful effort from the edge of the box following some clever footwork on the right, as the Greens held onto their two-goal advantage with the match heading into the break.

United repeated their fast start after half-time, as three minutes into the restart, Lewis Wall, playing in midfield, found Afful on the halfway line, who again burst past his defender before squaring for Gildea to finish emphatically from six yards.

City responded with pressure from set-pieces, but Lewis produced a superb double save from a corner to deny McNulty-Hartnett and former Sutton striker Freddie Cockerell.

In the 53rd minute, United capitalised on a mistake at the back, as Arnold’s short pass out was intercepted by Gildea, and with the keeper off his line, the Sutton frontman swept a composed 30-yard finish into an empty net to complete his hat-trick and put Sutton four goals ahead.

With the game seemingly settled, the match became scrappier. City pushed in the final twenty minutes and pulled one back in the 75th minute, when Joe Clarke headed in a corner, and they added a second with the final touch of the match as Simon Krezek nodded home from Jay Holdcroft’s delivery.

Despite the late goals, it was a controlled and clinical performance from the Greens that secured all three points. They now turn their attention away from the league with two cup matches, starting with a trip to Irchester United on Saturday 10th October in the First-Round Proper of the FA Vase.

Team: AFC Wolverhampton City
1. Sam Arnold
2. Jordan Uppal - 77’ Sam Smith
3. Mason Perry
4. Dan Lomas – 58’ Antonio Agnello
5. Jacob Wedderburn (c)
6. Joe Clarke
7. Timothy Oyanda – 66’ Justice Campbell
8. Oliver West – 58’ Jake Lloyd
9. Freddie Cockerell – 58’ Simon Krezel
10. Jay Holdcroft
11. Macara McNulty-Hartnett

Management/Assistants:
Andrew Carrier, Dave Billingham,
Daniel Newman, Mark Smith

Team: Sutton United
1. Greg Lewis
2. Aidan Mee
3. Red Simmons
4. Matt Bishop – 59’ Tion Pearce
5. James Gallagher
6. Lewis Wall
7. Joseph Afful - 68’ Ethan Mee
8. Lewis Hayden
9. Joe Gildea - 56’ Lincoln Hunt
10. Tom Massey (c) – 77’ Cian Tevlin
11. Sean Devlin – 46’ Ryan Nesbitt

Management/Assistants:
Neil Tooth, Phil Male, Sam Heath, Mark Brady, Sinead McElwaine, Derrick Culling, Marcus Davies, Daire McBride

Match Officials: Joey Malone, Carl Dixon, Arron Worrall

 

AFC Wolverhampton City	Statistics	Sutton United
2	Goals	4
11	Attempts	7
7	Attempts on Target	7
63%	Possession	37%
6	Corners	1
12	Fouls Committed	10
4	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
Joseph Afful	Opp Man of the Match	Joe Clarke
Joe Gildea	Club Man of the Match