All Square In The Trophy For Sutton
- Johnnie Lowery
- Jan 15, 2017
- 3 min read
Sutton United were held to a draw in Sussex on Saturday, a game which they may feel they ought to have won but were staring down the barrel in at half time.
United hit the crossbar three times over the course of the game, the first of those being very early on with Dundas flicking a corner onto the top of the woodwork and out for a goal kick. In Bugiel and Dawes Worthing have two players with over 20 goals each this season, and it was the latter of the deadly pair giving Sutton a scare early on, first forcing Worner into great save before thundering a second effort minutes later against the crossbar. Next it was Hudson-Odoi’s turn to hit the frame of the goal, his effort from the right flank not quite having enough dip on it. Rebels’ keeper Jack Fagan had an excellent game and did well to deny the ever lively Deacon, tipping his effort wide of the post. It was the home side who took the lead though, a goal they created on the counter attack – the quick breaks always a threat for the National League side’s defence. On this occasion it was Bugiel who got through and finished beautifully to send his side into the break ahead.
Doswell was clearly unhappy with the first half performance and made two half time changes, bringing Eastmond and Biamou on for Dundas and Hudson-Odoi. The effect, be it of the substitutions or the team talk, was immediate as it took the U’s just seven second half minutes to equalise, Deacon latching onto a neat Biamou flick and finishing well to the keeper’s left hand side. Just two minutes later Worthing should have retaken the lead but Wills couldn’t convert a Bugiel cross when a goal seemed certain. The third effort against the crossbar from Sutton came courtesy of Craig McAllister who robbed a defender to go one-on-one with Fagan but couldn’t keep his composure and smacked his effort against the top of the bar when he should have scored. With Sutton dominant a goal was always coming and it was Adam May, scoring his first senior goal, who came up with the goods with a close range finish. Not declaring here United pushed for a third but were caught on the break once more, 17 year old Sam Lemon able to head home an equaliser for the hosts. It was the visiting side who looked more likely to get a winner but Fagan was on hand to deny Deacon and Biamou, with a handball penalty shout waved away as Sutton were once more left frustrated away from home
Manager Paul Doswell, talking to SUFCtv, was satisfied with the outcome, especially with no fresh injuries or suspensions picked up ahead of the midweek AFC Wimbledon FA Cup replay:
“I think you’ve got to conclude it’s been a decent enough day at the office”
“I felt we deserved a draw. It was a very good game, certainly the second half was very open”
“With regards to the amount of chances second half somebody said to me we had 9 chances in the second half and you like to think we’d have got more than the 2 we got”
“There’s a clean bill of health for Tuesday night on the back of still being in the Trophy which was important to us, and I think Tuesday is a free bet for us in many ways.
I think everyone’s expecting us to lose and not go through and it’s our chance to pull off a big cup win”
“We’re clearly up for it, we’re looking forward to Tuesday, I hope we do our supporters proud on the night and we just look forward to seeing if we can cause a big cup upset”