RYMAN PREMIER DIVISION
Att: 463
SUTTON UNITED – 4 [Bolt 29. Watson 58.77. OG 81]
FORD UNITED – 1 [Begeda 44]
The U’s picked up their 3rd home win from 3 last night with another solid performance bringing a satisfying 4-1 win over Premier Division newcomers, Ford United.
Ooooh, could GGL actually be turning into a bit of a fortress once more?? Surely not!
Finding myself in Sutton and hour earlier than normal for a midweek game, it’s off to the Wetherspoons for some scoff and a pint. Then a slow meander down to the Hood for the usual pre-match formalities. No Chalmers again tonight (excuse number 3 for the season : Playing 5-a-side footy. Pathetic!) but Bob and Oscar show up and we’re soon trying to remember if tonight is a 7.30 or 7.45 kick off. Being clever, ol’ Taz gives one of his inside contacts a call at the club to find out.
This turns out to be about as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking competition.
“Dunno!” is the response. “The proggy says 7.45, but the posters all say 7.30!” she adds. So much for inside information.
Deciding not to risk another beer and miss kick off on the basis of such dodgy information, we decide to head for the ground.
Once again, there’s no bloody proggies left at the Rec turnstile (come on, get it sorted!) and we then have to traipse all the way round to the GGL end of the ground. Then we lose the bloody toss and have to walk all the way back round to the Rec end. Pain the arse! You’d better win now gentlemen.
Both sides start the match brightly, with Ford looking quite solid up front, but a tad edgy at the back. A fact bourne out when Matt Fowler chases a ball into the box after just a couple of minutes, nicks it past the ‘keeper and sees his shot from a very narrow angle fly across the face of goal. The visitors hit back and soon after, some concerted pressure sees a pass played across the edge of the U’s box for the Ford no8 to let fly, only to see his effort thud back off Dunn’s far post and out for a goalkick.
The match then to’s and fro’s with plenty of movement, but little in the way of serious chances until the 29th minute.
A foul a good 30 yards out, slightly to the left of the Ford goal, is rewarded with a free-kick. Scott Corbett and Danny Bolt stand over it and for once, the ref manages to get the wall the whole 10 yards back. Surely even Mr Bolt wouldn’t consider having a poke from here! Would he???
He bloody well will! Corbett rolls the ball to his right and Bolty thumps a shot that the Ford ‘keeper can only wave at it as it arrows into the top far corner of his net. It’s an absolute bloody corker of a goal. And again has us asking the question why we let him go in the first place!
The goal gets the U’s into gear and they start to create a little more and in the next few minutes, exert some decent pressure on the visitors goal. Danny Bolt is once more the hub of most of our attacking activity, delivering 2 or 3 wicked crosses from both left and right. The best of which Mark Watson and Matt Fowler just fail to connect with in the box. Bolt almost produces a second goal, when a deft flick from Folwer puts him into the box, but his 2 attempts at a shot are closed down before his actual effort is blocked for a corner.
For the last few minutes of the half, the U’s pressure eases off and the visitors make the most of it by immediately pressing hard for an equaliser.
After several minutes of concerted pressure and 2 good saves by Dunn, Ford finally get the breakthrough their efforts deserved. A quick attack down the Sutton left, results in a deep cross to the back post. An unmarked Ford striker then nods the ball back across goal where Begeda dives in to head the Essex men level. And thus be the first opposition player to score at GGL this season.
Rats cocks. Right on fucking half time as per bloody usual! Still, s’pose it’s about right on the balance of play.
With hardly any footy on tonight, we decide against the trip to the bar and head for Roses Hut for a cuppa and in Bob’s case TWO meat pies! The fat bastard. Filling in for Chalmers are we???
Sutton emerge first for the 2nd half but you wouldn’t have thought it, when after justa few moments, a swift attack down our right ends with a cross into the box, where a shot is driven just past Tom’s far post. Oh bugger!
For a few more minutes, the U’s wobble a bit as the Motormen push up in search of a goal and on no less than 3 occasions, a defender has to leap in and make a last ditch block at the expense of a corner. Thankfully, the lads weather the storm and start to get themselves together, with Bolt having an increasing influence on the game.
A few corners are won and then from one left sided corner, Danny Hodges is clearly impeded by 2 Ford defenders as the ball comes in. Yet the ref sees nothing and from this moment on, he’s on the slippery slope to tossersville. The following corner from the opposite side again sees Hodges held down, but this time he stoops and nods the ball right to Mark Watson, who turns inside the box and budles the ball into the net from 2-3 yards out. Woo hoo!
The goal gets the lads going and the U’s are now well in charge of affairs. Breaking up attacks and moving the ball well through midfield, providing plenty of supply for the Fowler/Watson partnership. The ref shows what a complete cock he really is with one terrible decision midway through the half. Danny Bolt looks to receive a pass, dummies and lets it run. As he turns, the big Ford no6 clatters into the back of him. We get the free kick, but the ref seems more interested in making Bolty go off after receiving treatment rather than book the gorilla. Prat.
DB is on the end of a few naughty challenges as the night wears on and he makes ‘em pay from another set piece. A corner from the far side is swung right in under the bar to the back post, where Hodges and Watson are queuing up to score. The striker gets there first and heads home off the underside of the bar. That’s more like it lads!!!
Very soon after, another Bolt corner ends in another goal. But in slightly strange fashion!
You may (or may not!) recall one’s rather….ahem…..somewhat bitter rant at ‘Lady Luck’ in Saturdays report. Well, after Bolty has destroyed the Ford right back and delivered a low ball into the 6 yard box, it’s somehow smuggled over the bar by a rather surprised Ford defender. Bob remarks about how if the roles had been reversed, the ball would now be nestling in our net! I agree and again mutter about how we don’t get any breaks…
…just as Bolty swings in the resulting corner. A nasty fast paced effort, it flies straight at the ‘keeper at the near post and he takes what seems to be a simple catch. Somewhat embarrassingly for him, he doesn’t. He drops it and can only fumble and flap at the ball before amusingly kneeing it into his own net. We all stand pissing ourselves at the poor bloke’s fuck up and I think back to ‘Lady Luck’. Don’t worry love, that just makes us even after Saturday.
Erm, so there’ll be no mad, hysterical ramblings about bad luck today. Ok? Good.
There’s time for Bolt to be hoofed up in the air one more time without punishment before JR wisely decides to bring our top man off and with the game won, give our subs a welcome run out. Hanlan replacing our man of the match. Soon after, Corbett and then Beale are withdrawn for Gray and Bailey.
Sutton press for a fifth, but despite making a couple of reasonable openings, the chances drop to both Hanlan and Bailey. And not having been on that long, neither makes the most of the chance.
So, at the final whistle we applaud the lads off and then head off into the warm evening for a couple of celebratory drinkypoos at the Hood.
God a beer tastes so much better after a good win.
MAN OF THE MATCH : Dead Easy. Danny Bolt! Involved in everything & scored a beauty.
ENTERTAINMENT : 7. Not a great 1st half. Much better in the 2nd though
TEAM : Dunn, Hodges, Palmer, Hollands, Beale, Gonsalves, Honey, Corbett, Bolt, Watson, Fowler.
SUBS : Gray, Hanlan, Bailey