CONFERENCE SOUTH
Att: 506
SUTTON UNITED – 1 [Watkins 60.]
THURROCK – 2 [Lee 63.76.]
Monday’s amazing win in Newport has given us all a renewed sense of hope that this season could be about to turn in our favour.
We really should know better than that by now.
Next up is the visit of Thurrock who despite not having a great start to the season either, are unbeaten away from home with 4 wins out of 4. And regardless of form, always pose a tough prospect.
Once more, JR enhances his reputation as the London Borough of Sutton’s very own ‘tinkerman’ by once more tweaking the side. He’s moved quickly to re-sign one of last years squad, Tony Quinton, on loan from Canvey. Where he’s yet to really feature in any games, let alone first team ones.
Welcome back Quincy! Bradley Thomas is back, but parks on the bench alongside another new face, Nixon Ajoge. A defender picked up from Woking.
The normal meet in the Hood, then it’s off to see if after Mondays cracking win, we can really get the season underway.
Unfortunately, the first half really really is poor. The visitors seem quite happy, as their record away from their hotel headquarters by the Dartford tunnel suggests, to sit back, get plenty of men behind the ball and soak up whatever we can throw at them.
Which really isn’t a great deal!
The only serious chance of the first half comes just 8 minutes in. Taff Martin wins a header from a ball forwards. It drops invitingly for Watkins who drives for goal, but his shot from the edge of the box is blocked by the ‘keepers legs and deflects over the target.
38 minutes of utter tedium and frustration follow.
Which is nice.
The second half isn’t exactly a riot either and it takes a good 12 minutes before anything of any note happens.
Matt Gray goes on one of his storming right wing runs and delivers a super cross into the box, but sadly none of our forwards attack the ball and it flashes across the face of goal unmolested.
A couple of minutes later, Gray is involved with the Thurrock no3 on the touchline in front of us. Staggeringly, his petulant and nasty kick aimed at Matty goes completely unpunished in plain sight of both the linesman and referee.
Soon after, Thurrock get their first sight of goal, Akurang cutting in from the right & firing low across Wilson’s goal. But it’s a rare foray and soon after, Taff & Watkins are combining again to cause the visitors problems. The welsh forward wins another flick on and finds his young partner, who immediately returns the ball before running onto a nice pass from Martin. Again though, his shot is blocked in the area and a corner is won.
The game looks a dead cert 0-0 but, a minute or so later, the same 2 players combine once more and this time it’s a little more effective. Martin chases onto a ball down the right and into the corner. He turns out and making himself a bit of room, swings a good cross into the box where Watkins rises between the two centre-backs and nods the ball past the ‘keeper.
Unfortunately, having worked hard to break the deadlock, we naturally give up the advantage in a pitifully poor manner just a couple of minutes later.
A ball forwards is met by Corbett and as he tries to clear, the ball cannons off an attacker racing in to close him down. It rebounds back across the box and perfectly into the path of a supporting colleague who has the easy task of slotting past Wilson and levelling the scores.
The pattern of not very much happening resumes for a while until the 74th minute when Eddie finds Gray out on the right and his dipping cross drops over the ‘keeper and bounces off the top of the bar.
A couple of minutes later though and things get worse. A Sutton corner drops on the edge of the area where Stuart Booth looks to meet it, he’s rather crudely clattered but not for the first time this afternoon, no free-kick is awarded and the visitors break out quickly with a sweeping ball out to the right where Substitute Kris Lee, the benefactor of Corbett’s earlier mishap, races clear. Wilson comes to meet him, but the striker scuffs a shot to the far post and it creeps in.
Fucks sake. It makes you want to spit.
With it having taken an hour to break them down the first time, we’re not confident of an equaliser. And a Peter Fear header placed just wide apart, we don’t really look like getting one either.
With us pushing up, the visitors begin to make use of the extra space. Stuart Booth blocks one close range effort on the line after Lee puts in a cross from the right before another clearance, this time from Gray, thumps off a white shirt putting an attacker in on goal. Thankfully this time a great stop from Wilson keeps the score as it is.
Naturally we retire to the Hood under a veil of 4 letter words and phrases such as “fucking Essex” to discuss our latest home failure. Just to cheer us up, we’ll be facing another poxy bloody Essex side at home next Saturday as well.
That’ll be fun
MAN OF THE MATCH – Craig Watkins.
ENTERTAINMENT – 5. Dreadfully drab first half. Second only marginally better.
TEAM : Wilson, Gray, Brake, Corbett, Thomas, Howard, Fear, Honey, Akuamouah, Vansittart, Martin SUBS :Kennedy, Boosey, Booth
THE REFEREE’S………rubbish as usual. Fouls unpunished, violent conduct right under his nose unpunished. Pretty standard as far as incompetance goes.