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After a win on foreign soil on Monday, United returned to England and Gander Green Lane to take on Thurrock. Tony Quinton, back at United on loan from Canvey, slotted into the back three with Stuart Booth dropping to the bench. Otherwise there were no changes to the side that won 4-2 in Wales. Craig Watkins continued his good form from Monday by creating a chance for himself inside the opening ten minutes. Taking the ball on his chest, he brought it under control, darted inside two defenders and rifled a low shot from the edge of the area that the ‘keeper got his left foot to and sent it over the bar for a corner. Within a minute, Thurrock were attacking themselves and would have had a clear shot on goal from near the penalty spot but for a perfectly times sliding tackle from U’s captain, Scott Corbett. The first half was largely dominated by the two defences as both sides struggled to create an opening. For United, Paul Honey was inspirational in the middle of the park, winning the ball on a number of occasions and distributing a couple of inch-perfect passes. Thurrock were restricted to crossing hopefully into the area and playing for free kicks near the box but were unable to seriously test Phil Wilson. The U’s tried to exploit Peter Fear’s deadly free kicks taking but his inswinging dead ball from the left wing just after the half hour was comfortably dealt with by the visiting back line. Half-time: U’s 0, Thurrock 0. Thurrock started the second half brightly and Quinton saved a certain goal by sliding to block a shot within the opening seconds. Minutes later, a Thurrock corner from the right was met with a powerful header but sent narrowly high and wide of the right angle. On the hour, Andrew Martin flicked a long ball down to Watkins and he beat the ‘keeper to the ball but could only strike it into the goalie’s chest and behind for a corner. A minute later, the growing partnership between Martin and Watkins reaped dividends when Martin won the ball on the right side of the pitch, turned back past a defender and swung a left-footed cross into the middle where Watkins met it with a header from ten yards out that found the back of the net via the bottom of the left post, 1-0. United’s fans were still celebrating the opening goal when Thurrock scored an equaliser almost immediately. After a scrappy build-up, a pin-point cross from the right wing found Kris Lee and he slotted a solid side-footed effort into the Sutton goal, 1-1. Watkins was replaced by Stuart Booth on 72 minutes after he was injured by a tackle in the penalty area that had the U’s screaming in vain for a spot kick. With fifteen minutes to go, Nigel Brake tried to re-establish Sutton’s lead in spectacular fashion but his volley after a cross from Eddie Akuamoah went wildly high and wide of the target. Almost instantly United went much closer when Honey won the ball in the middle of the pitch and passed to Akuamoah, who touched it out onto the right to Matt Gray. He took one touch before striking a deep cross that dropped onto the top of the bar and went behind for a goal kick. Having looked the more likely to grab a second goal, Sutton went behind with eleven minutes remaining. Thurrock broke with the ball from a United corner and worked the ball quickly to the left wing where Lee outpaced Gray and drilled a low shot past Wilson, 1-2. In injury time, the U’s almost grabbed a deserved leveller when Corbett and Martin worked the ball out to Brake on the left, and his swift cross was met by the head of Fear, only for the ball to scrape the outside of the left post. Final score: U’s 1, Thurrock 2. F-t-L Facts:
Goal: Watkins (61).
Right, Craig Watkins celebrates his 61st minute goal. U’s v Dorchester Town (11/09/04) United battled back from two goals down to claim a point at Dorchester on Saturday. There were no changes to the starting line-up with the exception of Evrev Arkali, a Turkish midfielder, who came in for Nigel Brake, the latter dropping to the bench. The U’s had the best of the opening fifteen minutes and should have capped their excellent start with the opening goal in the ninth minute. Craig Watkins ran across the edge of the box and his miss-hit shot bounced kindly through to Andrew Martin on the penalty spot but, with only the ‘keeper to beat and with time to control the ball, he shot straight at the ‘keeper. With fifteen minutes gone Martin went close again but could not get on the end of a Peter Fear right wing cross after good work from Paul Honey had found Fear in space. Sutton did not have it all their own way, though. Dorchester struck a free kick wide of the right post after Scott Corbett brought down a forward from behind and, within a minute, Phil Wilson blocked a one on one chance with his legs after the hosts had passed their way beyond the United defence. Before the game was half an hour old Sutton had another two golden chances to open the scoring. Matt Gray’s break down the right wing ended with a shot that deflected to Martin in the area and, when he was unable to control the ball, it fell to Watkins in the middle of the box and he lashed a shot against the cross bar. Shortly after, Sutton’s front pairing combined again when Martin held up a long ball and slid a pass in to Watkins but he struck low at the ‘keeper’s legs from the right side of the area. Having looked the better side for much of the first half, Sutton appeared to lose their concentration in the final ten minutes. After Lewis Gonsalves pulled off an inspirational block to deny Dorchester, the U’s were caught out twice in four minutes. A free kick into the Sutton area in the 36th minute could not be cleared and Matt Groves hooked a volley from ten yards just under the bar, 0-1. Within moments, a pass from the midfield split open United’s back line and Juan Ugarte drilled a shot from the left of the area under Wilson and into the goal, 0-2. If the end to the half looked to be bleak enough for United, worse was to follow as a high-footed challenge on Honey ended his participation in the match. At the break: U’s 0, Dorchester 2. Sutton began the second half brightly as they looked to find a way back into the match and Gray could have halved the deficit within minutes of the restart but shot over from a Fear free kick. The game was dramatically changed in a five minute spell ten minutes into the half. Incredibly, the referee took no action after Martin was punched by Dorchester’s centre back but five minutes later, a lunging challenge on Arkali on the edge of the Sutton box earned Ugarte an early bath. United took the game to Dorchester in an effort to exploit the extra man but the tactic almost back-fired when the home side twice almost hit a third goal. First, Wilson dived low to his left to palm away a header from a right-sided corner and then had to block a one on one chance after a mistake by Tony Quinton had let in the Dorchester forward. Kunle Olusesi and Nigel Brake were introduced for Arkali and Martin and Brake’s impact was almost immediate as he rolled a ball down the line to Eddie Akuamoah with fifteen minutes left and Akuamoah slid to cross the ball from the edge of the box towards the front post, where Watkins left his marker for dead to glance a header powerfully into the back of the net, 1-2. As Quinton and Corbett began to move forward from defence to link up with the United midfield, Dorchester could have killed off the game when they took advantage of the extra space to leave their striker with only Wilson to beat. After striking his first shot at Wilson, the ball rebounded kindly to the forward but with the goal at his mercy he unbelievably knocked it wide of the right post. Finally, in the 81st minute, Sutton grabbed a deserved equaliser when Akuamoah collected a ball in the area and, with his back to goal, he touched it to his left and span to hit a right-footed shot from twelve yards into the bottom right corner of the goal, 2-2. The U’s continued to attack and played some excellent one touch football but could not break down a determined Dorchester side that held on for a share of the points. Final score: U’s 2, Dorchester 2. F-t-L Facts:
Goals: Watkins (75), Akuamoah (81).
Right, Eddie Akuamoah's equaliser nestles in the bottom corner of the net. U’s v Bognor Regis Town (14/09/04) After battling back for a draw in Dorchester on Saturday, United were on their travels again on Tuesday, making a trip to the south coast for this Nationwide South game against Bognor. Tony Quinton and Paul Honey were both out injured so were replaced in the starting eleven by Joff Vansittart, who played in central defence, and Stuart Booth. Sutton started the game better than their hosts, seemingly carrying over the momentum from Dorchester at the weekend. Craig Watkins’s lively movement forced a poorly timed tackle from a Bognor defender in only the fourth minute and Eddie Akuamoah, Peter Fear and Matt Gray worked a set-piece free kick that finished with Akuamoah striking the ball high and wide from twenty yards. Gray gave the Bognor left back a torrid time throughout the first half, combining well with Evrev Arkali on a number of occasions. Inside the opening ten minutes, a full-pace run from Gray took two defenders out of the play but his shot was deflected behind. The resulting corner was turned at goal by Scott Corbett but was blocked near the goal-line, seemingly by Andrew Martin. Bognor, fresh from a 6-5 win over Welling at the weekend, began to play a more active part in the game but were not grinding out any clear-cut openings. Sutton, on the other hand, continued to threaten the Rocks’ goal. Corbett headed a Fear free kick across the six yard box after 16 minutes and, shortly after, Vansittart connected with an Akuamoah corner from the right but the ‘keeper reacted well to hold the firm header. As Bognor became more adept at closing United down, they began to threaten themselves, and twice saw dangerous crosses flash across the U’s goal area but on both occasions there was no forward waiting to convert the opportunity. The lively opening to the game petered out into a rather quiet affair until the final five minutes of the period. Corbett spread the ball excellently to Gray on the right and he twisted past his man before crossing into the area. It was only half-cleared to Akuamoah on the edge of the box and he managed to jink past a couple of defenders before being dispossessed. Bognor responded immediately to the renewed pressure from United by launching a counter-attack that should have been finished with a better effort than it got – a shot from eighteen yards blasted clear of the goal and out of the ground. In the dying moments of the half, Watkins almost produced a memorable goal when he juggled the ball past his marker and hit a sweet volley from the edge of the area but the ‘keeper was equal to the effort. Half-time: U’s 0, Bognor 0. After seventeen minutes of the second half, Nigel Brake was introduced for Fear, who had earlier been booked, and, as with Saturday, his arrival was followed by a Sutton goal within two minutes, although this time he had no part to play himself. Gray’s free kick from the right of the pitch was only cleared to the edge of the area where Arkali brought it under control and fired a low shot through a crowd of players and into the bottom right corner, with the help of a slight deflection, for his first goal in Sutton colours, 0-1. Having taken the lead, United had to defend determinedly to stay in front. Phil Wilson pulled off one of his ‘how the hell did he keep that out?’ saves, now becoming a regular feature in Sutton’s games, when he dived low to his left to keep out an effort from point-blank range. In their next attack, Bognor shot over when well-placed to test Wilson. United’s task was made more difficult when Vansittart was sent off with eleven minutes to go. With a Bognor forward clean-through from the halfway line, Vansittart made a challenge for the ball thirty yards out and was adjudged to have played the man rather than the ball. Wilson comfortably saved the free kick. In the final few minutes Sutton struggled to hold the ball in the Bognor half and could have conceded a late equaliser when the hosts headed a right wing cross wide of the near post when well-placed to at least hit the target. A final desperate effort to equalise lead to wild shot from thirty yards but the U’s held on for a well-deserved three points. Final score: U’s 1, Bognor 0. F-t-L Facts:
Goal: Arkali (64). U’s v Redbridge (18/09/04) Sutton returned to the Lane for the first time in a fortnight to take on Redbridge, the club formerly known as Ford, but the change of name made little difference as the result was the same as last season’s match. New signing John Scarborough, a centre-back acquired from Dover, went straight into the starting eleven and Joff Vansittart began up front alongside Craig Watkins, with Andrew Martin dropping to the bench. Once again United demonstrated the ability to have their opposition on the back foot from the opening whistle but failed to make the most of their chances. When the ball was spread wide to the left wing to Eddie Akuamoah, he rolled a pass down the line to Evren Arkali, who swung a low ball across the area that just eluded Watkins at the back post. After Redbridge volleyed wide from ten yards, the U’s should have taken the lead with seventeen minutes gone when Vansittart latched onto a Scott Corbett through-ball and knocked it around the ‘keeper but, having been forced wide, he could not get much power behind his shot and it was easily cleared away from the line by a covering defender. Whilst Sutton were arguably playing the better football, Redbridge were threatening on the counter-attack. A break from a United corner created a scoring chance from the right of the area but Phil Wilson got behind the shot and palmed it away. Just after the half hour the U’s found themselves a goal down. The visitors’ right midfielder was given too much time to cross into the box and Jay Murray, a former U, was unchallenged as he volleyed into the left side of the goal, 0-1. United almost found an immediate reply with a free kick lofted into the area but the ensuing scramble could not force the ball over the line. Three minutes before half-time, though, a Peter Fear free kick from the right wing was more successful when it was met on the corner of the six yard box by Vansittart and he placed his header inside the left post. Half-time: U’s 1, Redbridge 1. Within eleven minutes of the restart, Redbridge had retaken the lead when they exploited a huge gap in the United defence. A move that started on the right was easily switched across onto the left side of the area where nobody was marking Glenn Poole and, although Scarborough came across to attempt a tackle, Poole turned inside him and slotted it past Wilson, 1-2. The match was level again only three minutes later. Vansittart watched a long ball from the U’s half and timed his jump perfectly to head it down into the path of Watkins. He controlled the knock-down on the outside of his right boot, held off the challenge of the last defender and hit a firm shot into the bottom right corner from the edge of the area, 2-2. As both sides looked for a crucial third goal the match swung from end to end. Redbridge were mainly restricted to efforts from outside the area but, having seen a twenty-five yard shot scrape the outside of the right post, they then forced Wilson to hold onto two other shots from a similar distance. Sutton meanwhile were frustrated as first Watkins’ header was deflected wide and then Vansittart’s curler from twenty yards had the ‘keeper stranded but went narrowly wide of the right post. Sutton looked the more likely to find a winner and with fifteen minutes remaining Matt Gray launched a long throw into the area that Watkins failed to hit goalwards but it dropped nicely for Fear who crashed an effort from close range that struck a defender’s boot and ballooned over the bar. Five minutes later, United were denied a goalscoring opportunity when substitute Kunle Olusesi raced onto Scarborough’s cross-field pass and was pulled over from behind as he neared the eighteen yard line. The referee adjudged the foul not to have been professional and just booked the defender and the U’s, with a free kick in a dangerous position, wasted the opportunity by not taking a direct shot at goal. Redbridge punished Sutton for not adding to their tally with just five minutes left on the clock. A break into the left of the area resulted in a low cross into the six-yard box where Yohance Lewis turned it into the net, despite Wilson’s diving attempt to keep it out, 2-3. United went in search of a third equaliser and forced four corner in the final moments but a diving header from Lewis Gonsalves that was blocked by Vansittart was the closest they could get to earning any points from an ultimately disappointing game. Final score: U’s 2, Redbridge 3. F-t-L Facts:
Goals: Vansittart (42), Watkins (59).
Right, Lewis Gonsalves connects with a diving header. U’s v Grays Athletic (21/09/04) United travelled to Essex, and the less than half completed building site that is Grays Athletic FC, on Tuesday night but came back empty handed as the high-flying hosts ran out easy winners. Sutton found themselves up against a barrage of Grays’ attacks right from the start and were lucky not to be a goal down within the first few minutes when a Grays forward blazed the ball over the bar from 6 yards out. Shortly after Phil Wilson held a shot that was straight at him following a cross from the right wing and, in the next attack, dived to his left to claim a drive bound for the back of the net. The U’s finally conjured a chance on goal after quarter of an hour’s play. Nigel Brake and Matt Gray worked a corner from the right and Joff Vansittart met the cross with a firm header that was deflected away from goal by the Grays ‘keeper. As it began to look like United were getting into the game, the hosts opened the scoring with twenty minutes gone. A pass to the left of the area found Mitchell Cole in space and he had time to take one touch before crashing a shot past Wilson into the far side of the goal, 0-1. Within three minutes Sutton had found an equaliser. Gray played a long ball up-field from the right of defence and, as it dropped over the Grays back line, Craig Watkins raced onto it, took it to the edge of the area, and then slotted a low shot past the ‘keeper into the bottom left corner, 1-1. The game remained even with both sides sharing the possession until the stroke of half time when a cross from the right found Martin Carthy unmarked in the United area and he side-footed it into the net. At the break: U’s 1, Grays 2. In the second half, Grays didn’t so much as give United a lesson in finishing but rather a lesson in how to create so many chances you’re bound to score eventually. Two identical opportunities from the left side of the area were hit wide of the left post and a good passing move with nineteen minutes of the half gone ended with a shot across the face of goal. United’s hope of getting a result from the match was finally taken away when the referee awarded Grays a penalty after seventy minutes. Peter Fear was adjudged to have brought the Grays forward down but was then strangely not even booked when he appeared to be the last defender making a tackle from behind. Stuart Thurgood converted the spot kick, 1-3. Watkins could have had a second goal on a couple of occasions towards the end of the game as, firstly, he latched onto a Gray through ball but saw his effort blocked by the ‘keeper and, then, he beat the goalie to a Nigel Brake cut-back from the left but knocked the ball into the side netting. Between those two chances, Grays added a fourth to their tally when Leroy Griffiths blasted the ball into the top left corner from just inside the box. With a minute remaining, Griffiths then completed the rout by adding a fifth when he found himself in space in the United area and finished easily, turning the ball low into the left of the goal following a cross from the right. Final score: U’s 1, Grays 5. F-t-L Facts:
Goal: Watkins (23). U’s v Havant & Waterlooville (25/09/04) After the hammering received at Grays on Tuesday, United were looking to bounce back against Havant & Waterlooville at Gander Green Lane. With over a quarter of the league season now gone, three points was also essential as the U’s try to move away from the bottom of the table. Andrew Martin returned to the starting line-up, playing alongside Craig Watkins, with Joff Vansittart moving to defence and Stuart Booth dropping to the bench. There was also a return to the first team for Andy Iga, who made his first appearance of the season in goal at the expense of Phil Wilson. United started positively and were much the better side during the first half. Matt Gray created a good opportunity early on, beating his man on the right before laying in a deep cross that was headed back across goal by Nigel Brake. Eddie Akuamoah was first to the header and took one touch before shooting left-footed but the ‘keeper palmed it over. Ten minutes in, Scott Corbett and Peter Fear combined in the middle of the park and Fear found Gray in space on the right wing and, when his cross was headed away, Brake returned the ball into the area only for Watkins to miss the cross with an attempted header and then for Fear to hook a shot over the bar. Gray was involved again minutes later and almost benefited from some calamitous defending when a harmless-looking lofted cross was left by both the ‘keeper and the defence but scraped wide of the far post. Sutton continued to dominate the game and should have done better with a flurry of chances in the area around twenty minutes in but could not find the space to get a shot at goal. When the U’s did hit the target, the Havant ‘keeper was equal to the efforts. After twenty-five minutes, Fear took a throw from the left to Akuamoah and he held it up before laying it to his side back to Fear, who took two touches into the box and struck a shot towards the far post but the goalie dived full-length to his left to push it around the post. Not to be outdone, Iga responded to Havant’s first shot of the game, a 30 yard effort towards the right of the goal, by hurling himself across his area to tip the ball around the post. As the half reached its conclusion, Havant could have capitalised on a poor pass from Lewis Gonsalves but Vansittart came across from the centre to clear the ball behind. Half-time: U’s 0, Havant & Waterlooville 0. The U’s began the second period as they had the first but could still not find a way to put the ball in the net. Watkins almost created an opportunity for himself when he tricked his way past his marker but another defender was on hand to clear the ball away. Minutes later, Fear was first to a looped ball into the area from Gray but, after one bounce, he could only half volley towards the ‘keeper standing on the left post and he pushed it away. Watkins should have opened the scoring just after the hour when Corbett released him with a through ball but, with only the ‘keeper to beat, he fired to the ‘keeper’s right and wide of the left post from just outside the area. A minute later, Sutton finally broke Havant’s resistance when Corbett took a free kick from the right on the half way line and Vansittart leaped highest to meet it on the edge of the area and guided a perfect header over the ‘keeper and just beneath the bar, 1-0 (63 mins). Fear almost extended the lead twice within the next few minutes but his twenty-five yard free kick was deflected wide and he then shot well wide of the left post after Gray had picked him out on the edge of the area with a clever low corner from the left. Havant finally began to battle back and were much more involved in the latter stages of the game than they had been throughout. The U’s defended determinedly, though, bundling the ball behind for a corner when Havant had a chance on the left of the area. With ten minutes to go, United were unable to clear the ball from the area and Havant should have done a lot better than shooting well over. With four minutes remaining, Havant stole an equaliser, and robbed United of all the points, when James Taylor shot into the ground and it bounced up and into the right side of the net, 1-1. United still had chances to win, though, Fear first curling an effort wide of the right post in the ninetieth minute. Then, deep into stoppage time, Martin collected an Akuamoah through ball and, under a challenge just inside the area, lofted the ball over the ‘keeper but narrowly over the bar as well. The ref’ was not interested in Martin’s appeal for a penalty and finally blew the final whistle. Full time: U’s 1, Havant & Waterlooville 1. F-t-L Facts:
Goal: Vansittart (63).
Right, Joff Vansittart's header loops over the 'keeper for the opening goal. |
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