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A pleasant mid September’s day greeted the fans of the two sides as they looked forward to what should have been a Boxing Day fixture. With both teams having had good results during the week they were mutually looking forward to taking the three points that were up for grabs. The K’s had the easiest chance of the first half when one of their forwards managed to put the ball into the side netting from close range after Andy Pape had parried an attempt on his goal. Sutton also came close in the first half hour with efforts from Danny Hodges and Mark Watson just missing the mark. Both players should have done better from close range. In the 34th minute Matt Fowler managed to shake off his marker and fired off a shot that was bound for the top right corner. However, Lance Key somehow got a hand to it and turned it around the right upright. It was then that confusion reigned in the Kingstonian box. The resulting Danny Bolt corner flew over the heads of everyone in the area, Ryan Palmer chased hard and re-crossed the ball, which also overshot and ended up back with Bolt. Bolt then chipped the ball back into the danger area and somehow a K’s player knocked it skywards. The ball then came back down only to be met by the left foot of Lewis Gonsalves who sent it screaming past the helpless Lance Key. What a way to score your first of the season. However, during this attack Danny Hodges suffered some sort of injury that unfortunately ruled him out of the rest of the match. Against the run of play Kingstonian levelled just before halftime through a headed effort by ‘Sutton reject’ Phil Wingfield. So at the break it was U’s 1, Kingstonian 1. The second half was pretty much uneventful for each side. Apart from Bolt forcing a good save from Key and Wingfield trying his luck from long range neither side could capitalise on their pockets of possession. Watson may have added a second for Sutton when the ball found him six yards out but a Kingstonian defender prevented him from turning to shoot and, later, Fowler tried a looping header to add to his tally of four this season but it was easily saved. Key unfortunately dealt with Sutton’s corners with ease and the referee’s inability to count to ten yards prevented any Bolt free kicks from finding the mark. Close to full-time, Wingfield may have won it for Kingstonian but Pape was not troubled by either effort and he rarely had a save to make in the second half. A draw was probably about the fair result but both teams’ fans will have left with the feeling that their team could have taken all of the spoils. Full-time: U’s 1, Kingstonian 1. Team: Pape, Beale, Hollands, Palmer, Hodges (Timothy), Bailey, Bolt, Corbett, Fowler, Watson, Gonsalves. Goal: Gonsalves 34mins Att: 821
Left, Darren Beale hooks clear a Kingstonian corner. Right, Scott Corbett looks on as Mark Watson tussles with a defender in the Kingstonian box. U’s v Aylesbury (21/09/02) Match Report provided by Claire If this match report isn’t up to our usual high standards I apologise but with our two resident reporters unavailable to attend the match (and what a corker it was!) the job fell to me and lets say my football knowledge isn’t the strongest. With the U’s getting off to a shaky start I was dubious as to the outcome of this match but I still had every hope in the U’s abilities. The U’s first chance at a goal came in the 20th minute from Danny Bolt unfortunately the power behind it just wasn’t there. Soon after that came a chance for Matt Fowler, Fowler had a tussle with one of Aylesbury defenders and took a shot, which was just wide. Aylesbury’s first goal courtesy of Chris Bangura followed shortly in the 29th minute. Aylesbury’s glory was short lived because just four minutes later the U’s equalised with a blinding header from captain Scott Corbett. From where I was standing I heard choruses of “Well done Scotty” and how he deserved this praise. The chance for a goal to take Sutton 2-1 up came when a cross from Darren Beale, was headed to goal by Matt Hanlan only to be saved point blank by Aylesbury’s keeper. Just minutes after this Aylesbury’s Kezie Ibe was booked for elbowing Bolty in the face. Much to my surprise soon after this Bolty himself was booked for something we can only presume he said to the ref. following the ‘elbow’ incident. All was forgotten soon after this when Sutton were given a free kick for a foul on Hanlan. Danny Bolt took the free kick and set it in the bottom left hand corner from 35 yards. And as I muttered “Go for goal Bolty” my prayers had been answered and Sutton had their 2nd goal in the 40th minute. Surely being 2-1 up at half time, the second half could only be better than the first. The second half started with Aylesbury getting a player booked within two minutes for body checking Fowler. After 55 minutes the Aylesbury keeper Gary McCann lost possession of the ball outside the box. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration and decided the only way he could get out of it was to fall down yelling in pain. This looked very suspicious to me. He had to solider on because Aylesbury had used all their subs at this point. A mistake in the 70th minute gave Sutton a corner Bolt stepped up to take it and it was headed on by Sutton’s new signing Matt Ottley but with no luck. In the 80th minute the one and only Matt Hanlan was substituted for Matt Gray. This was followed shortly by a chance for Aylesbury, which was saved by Andy Pape. A handball by Aylesbury gave the U’s a free kick and Scott Corbett sent the chance of a third just wide. Aylesbury had two attempts next to try and equalise, The first went over the bar, but second gave them the thing all U’s fans had been dreading, the equalise in the 89th minute, which if I’m not mistaken was by Kezie Ibe. Sutton were having none of it and Nick Bailey scored our third goal in the 90th minute, a great long shot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a quick change in the U’s fans facial expressions. It was a blinder of a match and I think that just maybe Lady Luck is shining on Sutton this season. Full time: U’s 3, Aylesbury 2. Team: Pape, Beale, Hollands, Palmer, Ottley, Bailey, Bolt (Honey), Corbett, Fowler, Hanlan (Gray), Gonsalves. Goals: Corbett 33mins, Bolt 40mins, Bailey 90mins Att: 588 U’s v Heybridge Swifts (28/09/02) After a nightmare journey to the Swifts’ Scraley Road ground, we were confident Sutton could produce a performance that would see us progressing to the Third Qualifying Round of this season’s F.A. Cup – especially after the U’s 3-1 victory over today’s opposition on Tuesday night. Back in the starting line-up was Mark Watson who has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the last few games and new signing Graham Brett replaced the suspended Matt Ottley as Ryan Palmer’s central defensive partner. In the opening exchanges, Sutton probably dominated possession but Heybridge tested Andy Pape on a couple of occasions, one time forcing him to perform a brilliant one-handed diving save that forced the ball over the bar. United had a succession of corners and crosses into the Heybridge box but were unable to force any real effort. That was until the twenty-first minute, when some persistent hassling by the hard-working Nick Bailey allowed him to break into the Swifts’ area down the left side and slide the ball across to Watson who had the easiest of tasks in slotting the ball home past a despairing dive from the home ‘keeper. One-nil. Sutton were unable to extend their slim lead before the break, though, as Heybridge began to dominate in the middle of the park. A twenty-yard effort from a Swifts’ forward had Pape worried but went just past his right post. Sutton fashioned one half chance before the half-time whistle, Watson getting free inside the area but a last-ditch tackle meant his shot from a tight angle went harmlessly wide. Half-time: U’s 1, Swifts 0. Shortly after the resumption, a long-ball from the Sutton defence created a mad chase for the ball between Matt Fowler and the Heybridge ‘keeper. Fowler reached the ball first but in kicking it was adjudged to have landed a boot in the face of their number one. Tempers on the pitch were beginning to rise. Just after the hour, Fowler had a great chance to make it two-nil but, when a chipped cross from inside the area found him unmarked at the back post during a United break, he volleyed the ball high and wide. Neither side were really threatening the chance of a second-half goal feast but Sutton certainly weren’t controlling the match in a manner that suggested a one-goal lead would be sufficient and that proved to be true when Heybridge equalised with a shot from just outside the area into the bottom right corner of Pape’s goal. This awoke the U’s, who began to battle for a goal that would prevent the need for a replay. A clumsy challenge on Fowler resulted in him being replaced by Matt Gray, whose speed and ball control infuriated the home defence. As the game reached its climax, a foul on Darren Beale almost resulted in a full-on twenty-two man brawl but no punches were thrown. Beale was booked for his part in the fracas. In injury time, Watson challenged their ‘keeper for the ball after a Danny Bolt cross and, as he landed on the floor, a Heybridge defender clearly aimed an elbow at him. The lineman, who had spent the half picking up on the smallest details, elected not to do the decent thing and flag for a foul – it was that kind of match for the U’s fans – frustrating. Full-time: U’s 1, Swifts 1. Team: Dunn, Beale, Hollands, Palmer, Brett, Bailey, Bolt, Corbett, Fowler (Gray), Watson, Gonsalves. Goal: Watson 21mins.
Left, Mark Watson gives Sutton a one-goal lead. Right, Matt Fowler volleys the ball high and wide of the target. U’s v Heybridge Swifts - F.A. Cup 2nd Qualifying Round Replay (01/10/02) A difficult game lay ahead as the U’s looked to put themselves into the next round. With the end of Saturday’s match ending on a rather sour note with both sides beginning to lose their rag a bit. From the off Heybridge immediately began to take control of the midfield and made any Sutton progress difficult. Sutton began to settle a bit and seemed rather unlucky to have Scott Corbett booked when he came out slightly better off from a fifty-fifty challenge on a Swifts’ midfielder. Just before the half hour the rub of the green came back to the U’s as Mark Watson stubbed the ball towards the far post where Matt Fowler was waiting to poke the ball home. The Heybridge equaliser came shortly before half time. Danny Bolt was chasing back behind a Swifts’ midfielder and was constantly trying to remove the opponent’s hand from his face. However, when Bolt did stop running the Swifts player’s trailing leg caught Bolt and he went down (a lot of their players did seem to go down all too frequently - I presume that they just had the wrong studs on!?). Bolt was then booked for this and from the resulting free kick the ball was knocked sideways and then smashed into the top corner past Andy Pape from twenty-five yards. Half Time: U’s 1, Swifts 1. The second half saw very few clear-cut chances fall to either side. Several horrendous challenges went unpunished as both Bailey and Corbett felt the studs of two Swifts’ players who couldn’t get anywhere near the ball. Two blatant penalty shouts were turned down, the first a challenge on Danny Bolt, after he had shot wide from inside the box, was so late that everyone was getting ready for the resulting goal kick. And secondly, Dave Timothy (introduced with 15 minutes to go) was flattened in the box and the ref completely bottled it and gave a free kick outside the box. Despite the inconsistent refereeing Heybridge managed to score a second. After some sloppy defending on the left hand side of the box the ball was pulled back to a Swifts player on the edge of the 6-yard box who managed to fire it low into the opposite corner of Pape’s goal. Sutton had a few close chances that would have put the game into extra time but when Bolt got pulled down close to the corner flag on the left hand side the U’s could only head narrowly over. Team: Pape, Beale (Timothy), Ottley (Gray), Palmer, Brett, Bailey, Bolt, Corbett, Fowler, Watson, Gonsalves. Goal: Fowler 29mins. Attendance: 388.
Right, The U's celebrate the opening goal. U’s v Hitchin (19/10/02) Hitchin’s Top Field stadium is a work of art. Remember, though, that a messy bed or a wall made of butter are priceless pieces. The designer wooden terraces remain, freshly coated with creosote and as safe as a turkey at Christmas. That people risk their lives standing on them is beyond belief. Surprising, too, is that Sutton, unbeaten in the league for 6 games, lost to a rather ordinary looking Hitchin side. Neither side fashioned any great chances in the opening half-hour. United looked unsteady in midfield and gave the ball away all too often with a succession of sloppy passes. No game for nearly two weeks seemed to have cost the team the element of sharpness and fight that had been present in coming from two goals down against Chesham and Hayes. A number of free-kicks around the Hitchin box failed to lead to a goal but when Mark Watson was put through around the 30 minute mark the deadlock was surely going to be threatened. Past the last man, Watson was clearly pulled back and then bundled over by the Hitchin centre back, James Ayres. The referee and his assistant gave nothing when a red card looked to be the only option. Minutes later the home side took the lead when their winger, Tony Fontonelle, breezed past two U’s defenders and slid the ball wide of Andy Pape into the far corner of the net. With the half almost over, Watson controlled the ball on the corner of the Hitchin area but his cross was blocked by a defender’s hand. As the ball fell back to his feet he knocked it around the same defender and was scythed down in a cynical manner – penalty. Excellent, an equaliser before the break, we thought, but Danny Bolt’s spot-kick was weak and too close to the ‘keeper, who slumped to the ground to collect it. Half-time: U’s 0, Hitchin 1. Three minutes after the restart, Hitchin extended their lead to two when Matt Nolan passed the ball across the area to Ayres, amazingly still on the pitch following his first half challenge on Watson. He had the simplest of tasks in pushing the ball home at the back post as he rushed to meet the cross. The introduction of Matt Gray for Bolt on the hour gave Sutton’s midfield more zip but clear chances were hard to come by. Late in the game, Watson headed just wide and Lewis Gonsalves, solid at the back, got forward but could not bundle the ball past the Hitchin ‘keeper. Dave Timothy tested their ‘keeper from the corner of the box but United were unable to force their way back into the game. A frustrating result meant a lengthy rail trip back to Sutton with little to smile about. Full-time: U’s 0, Hitchin 2. Team: Pape, Timothy, Hollands, Palmer, Brett (Honey), Bailey, Bolt (Gray), Corbett, Fowler, Watson, Gonsalves. Sub (n/u) Beale. Att: 456 
Above, Danny Bolt misses the crucial first-half penalty. U’s v Hendon (22/10/02) Without a win in four games, United took on Hendon on Tuesday night looking to get back to winning ways on a wet Gander Green Lane pitch. After a frantic end-to-end start United opened the scoring with a well-worked move in the 8th minute. Danny Bolt broke with the ball from midfield and slid the ball through a gap in the Hendon defence to Nick Bailey who took one touch and then shot across the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner of the goal. Following the goal, Hendon, fourth in the league going into the game, slightly shaded the possession and chances - ably assisted by a large number of decisions in their favour from the referee and his assistants. In the 22nd minute, the ball fell to Hendon midfielder, Steve Forbes, on the edge of the box and his well-placed drive found the top corner of Andy Pape’s goal. Hendon continued to control the midfield but Sutton reclaimed the lead within ten minutes. A free-kick thirty yards out was begging to be hit by Bolt and indeed was, Scott Corbett tapping the ball to Bolt who unleashed a thunderous drive past the Hendon ‘keeper who didn’t even move. Sutton clung desperately to the slim lead but Hendon were again to equalise – this time deep into first-half injury time. A corner to the near post was headed goalwards by a Hendon forward and was blocked on the line but the rebound unfortunately fell to an attacker, who swept the ball into the U’s net. Half-time: U’s 2, Hendon 2. United began positively after the break, dominating the play in the middle of the park and putting together some quality passing sequences. Bolt was presented with another chance to score following a foul on Matt Fowler just outside the area but this time his free-kick looped harmlessly over the bar. Fowler himself almost got on the end of a ball into the Hendon area but was beaten to it by the ‘keeper and minutes later his run into the box was ended by an apparent foul but there was to be no penalty. Mark Watson also had a decent shout for a penalty turned down - a Dave Timothy cross was met by Watson but in getting to the ball he was impeded by two Hendon defenders and was only able to head over from five yards. Hendon slowly began to reassert themselves on the game but United were very unlucky when a point was taken from them with another injury time goal – a Hendon forward found space in the box and knocked the ball past an exposed Pape. Sutton deserved more from the game but will need to win soon to prevent this run without a win turning into a slump. Full-time: U’s 2, Hendon 3. Team: Pape, Timothy, Hollands, Palmer, Ottley, Bailey, Bolt, Corbett, Fowler, Watson, Gonsalves. Subs (n/u) Gray, Beale, Honey, Hanlan. Goals: Bailey (8mins), Bolt (32mins).
Right, A flying Mark Watson just misses a Danny Bolt cross at the back post. |
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