The bottom goal
A bit damp!!
After a morning of non-league football league website watching, one of the few games that survived was our chosen one, Sutton Town AFC v Harrowby Utd. Usually the Fieldings is one of the first venues to succumb to the weather, but thanks to the effort of the players the game was able to go ahead. Three tonnes of sand were shovelled into the bottom goal mouth, and the rest of the pitch was well forked ( oo-er missus) to get rid of any standing water. However, the game did not start at the scheduled ko time -- Harrowby arrived at 2:50pm and the Ref said he had to allow them time to warm up, so the game actually started at 3:20pm........twice in 5 days I have been to a game that was delayed because the away team was late....
While waiting we were treated to a selection of rock toons - from Boston's More Than A Feeling through Fleetwood Mac's Black Magic Woman and even a blast of Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever... a bit different!!
Danny Bryant resigned as Sutton Manager recently because of the lack of help he was getting at the club. He was promised some help if he came back, but we did notice that he was still carrying cones, footballs and water bottles. Not ideal to have your 1st team Manager distracted by having to do these sort of tasks that others ought to be performing.
Danny Bryant and Assistant Keith Simpson
Harrowby kicked the game off at 3:20 and at 3:21 were a goal down!
Kick off
Matt Lane swept the ball out to Martin Newman on the right wing and his cross into the box was collected by BEN GREENHALGH who took his time before turning and slotting the ball home from 12 yards. At 3:25 the visitors were 2-0 down! A training ground set-piece corner ended with STEVE BAYLIS heading powerfully home from Newmans cross.
Steve Baylis
The visitors were a bit shell-shocked and looked very much a team who were 2nd from the foot of the table, and in the 20th minute, when a speculative 20 yard shot from BEN GREENHALGH took a big deflection and ended up in the back of the net, we were wondering what the final score could possibly be.. but then --- Harrowby suddenly seemed to realise they needed to mark and defend a little better, and succesfully kept the score to 3-0 at the break.
A bit misty at half-time
Harrowby kept up their improved form during the second period, and you would have thought two different teams had come out of the changing rooms.. as it was, the visitors managed to grab a goal back on the hour-mark. A fierce drive was well parried by Snipes keeper Mark Frost, but the Harrowby strikers were quicker to the loose ball and it was prodded home from close range. They had a second effort disallowed for offside 10 minutes later as Sutton lost concentration and stopped playing.
Anyway, it turned out that solid defensive work from Barry Allberry and Luke Sheils ensured that the visitors went home point-less. F-T 3-1
Terrific effort from both sets of players - it could not have been too easy running on that rain-soaked pitch for 90 minutes....
Special mention from Kev for Sutton's Ben Greenhalgh. The former Eastwood Town Academy player never stopped all game - leading the line tirelessly. Excellent performance from the young striker.
Admission £3
Programme - not available
Head count 35
Tea - £0.50 ---- this was a large styrofoam cup of hot water with a teabag in it -- but Kev added milk, sugar and just the right amount of stir ...turned out to be marvelous cuppa --- 8/10
Tuesday -- meeting up with Stick Palms at Carlton's Stoke Lane to watch Arnold Town take on Dinnington Town in the NCEL Premier Division.
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