MATCH REPORT

Long Sutton put in their best performance of the season and were perhaps unfortunate not to gain at least a draw. Against a vastly more experienced visiting team Sutton opened brightly and played with a pace and purpose that they will need to compete on a regular basis. Ed White distributed well from the middle and Harry Synnott and Will White showed quality on the ball. Sutton created a number of chances as they linked well passing the ball quickly and using the full width of the pitch. The breakthrough came when a good move saw the ball across from the right deflected up into the air for Josh Baker to beat the defender to the ball and clip the ball superbly past the keeper on the volley. This appeared to wake Ely up and they came into the game forcing the home team back and forcing a number of corners. It was however the hosts who doubled their lead another good move found Baker on the back post and his powerful reverse stick shot forced its way past the keeper. The visitors managed to then score a crucial goal just before half time with a clever deflection high into the home net. The second half opened with Ely drawing level, a mishit reverse stick cross was plucked from the air and turned into the goal. This pushed the visitors forward as they enjoyed the bulk of the play. Sutton defended well as again Matt Holmes performed well with Sam Gray and Tom Burton both tackling well and showing an increasing maturity when in possession of the ball. Ely took the lead around the midway point of the second half. Despite some good efforts Sutton were unable to force an equaliser and will perhaps have to learn to use different options when attacking in order to create more clear cut chances. There were many positives to take from the game, Josh Baker was man of the match but his performance was one of many good ones with a number of players showing individual improvement on the previous weeks.