Reports 1st

Bishop Sutton 0 - 0 Dawlish Town

After all the hard work which had been done since the end of December when Sutton only had 2 points and were sitting at the bottom of the table and with the biggest crowd of the season by a mile, Sutton needed just one point from this match to secure their place in the Premiership for next season. Dawlish Town who had already finished as runners-up and are in two cup finals during next week was not really what the Doctor ordered however, the Sutton team started the match with lots of confidence and were in control for long spells, Dawlish always looked quaility when they got forward but with Adam Tyers and Luke Andrews looking strong they hardly threatened Ashley Clark in goal for Sutton, Adam White and Rob Dumphy were pushing the Dawlish back four backwards and created a couple of half chances which they were unable to convert. Ashley Farrell seemed to be all over the pitch winning the ball for Sutton which was an inspiration to his team and supporters created a great chance for Benji Tricker who had a one on one with the keeper on 35 minutes, he tried to chip the ball over the keeper but the ball just cleared the bar on the wrong side. This was a cracking game to watch and Sutton were unlucky to go in at half time 0-0.

The second half continued with the Sutton lads looking confident, Dawlish had a great chance early on but did not really test keeper Clark. Carl Stone and Sam Payne started to get forward at times which kept the Dawlish team on their back foot, Joe Waring and Clayton Stone continued to work hard in midfield. Dumphy showed his ability and went close on two occasions but the Dawlish keeper was on his toes, then on 75 minutes, Dumphy let fly a 30 yard volley which cleared the Dawlish keeper only to hit the bar and would of given Sutton a well deserved lead. Ashley Farrell was outstanding throughout this match with his work rate which was ideal as the last 15 minutes started to become very nervous particularly for the supporters who were biting their nails, Dawlish tried hard but never really threatened and Sutton played out the last few minutes to get the best point that Sutton had won all season. Manager Lee Lashenko said that he was so proud of his team and the work and support that he had from his trainer Chris Bailes and physio Kevin Read who had played a big part of the recovery since Christmas. Sutton can now regroup for next season where they can look forward to a much better season.