11:27am Tuesday 31st August 2010
By Tony Dolbear
Sutton United are top of the Ryman Premier League after winning a league game at Imperial Fields for the first time.
Richard Jolly, Fola Orilonishe and Bradley Woods-Garness scored in a comfortable win for Sutton while Tooting had keeper Jamie Butler sent off.
The fact that Sutton are still to concede a league goal is impressive given Alan Bray and Simon Downer are out injured, while Jason Goodliffe phoned in sick on Monday morning.
That meant a debut for former Carshalton Athletic and Basingstoke defender Rob Watkins at left back having only signed on Sunday and meeting his team-mates for the first time just before the game.
Tom Dunford filled an unfamiliar right-back role and both performed with distinction alongside the more established Karim El-Salahi and Sam Page.
That unblemished record might have ended inside the first five minutes but for a fine save from Kevin Scriven when a long throw was flicked on and Phil Williams, impressive for Godalming in last season’s Surrey Senior Cup final, shot low on the turn.
But, in the 11th minute, it was Sutton who had the lead.
Dunford did well to find Craig Dundas on the right, and he beat his man before crossing to the far post, where Orilonishe headed back and Richard Jolly volleyed low in to the corner of the net.
Williams immediately missed a glorious chance to equalise when he headed wide after former U’s striker Rob Haworth had climbed high to knock back a right wing cross.
But, within ten minutes, United should have been in total control.
First Orilonishe outpaced Mark Waters on the left and crossed for Steve Watts, starting a game for the first time this season, to head against the post and when Orilonishe returned the ball back in to the middle Dundas volleyed over.
Minutes later an inch-perfect pass from Kennedy Adjei left Watts with just Butler to beat, but, normally the most reliable of finishers, Watts put his attempt to lift the ball in to the net too close to the keeper who was able to block the effort.
Tooting might have made the most of the let off when Williams wasted another opening after bursting clear of Dunford but blazing over the bar, but in the second half Scriven was rarely called in to action as the home side struggled to make an impact on Sutton’s defence.
One dangerous burst from Jolly ended with a foul which saw Hasim Deen pick up the afternoon’s first booking, but when Jolly broke free again three minutes later he cut in from the right and, although the chance ran away from him the ball broke to Orilonishe on the edge of the penalty area and he lifted it over the advancing Butler.
Six minutes after that Butler was advancing again as Jolly ran clear on to a through ball, and this time he handled outside his penalty area as Jolly tried to take the ball round him.
There would still have been some work for the striker to do, but it was nevertheless enough of a goalscoring opportunity to have referee Tony Mason reaching for a red card which meant that Tooting have now had a player sent off in each of the last four games between the sides.
Replacement keeper Luke Garrard showed his quality with one outstanding save to turn aside a shot from Adjei after the increasingly influential midfielder had carved through the home defence.
The last quarter of the game was largely untidy and fractious, and it was only in the last five minutes that United returned to their earlier form.
Substitute Bradley Woods-Garness should have scored when another superb pass from Adjei put him clear, but his first shot was blocked by Garrard and he smashed the rebound off the face of the crossbar.
Not to be denied, though, when Adjei again put him through in the last minute with a pass over the top, Woods-Garness lifted the ball over Garrard and in to the net to round off a hugely satisfying victory.
Tooting: J Butler, M Waters, A Goode, H Nyang, H Deen, J Nicholls (sub N Brake H-T), K Hughes-Mason, J Evans, P Williams (sub L Garrard 64), R Haworth, K Beckford (sub B Stevens 66). Subs n/u J Henry, M Gradosielski. Booked: Deen (55-foul), Stevens (80-unsporting behaviour). Sent Off: Butler (64-handball outside area to deny goalscoring opportunity).
Sutton: K Scriven, T Dunford, R Watkins, K Adjei, S Page, K El-Salahi, C Dundas (sub S McKimm 66),T Davis, S Watts (sub B Woods-Garness 59), R Jolly (sub A Costa 76), F Orilonishe. Subs n/u T Kavanagh, J Dos Santos. Goals: Jolly(11), Orilonishe (58), Woods-Garness (90). Booked: Adjei(80-unsporting behaviour), McKimm(81-unsporting behaviour).
Referee: T Mason (Sidcup) Att 654
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