Head coach Chris Agutter hailed his side’s response and resilience after a commanding 2–0 away win over Hartlepool United.

Second half goals from Osman Foyo and Kai Jennings secured three vital points on another big night on the road, and sees Sutton extend their gap to the bottom four to six points.

“Very important. Very important,” said Agutter.

“I think the similarities between this game and the Yeovil game were, at one point, worryingly similar. But credit to the players.

“We questioned our mindset in the last stages of that game against Yeovil and subsequently we’ve bounced back brilliantly against Halifax and Hartlepool – two massive away days – for really important points.”

The manager was quick to praise the speed at which his players have responded to recent setbacks, with Agutter offering a scathing assessment following the 3-2 defeat to Yeovil Town only a week ago, but offered deserved credit after his side sealed a key victory in the North-East.

“It’s one thing saying to the players, you need to do this, you need to do that, mindset, mentality, we need to be better,” he said.

“But it’s a completely different thing putting that into action, and as quickly as they have.

“The players deserve heaps of praise for their effort, togetherness, commitment and level of performance in general over the last couple of games.”

Agutter also expressed his delight for the travelling supporters after back-to-back long trips, with Sutton securing a solid 2-2 draw over FC Halifax Town on Saturday, before going one better at the Prestige Group Stadium, something which has certainly avenged that disappointing final 20 minutes at Huish Park last week.

“To celebrate a big win at a big football club with our fans is what you do it for,” he added.

“The players have been magnificent and have given the supporters exactly what they deserve. I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.”

Despite going in goalless at the break, the Head Coach felt his side edged the first half and highlighted a remarkable recovery challenge from Junior Eccleston to deny Tyrese Sinclair, before Hartlepool started the second half strongly, and saw Agutter point to his side’s defensive resolve which proved crucial.

“Junior has put in one of the most incredible bits of individual defending I’ve ever had the privilege to see as a manager,” he said.

“He had no right to get back in on Tyrese Sinclair. When he went through, I thought he’d score. But Junior found a level of pace, power and mentality to recover the situation and not give up. It was incredible.”

“We didn’t retain the ball well enough early in the second half and didn’t win enough second balls,” he admitted.

“But we defended our box incredibly well. Six or seven different players put big blocks in. Jermaine Francis made an unbelievable block to keep it level.”

“We just said relax, be calm and composed, bodies on fire, ice in the fridge. Compete aggressively, but when we regained it, drop it down a gear. We did that, and that was key.”

Foyo’s first goal for the club broke the deadlock, getting on the end of a brilliant Kai Jennings corner to mark his third match since returning on loan from AFC Wimbledon, while his all-round display also drew high praise. His Dons teammate soon turned from provider to scorer though, with his superb second goal sealing the victory, much to his manager’s delight.

“Very happy for him,” said Agutter.

“I thought the shift he put in from a defensive perspective, occupying the whole back four, and then on the ball pinning them back, really gave us a platform.

“That [Jennings’ goal] was probably the most difficult of the chances we created.

“We could have produced a really emphatic scoreline, but that’s credit to the threat we had on the counter-attack.

“Kai’s back to his best and it was a brilliant finish. Delighted for him and delighted to put three more important points on the board.”

Reflecting on the bigger picture, Agutter believes his side are showing they can compete with anyone.

“We’ve just got to keep backing ourselves and doubling down on our ideas,” he said.

“The Yeovil experience was incredibly difficult, but we’ve shown against Halifax and more so tonight that the players have learned and moved forward.

“If we keep improving, we’ll keep climbing.”

Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin