Sutton return to National League Cup action this Tuesday, hosting Brighton & Hove Albion.

Read below for everything you need to know ahead of the match.

Match Info

  • Fixture: Sutton United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
  • Competition: National League Cup (Group Stage)
  • Venue: VBS Community Stadium
  • Date: Tuesday, 16th September; 7pm
  • Strip: Amber home kit
  • Television: National League TV

Officials

  • Referee – Wayne Cartmel. In his fourth season as a National League referee he is taking charge of his first Sutton game at this level.
  • Assistant Referees: Joe Wright (red/yellow); Anastasiya Voloshchuk (yellow)
  • Fourth Official – Andrew Hickman

How to Follow

Video

All National League Cup matches will be available to watch for free over on the League’s YouTube Channel.

Audio

Supporters will be able to listen to all the action, with a Mixlr audio commentary being available and will be posted on social media accounts before kick-off.

Social Media

You can also follow the game through our social media channels below, with full text coverage during the fixture.

X: @suttonunited

Facebook: @suttonunited

Instagram: @suttonunited

In Person

Tickets are available to purchase here.

For enquiries, supporters can contact the club over the phone at 02086444440 or via email at tickets@suttonunited.net.

Ticket Prices

  • Adult: £10
  • Concession: £10
  • Junior: £5
  • Under-14: £2

Seated tickets are the same price as General Admission, in both the Main and Family Stand.

Prices will also receive a £3 increase on matchday.

We will also once again be offering a ticket bundle, which is available for the same price in each stand and allow entry into all four of Sutton’s Group Stage matches. Prices are as follows:

  • Adult: £30
  • Concession: £30
  • Junior: £15
  • Under-14: £6

The bundle is available to purchase here.

Getting to the Ground

Stadium Address:

VBS Community Stadium

Gander Green Ln

Sutton

SM1 2EY

By Car

Travel along the M25, exiting at Junction 8. Then travel north on the A217 for about 15-20 minutes. Ignoring signs for Sutton itself, stay on the A217 to the traffic lights by the Gander Inn (on the left), turn right into Gander Green Lane. The Borough Sports Ground is about 200 yards up this road on the left hand side. If you reach West Sutton Station you have gone too far.

On matchdays, the club car park in Gander Green Lane is for parking permit holders only. Away fans should park in Gibson Road, the local municipal car-park. It takes no more than 15 minutes to walk from Gibson Road to the stadium. Click here for more information regarding parking, while a map of Gibson Road can be found here.

By Rail

It is recommended that visiting supporters use Sutton station, which is on the main lines out of Victoria and London Bridge and is at the top end of Sutton High Street, about 20 minutes’ walk from the ground. Two buses between Morden and Sutton stations run conveniently close to our stadium: route 413 bus goes down Gander Green Lane, and number 80 runs along Collingwood Road. The ground can then be reached by taking the path through Collingwood Rec. London Buses are now cashless. Fares are a flat £1.50, and this includes multiple journeys within a one-hour period of the first “touch in” with a contactless payment card or Oyster card.

West Sutton railway station is adjacent to the ground. It is served by Thameslink trains via Wimbledon or Sutton. Come out of West Sutton station and turn right into Gander Green Lane and the ground is about 100 yards further along. Away fans should walk past the main entrance and after about 70 yards turn right into Collingwood Recreation Ground, where the away turnstiles 5-8 are situated.

By Bus

The 413 service runs past the ground down Gander Green Lane. The bus leaves Sutton town centre from outside the main post office. The 80 route from Hackbridge to Belmont runs down Collingwood Road. The ground can be reached by taking the path through Collingwood Rec. Both routes also connect with the Northern Line at Morden.

Accessibility

All accessible entrances will be open as detailed in the stadium map below:

We currently have spaces for ten wheelchair users (seven home, three away) and we would ask anyone who needs to use this facility to book in advance (contactus@suttonunited.net). If any wheelchair user needs to park at our stadium, please let us know in advance and we will make arrangements to welcome you. We have accessible toilets at both ends of the ground and in the main stand. Ambulant supporters will need to climb a handful of steps as there are currently no lifts.

For more information, supporters can access the club’s FAQs, which can be found here.

Full Fan Guides for both home and away fans can also be accessed here.

Footballing activities will be available in the fanzone, including table football, as well as the bar and club shop being open.

Stat Attack

1 – The two clubs have only met at senior level once, a pre-season friendly in July 2002 at GGL which the visitors one by 1-0, a 15 yard volley by Steve Melton.

3 – Sutton have only lost three games in the National League Cup since its induction last season; a Group Stage match against West Ham United and the final against Leeds United last term, along with Sutton’s last outing in the competition against Fulham.

22 – Tuesday’s fixture is Sutton’s 22nd match on this day as a senior club but just the eighth at GGL. U’s best win was a 5-1 thrashing of Marlow in the FA Cup 1st qual round with Jim Brown netting a treble, while Charlie Vaughan also netted a hat-trick in a 4-0 defeat of Tooting & Mitcham in 1944 in the SE Combination Cup.

Last Time We Met

The two sides did meet at Albion’s training ground in July 2021, although the match was not recorded as official by SUFC. Brighton fielded an U23 squad and Sutton won by 6-0 with recent returnee to GGL (with Carlisle United), David Ajiboye scoring twice as U’s warmed up for a historic first season in the EFL.

Player In Focus

Shane Nti

Position: Forward

Age: 18

Appearances 25/26: 4

Goals Scored 25/26: 3

Assists 25/26: 1

Photo Credit: Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

Played for Both

David Ajiboye

A fans’ favourite during his time at Gander Green Lane, David Ajiboye started his career at Brighton and rose through the ranks at the AMEX, before joining Sutton a year after his departure.

Born in Bromley, Aljiboye signed for Brighton on a two-year scholarship in 2015 and gained experience on loan at Worthing in the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2017, where he made three appearances. This was followed by his debut for Brighton’s Under-21’s; a 2-0 defeat to MK Dons in the EFL Trophy, before returning to South London temporarily with a loan move to Millwall Under-23.

He was then released by Brighton in the summer of 2018 and returned to Worthing on a permanent basis, scoring 21 goals in 45 games across the 2018/19 season, before moving to Sutton the following year.

His time in SM1 proved to be extremely fruitful, making over 100 appearances for the club across a three-year spell and helping to gain promotion to League Two for the club’s history, striking up one of the best partnerships in the division with Isaac Olaofe and Omar Bugiel.

He subsequently earned a move into League One with Peterborough United, spending three years with at London Road where he appeared 50 times, and barring a brief loan move back at Sutton at the end of the 2022/23 season, remained part of the Posh team until 2024.

This preceded a couple of loan moves towards the backend of last season, joining York City and Newport County, before returning to the National League permanently in the summer with a switch to Carlisle United.