Sutton continue their Emirates FA Cup campaign with the visit of AFC Telford United on Saturday.

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

Match Info

  • Fixture: Sutton United vs AFC Telford United
  • Competition: Emirates FA Cup (First Round)
  • Venue: VBS Community Stadium
  • Date: Saturday, 1st November; 3pm KO (12:30pm Turnstiles)
  • Strip: Amber home kit

Officials

  • Referee: Alex Chilowicz. A MLS referee since 2017, he moved to England in December 2023 and has been an EFL referee since then, his first game being our home game against Mansfield.
  • Assistant Referees: Andrew Aylott (red/yellow); Isabel Chaplin (yellow)
  • Fourth Official: James Hooper

How to Follow

Audio

Due to FA Cup rules, our usual Mixlr commentary will not take place this weekend. However, BBC Radio Shropshire will be doing commentary on behalf of our visitors, meaning supporters both in the UK and overseas can still listen in on all of the action.

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

General Admission

  • Adults – £15
  • Concession (62+, Students, NHS, Police, Fire and Armed Forces) – £10
  • Under-18 – £5
  • Under-14 – £2

Main / Family Stand

  • Adults – £15
  • Concession (62+, Students, NHS, Police, Fire and Armed Forces) – £10
  • Under-18 – £5
  • Under-14 – £2

All tickets purchased on matchday will be subject to a £3 increase at the gate.

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.

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.

London Buses are now cashless. Fares are a flat £1.75, and this includes multiple journeys within a one-hour period of the first “touch in” with a contactless payment card or Oyster card.

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.

With Remembrance Weekend approaching, the Cheam and Sutton branch of the Royal British Legion, and the Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association, will conduct a brief service of remembrance on the pitch before kick-off.

Starting at about 2.50pm, an exhortation will be read, The Last Post will be played, a wreath laid by the SSAFA, and a two-minute silence will be observed to remember those who have given their lives in service.

The British Legion will have a merchandise table next to Rose’s tea hut at the Gander Green Lane end of the main stand, (or if it is raining in the MBA lounge) and they will be carrying out a ground collection during the afternoon.

Stat Attack

1 – While this is technically the first meeting between the two clubs, the original Telford United were Sutton’s first ever opponents at GMV Conference/National League level back in August 1986.

1 – This is the first meeting between the two sides in the current century.

4 – Lenny Dennis’s four goal record is the most by a Sutton player in these fixtures.

Head-To-Head (Telford United)

  • Sutton United wins: 4
  • Draws: 4
  • Telford United wins: 4

Last Four Meetings:

  • Telford United 2-0 Sutton United – 8th April, 2000 (GM/Nationwide Conference)
  • Sutton United 2-1 Telford United – 2nd October, 1999 (GM/Nationwide Conference)
  • Telford United 4-2 Sutton United – 19th January 1991 (GM/Nationwide Conference)
  • Sutton United 0-3 Telford United – 18th August, 1990 (GM/Nationwide Conference)

Last Time We Met

A Gary Martindale brace condemned Sutton to a 2-0 defeat to Telford at Bucks Head.

With half-an-hour gone, Martindale put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot when he confidently converted after a Sutton defender handled the ball inside the area, and was followed by Telford continuing to control possession throughout the remainder of the first half.

Martindale then struck again midway through the second half when he latched onto a through ball and finished low into the bottom corner to seal the victory, securing three points for Telford and deepening Sutton’s relegation worries late in the 1999/00 GM/Nationwide Conference season.

Player In Focus

Matty Stenson

Position: Forward

Age: 31

Appearances 25/26: 9

Goals 25/26: 4

Played for Both

Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson played a minor role in Sutton’s promotion-winning campaign in 2020/21, with the U’s being his third permanent club after departing Wolverhampton Wanderers, a side he had spent time away on loan during his early career, one of which being at Telford.

After spending time in the academies of Whitstable Town and Maidstone United, Simpson joined Wolves in 2015 and spent time away on loan two years after joining. He spent the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign at Portsmouth, before spending their Championship-winning season in 2017/18 season at Telford, Kilmarnock and FC Jumilla, playing 13 times for the Bucks during a brief spell there.

He departed Molineux permanently upon his return from loan and joined Waterford, with his time in Ireland preceding moves to Dover Athletic and then Sutton, where he played 12 times in the U’s historic season under Matt Gray.

Simpson departed ahead of the club’s maiden campaign in League Two after playing a minor role in their promotion, and subsequently went on to join Hemel Hempstead Town, Chippenham Town and Salisbury, before joining Gainsborough Trinity in August 2024, where he currently resides.