Both Sutton and Wrexham return to Vanarama National League action tomorrow after seeing their FA Trophy hopes ended during the week, but hoping to continue good recent league form. It’s a strange quirk of the game that although both sides are in the bottom seven in the league table, they are in the top seven when form over the last six games is taken in to account. U’s are unbeaten in the last four league games, and over 90 minutes have lost only once in the last seven games, while Wrexham come in to the game on the back of good league wins at Eastleigh and at home to Solihull, and while they suffered a heavy defeat at Halifax in the Trophy last week, compared with Sutton’s narrow extra time defeat in a replay at Dagenham, it’s unlikely that tomorrow’s team will bear any great resemblance to the team that lined up at The Shay.
After missing out in the play-offs last season, this has been a difficult campaign for Wrexham so far but their upturn in form has coincided with the return of Dean Keates, a player when the sides first met in the FA Trophy in 2013, for a second spell as manager. They will be particularly looking to improve their away form, with that recent win at Eastleigh their first away from the Racecourse Ground this season, and they currently occupy 21st place, a point and two places behind U’s.
That FA Trophy win was the only occasion on which either Sutton or Wrexham have won on the other’s ground, and last season U’s had one of the best results of the season, winning 3-0 with goals from Jamie Collins (above), Kieron Cadogan and Craig Eastmond. Earlier this season a late Wrexham penalty, after Eastmond had been sent off for a handball on the line, denied U’s the win they seemed to be heading for when Harry Beautyman scored early in the second half.
U’s will be without both Collins and Beautyman tomorrow after their involvement in a car accident on the way home from the Dagenham game, both players being shaken and bruised but with no serious injuries, but Jon Barden and Kenny Davis will hopefully have recovered from the illness that kept both out of Tuesday’s game and Eastmond could be close to a return. Matt Gray discusses the events of Tuesday and looks ahead to tomorrow’s game here.
At half time tomorrow we will be drawing the non-cash prizes in the Amber500 draw, including a trip with the official party to the game at Halifax in February, together with pre-match hospitality; a chance to go behind the scenes with Matt and the team at the game against Yeovil next Saturday before enjoying boardroom hospitality and a centre stand seat; joining the SUFCtv team on the gantry at a first team game of your choice, and two tickets to see top British band Ash at the Roundhouse on March 27th. You can buy tickets before the game at the pop-up shop table in the Players’ Bar, and even after the draw tickets will still be on sale in advance of the draw for the cash prizes at the Woking game on New Year’s Day.
