Match Centre

Sutton’s 2025-26 campaign finished with four consecutive Enterprise National League defeats following a narrow loss to a Boreham Wood side whose season will carry on this week in the play-offs. Struggling to make an impact before half time and behind to Leon Ayinde’s 28th minute strike, Sutton improved hugely after the break and were unlucky not to equalise when half time substitute David Ogbonna rattled the underside of the crossbar within ten minutes of his arrival, but an equaliser proved elusive and U’s will finish the season in 19th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.

U’s fielded a young team, the back four having an average age of 20, and the squad included six players who have played for the academy side this season, making the 1-0 EFL Youth Alliance win against Northampton in the morning particularly impressive, while Danny Cashman made a first start in attack.

Photo Credit: Leonie Citron

With fourth place assured and the only uncertainty about this week’s play-offs the identity of the visitors to Meadow Park, Boreham Wood’s priorities were shown by the inclusion of Zak Brunt, Abdul Abdulmalik and Matt Rush all on the substitutes’ bench, but they didn’t miss three of their big hitters in the first half as they had the majority of the chances. They should have gone in front when Kwaku Donkor left a pass to Chris Haigh short, allowing Ayinde to nip in and go round the keeper, but the angle was too tight and when he pulled the ball back Josh Landers saw his shot deflected wide. Erico Sousa should have done better when he blasted a shot over the bar from fairly close range, but the breakthrough did come when Dan Urpens intercepted a through ball but only succeeded in diverting it to Ayinde, who cut in and hammered a shot in to the far corner of the net.

A succession of long throws from Urpens had produced little joy for Sutton, whose only hint of a chance came when Jermaine Francis found some space in the penalty area on the left but shot weakly at goalkeeper Ted Curd.

U’s introduced Ogbonna for Cashman at the break and carried more threat in the second half, and were very unlucky when Ogbonna found a yard of space on the right and hit a powerful shot that crashed down from the underside of the bar with the rebound just eluding Francis. That was the closest that Sutton were to come, although Ogbonna saw another shot deflected wide and Jayden Harris was off target with a free kick from outside the penalty area, while the home side brought on Brunt, Abdulmalik and Rush with half an hour to go, and Brunt came closest to extending the lead with a looping shot on the turn that clipped the top of the crossbar.

Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin

Byron produced an outstanding tackle to prevent Lewis Richardson getting a shot away, while he also had a chance to have an impact at the other end but shot too high from twenty yards as the home side went in to this week’s play-offs on the back of a victory.

Sutton: C Haigh, K Donkor, T Byron, D Urpens, J Eccleston, J Taylor, C Bell, L Simper, D Cashman (sub D Ogbonna H-T) J Harris(sub R Ruiz 69), J Francis. Subs n/u D Rodari, A Reeves, J Fennelow, B Topallaj, D Aziaya. Booked: Taylor, Bell

Boreham Wood: T Curd, C Coxe, J Newton, C REynolds, C Bush(sub A Henry H-T), C O’Connell, E Sousa(sub Z Brunt 62), R Booty(sub T White), J Landers(sub M Rush 63), L Richardson, L Ayinde(sub A Abdulmalik 63). Subs n/u J Clarke, M Marshall-Miranda. Booked: Reynolds, White

Referee: Lee Swabey

Attendance: 1,471(247 away)