Match Report

Sutton came back from Meadow Lane with a well deserved point after Harry Beautyman’s goal fourteen minutes from time cancelled out the first half Wes Thomas effort that had given Notts County the lead. Rocked back by conceding the goal, U’s had recovered well in the second half and there were already murmurs of anxiety among the home supporters as the home side failed to build on their early lead, and sure enough Beautyman squeezed a shot past Sam Slocombe to realise those fears, and it might have been even better for U’s had Craig Eastmond not shot narrowly wide moments later.

Beautyman was back in central midfield, Kenny Davis having failed to recover from injury in time to feature, with David Ajiboye starting on the wing, and it was U’s who fashioned the first opening as a storming run on the right by Omar Bugiel ended with a shot that flashed just wide of the near post. However it was at the other end that the scoring was opened as Enzio Boldewijn capitalised on a poor header from Louis John to attack on the right, a jinking run ending with a low cross that was turned in by Thomas. Boldewijn looked the biggest threat on either side before the break, and Thomas failed to get sufficient power on a shot when he met another cross, Tzanev saving comfortably.

As the half wore on Sutton showed signs of recovering from the blow of conceding, but there was a familiar failing as several promising positions were wasted by a poor final pass. When Beautyman and Kyel Reid both had chances as the ball fell to them on the edge of the penalty area, the shots lacked conviction and Slocombe was able to save comfortably, while one really good attack ended with Beautyman teeing up Ajiboye for a shot that sailed in to the seats behind the goal.

With both sides having problems keeping their feet on a tricky soft surface the game rarely reached great heights in the second half, with possession conceded too easily on both sides, but after Connell Rawlinson had sent a header just wide from a corner Sutton began to gain the upper hand, and Tommy Wright beat Slocombe to a through ball outside the penalty area but was forced too wide to shoot and his low cross was cleared. The momentum was now with U’s, though, and the equaliser they deserved came, though it originally seemed as though the chance may again have been squandered as Ajiboye overhit a cross that cleared everyone in the penalty area. This time, though, substitute Will Randall, a lively presence after replacing Reid, retrieved the ball on the left and put in a much better cross that eventually fell for Beautyman to find space under pressure and shoot past Slocombe.

It was Sutton who looked the likelier winners after that, with Damian McCrory clearing a low Wright cross before it could reach Ajiboye, and Eastmond bursting through on the left and shooting agonisingly wide of the far post. When Boldewijn shanked an attempted clearance out for a corner the murmurs of discontent turned in to boos, but the home supporters could still have been celebrating at the end when, in the last minute of stoppage time, John was penalised for a foul just outside the penalty area. It was clear it would be the last action of the game, so Regan Booty had a shot to win it for his team, only to curl the free kick harmlessly high and wide, with referee Tom Parsons immediately blowing the final whistle.

Notts County: S Slocombe, R Brindley, D McCrory, M Rose, B Turner, C Rawlinson, W Thomas(sub K Dennis 79), M Doyle, K Wootton, S Shields(sub R Booty 73), E Boldewijn. Subs n/u D Kelly-Evans, Z Bakayogo, S Osborne. Booked: Rose

Referee: Tom Parsons