Match Report

Sutton’s first public friendly under new manager Matt Gray went just about as well as it could at Arbour Park as U’s opened up with a comfortable victory against a side that had only just missed out on the National League South playoffs last season and had ended U’s hopes of an FA Cup run. Three goals, two of them scored superbly by summer signings, a clean sheet, and some eye-catching performances from some triallists contributed to an afternoon that will have encouraged those with Sutton sympathies who were watching.

Jamie Butler, Dale Bennett, Jon Barden and Craig Eastmond all sat out this first game while David Ajiboye, Aaron Jarvis and Ben Goodliffe made their debuts from the start, and also included were goalkeeper Ben Dudzinski, who played a number of games for Havant last season, defender Daniel Matsuzaka, a member of Braintree’s side in the latter stages of the season, including the 3-0 win at Sutton, and George Tuson-Firth, who has spent some time in Australia and was briefly with Aldershot.

Playing in a 4-4-2 formation Sutton had an early opportunity when Harry Beautyman curled a free kick just wide, and Jarvis glanced a header wide from a cross by Tom Bolarinwa, playing in the right back position in which he impressed late last season. Then two goals in a six minute spell midway through the half gave them deserved control of the game and saw Ajiboye and Jarvis announce themselves to U’s supporters. First Ajiboye, picking the ball up about fifteen yards inside the Slough half on the right, ran at the home defence, cut in between two defenders, beat a third and prodded a shot past Jack Turner for a fine solo goal. Six minutes later a missed defensive header left Jarvis clear of the defence, and although by the time he had the ball under control Slough had men back to cover, he still opted to go for goal and drilled a low shot in to the corner of the net from just inside the penalty area.

Dylan Kearney showed a similar willingness to shoot soon after from a similar position, sending a ferocious effort just too high, and when Slough threatened at the other end Matsuzaka produced a superb challenge to divert Ben Harris’s shot away for a corner.

Half time saw just the one change as Craig Dundas came on for Beautyman, and by the time wholesale changes were made on the hour U’s could have been further ahead as Kearney volleyed over from Ajiboye’s fine cross at the far post when he might have had more joy going with his head. Once the changes had been made U’s threat was still on the right, Tuson-Firth having switched flanks as Shola Ayoola, an Under-23 player with Stoke City,  occupied the left side with another triallist Rob Milsom, who played for Notts County last season, behind him. Making use of lots of space, Tuson-Firth came closest to a goal when put through by a delightful touch from Omar Bugiel. Having rounded goalkeeper Turner, though, he had to turn back inside on to his left foot and the keeper had recovered to tip the resulting shot over the bar. Bugiel also just failed to make contact with a cross from Ayoola, and a Tuson-Firth cross was just beyond former Southend Under-23 player Norman Wabo.

The clean sheet at the other end was preserved by an excellent save from Dudzinski, diving to his left to keep out a well struck shot from Dan Roberts after Francis Amartey had pulled a cross back from the left, and with the pace of the game having dropped considerably in the last ten minutes there was just time for Wabo to roll the ball home following a defensive mix-up between Turner and Matthew Leach.