Match Centre

Sutton’s recent good run of form came to a crashing halt against a Morecambe side who moved to within three points of the Enterprise National League safety line, scoring four times in the first 25 minutes with Sutton’s afternoon then going from bad to worse as Junior Eccleston was sent off. There were few moments after that when the ten men threatened to stage any sort of comeback, and substitute Daniel Ogwuru rubbed salt in the wounds with a fifth goal eleven minutes from time that confirmed U’s heaviest home defeat at National League or equivalent level, with Morecambe also jointly responsible for the heaviest away defeat, a 6-2 reverse at Christie Park in 1999 matching a similar scoreline at Barnet eleven years earlier.

U’s named an unchanged line-up for the third game in a row, but hopes that they could repeat their performances against Halifax and Hartlepool were soon extinguished in a remarkable first half hour as Morecambe, looking to build on Tuesday’s win at Wealdstone, put the game beyond U’s reach. All four goals were scrappy, the first coming in the sixth minute when Jack Nolan broke clear down the right and crossed low, with Paul Lewis turning the ball in from close range.

The goal sparked a nightmarish spell for Sutton and ten minutes later the ball was in their net again as Nolan took a free kick close to the right corner flag and fired the ball towards the far post, with a slight deflection taking it in to the far corner. Emboldened by this success, when Morecambe won a corner on the same side four minutes later, Nolan decided to try his luck again and sent the ball swinging in under the bar and again saw it nestle in the far corner of the net. Five minutes later Morecambe’s leading scorer had completed a quick fire hat trick, this time needing to do little other than receive the ball from Edon Pruti’s horribly underhit pass in the penalty area and roll it past the stranded Jack Sims in to the empty net.

If Sutton thought the afternoon couldn’t get worse they found they were mistaken within a minute, Eccleston penalised for a foul on Popov and appearing to tread on the Morecambe player while he was on the ground. Referee Elliott Swallow, who had sent Pruti off at Solihull the last time he took charge of a Sutton game, again had no hesitation in reducing U’s to ten men and, although there was a brief show of defiance from Osman Foyo, who twice ran at the defence but was unable to find a finish to match, Morecambe should have been even further ahead at half time when Popov ran on to a pass down the left but lost his composure and volleyed wildly past the near post.

Sutton made changes during the second half, with Ashley Nadesan’s introduction appropriate on a day devoted to HerGameToo, his kit sponsors, and they had moments in the second half when they could have reduced the arrears, Jermaine Francis going closest with a fierce left footed shot (above) that was beaten away by Jamal Blackman, who otherwise had had little to do other than claim several corners, free kicks or crosses under no pressure. Popov again missed a good chance to put his name on the scoresheet when another error by Pruti allowed him to go clear on the right, but Sims came to the rescue, getting a touch to the shot with his feet and sending it inches wide. A fifth goal did come, though, when a long throw from the left was headed on by Joe Nuttall and hammered in by Ogwuru, who had replaced captain Yann Songo’o at half time and who provided the last blow on an afternoon that Sutton will hope to forget as soon as possible.

Sutton: J Sims, K Donkor, B Topallaj, J Eccleston, E Pruti, H Muller, K Jennings(sub J Harris 80), L Simper(sub C Bell 56), O Foyo(sub D Rodari 70), B Njoku(sub A Nadesan 56), J Francis(sub D Eze 80). Subs n/u D Ogbonna, C Haigh. Booked: Jennings, Njoku, Bell. Sent Off: Eccleston

Morecambe: J Blackman, K Jameson(sub B Williams 63), T Akindileri, L Hogan, H Dean, Y Songo’o(sub D Ogwuru H-T), G Edwards(sub B Tollitt 77), M Sangare(sub J Cain 63), J Nolan(sub J Nuttall 77), P Lewis, C Popov. Subs n/u R Conte, M Boney. Booked: Songo’o, Lewis.

Referee: Elliott Swallow

Attendance: 2,290 (121 away)