Match Report

Sutton’s first friendly in front of the home supporters at the Knights Community Stadium proved a thoroughly satisfactory affair as U’s won, kept a clean sheet, saw a striker get off the mark for the season with two good goals and another return to action after long-term injury. The arrival of Tommy Wright with just over twenty minutes to go, making his 100th appearance for the club nearly ten months after his 99th had ended in agony at Leyton Orient, brought perhaps the biggest cheer of the night, although part of the acclaim would also have been for the player he replaced, Dylan Kearney having produced what turned out to be a match-winning performance with two goals in the first part of the second half to which Dulwich were unable to respond.

If there was a slight disappointment it was that U’s weren’t ahead at half time having created several chances with some good attacking play, but Aaron Jarvis, having taken advantage of a defensive slip to go clear on the right, pulled his shot across the face of goal and Kearney, twice getting in behind the defence, first chipped the ball just wide of the post and then, having collected the ball but then turned away from goal and lost some momentum, shot high and wide from the corner of the penalty area.

Jamie Butler had to beat away a good free kick from Jeffrey Monakana, the winger proving a lively presences against his former club, but Sutton had done enough to deserve to be in front and, after making the first of their two substitutions at the break, saw them bear fruit within a minute of the restart. Craig Dundas, who had replaced Jarvis, battled in from the right before the ball found its way to Will Randall, whose shot deflected across goal and was turned in by Kearney, shooting on the turn after controlling the ball with his first touch. It was a good striker’s goal, but the second, midway through the half, was probably the highlight of the evening as he came in from the left, created space and drove in a low 25-yard shot that skidded under Charlie Grainger, who might feel he could have done better.

It was Kearney’s last touch as Wright’s injury lay-off ended before Dulwich could restart, and the substitute was soon trying his luck from outside the penalty area, although the lack of a clean contact this time allowed Grainger to make a comfortable save. Some good defending at the near post denied him another chance after George Tuson-Firth had done well on the right before pulling the ball back, while at the other end Butler, and Ben Dudzinski in the last fifteen minutes, enjoyed a relatively comfortable eveing as U’s dealt well with the crosses coming in, particularly from Monakana, and ensured the clean sheet was preserved.