Match Centre

2-1 ahead at Huish Park with the clock having reached ninety minutes, Sutton were on the edge of what would have been a third, and deserved, victory in a row that would have moved U’s eight points clear of the relegation zone, but two goals in the seven minutes of stoppage time saw the game turned on its head and when referee James Durkin blew the final whistle it was Yeovil who were celebrating moving further away from the bottom four and Sutton wondering how they’d lost a game that they seemed to be in control of.

Sutton named an unchanged starting line up and had an early chance when Jermaine Francis put a header from a right wing cross just over the bar, but in a low key first half Jack Sims was the slightly busier goalkeeper, diving to push away a Harvey Greenslade cross shot and then turning aside a low effort from James Daly. At the other end Jed Ward had to punch a Lewis Simper corner away from under the crossbar, but it was Yeovil who made the breakthrough when Kwaku Donkor tangled with Terrell Works, playing against Sutton for a third different side this season after appearing for Fulham and Braintree, as Works burst in to the penalty area from the left, and with Donkor challenging from behind referee James Durkin had little hesitation pointing to the penalty spot. Sims dived to his right to save a poor penalty from Luke McCormick, but couldn’t hold on and Daly reacted quicker than the defenders to hammer home the rebound.

Sutton responded well, and in time added on for injuries during the half to Francis and McCormick, Ward had to scramble away a Simper free kick at his near post, and from the resulting throw in the ball was worked to Besart Topallaj on the left and his fine cross was headed in powerfully by Hayden Muller for his second goal in as many games.

It was therefore U’s who went in to the interval the happier, and for much of the second half they were in control. Kai Jennings was put in on the left of the penalty area by Simper, and beat the challenge of Josh Sims before firing in a volley that was well saved by Ward, and U’s then made a double change up front as Ashley Nadesan and the returning Osman Foyo replaced Francis and Brandon Njoku, and Foyo was involved six minutes later as U’s went in front, laying off a neat pass to Donkor, who found Muller to play an incisive pass through on the right. Foyo originally went for it but allowed Simper to take over, and his cross was met by Jennings who took a touch and slid his shot past Ward.

There was little in the play that followed to suggest what would happen in stoppage time, although U’s couldn’t find the third goal that would surely have wrapped victory up, and although Yeovil saw more of the ball they posed little threat and the crowd’s reaction to two corners from Jonathon Page in quick succession, both played in low and both easily cleared by Jake Taylor at the near post, hinted at a lack of optimism that the home side would be able to recover.Howver the last two of their five substitutions, seeing Brett McGavin and Kyle Ferguson introduced, gave them a more physical presence and led to a more direct approach, and U’s found themselves defending more than at any previous time in the game.

It looked as though Sutton would see out the late pressure, and Sims had still had little to do, but in the third minute of stoppage time Ryan Jones played in a superb low cross from the left that flashed along the six yard line, evading everyone at the near post but rattled in by Daly arriving unmarked at the far post. Now the home side had the impetus, and the winner came four minutes later. U’s were unfortunate in that the referee had called for treatment to Simper after a head knock, despite Simper seeming to be uninjured and claiming he didn’t need attention, and forced him to the sidelines before restarting play with an uncontested drop ball to Ward when possession had been far less clear cut when play was stopped. Midway inside the Yeovil half, it allowed the goalkeeper to launch the ball forward with Sutton a player down, and when it was flicked on another substitute, Tahvon Campbell, nipped in front of Edon Pruti whose challenge brought him down. Again the referee pointed to the spot, and this time McGavin produced a penalty that could not have been more different from McCormick’s, blasting the ball unstoppably in to the roof of the net.

Despite that being in the last of the originally allotted seven additional minutes, play carried on for another seven minutes with Taylor requiring treatment, and subsequent replacement, after also receiving a head injury, and substitute Dubem Eze, on in the 101st minute, picked up Sutton’s fifth booking in the 104th for a scuffle with Josh Sims before the referee finally ended proceedings.

Sutton: Jack Sims, K Donkor(sub D Ogbonna 90), B Topallaj, J Eccleston, E Pruti, H Muller, K Jennings, L Simper, B Njoku(sub O Foyo 60), J Francis(sub A Nadesan 60), J Taylor(sub O Foyo 90+11). Subs n/u D Rodari, C Haigh, D Aziaya. Booked: Njoku, Donkor, Sims, Pruti, Eze.

Yeovil: J Ward, J Mukena(sub K Ferguson 80), D Skura, J Page(sub B McGavin 80), F Cousin-Dawson, T Works(sub T Perrett 57), Josh Sims, L McCormick(sub D Mafico 57), H Greenslade(sub T Campbell 64), R Jones, J Daly. Subs n/u A Whittle, M Gould. Booked: Works, Greenslade, Sims.

Referee: James Durkin

Attendance: 2,344(63 away)

Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin