Jon Meeney spoke of the importance of securing a draw away at Woking, with a second half equaliser from Charlie Bell sealing Meeney’s first point in interim charge of Sutton.
The U’s Academy midfielder produced a memorable moment as he popped up with a superb, acrobatic finish to get his side back on level terms after going behind in the first half to a goal from former loanee Chin Okoli, before a penalty save from Jack Sims ensured the points would be shared at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
“Get your points on the road” Meeney said, “be hard to beat, be resilient, be organised, be workmanlike, and then when your moments come in the game, you’ve got to capitalise. But you capitalise from being in the game, and credit to the boys, they stayed in the game today.”
“It’s a local derby. Every game means something, but it’s a local derby, and I’m a bit of a traditionalist, and it’s important that first and foremost, you earn the right to play any game.”
“Be aggressive in your duels, first contact, second contact, headers, tackles, interceptions. That can set the tone and that tone can spark something and I thought the desire and the fight and the togetherness of the boys tonight was superb.”
Bell’s moment is one that will no doubt stay with the 17-year old forever, who notched a crucial goal on his league debut, and just a second ever senior appearance for the club.
“He was first class, proud of him, but you know what? That’s why I put him in.”
“Yeah, you’ve got to be brave to do it, but ultimately he was brilliant against Brighton & Hove Albion 21s last week, he’s been training regularly with the group and also I attend the academy matches and I see what he’s been doing there.”
“Ultimately, I know what profile the lad is and the lads respect him, and he went in there and he did what I knew he would.”
Despite getting back on level terms, Sutton almost mirrored the Tamworth match by giving Woking the chance to restore their advantage immediately, with the visitors on the receiving end of a questionable decision that saw Bell penalised for a soft foul on Josh Kelly. However, despite the reliable Harry Beautyman stepping up, the even more reliable Jack Sims prevented the ex-U from scoring against his former club from the penalty spot.
“That’s a turning point. Yeah, we have to make that a turning point, not just within the game, but what I mean, like moving forward, you know, you earn your own sort of like luck.”
“But do you know what? Jack Sims saving penalties isn’t luck, that’s credit to Sean Miles, who stepped up in the goalkeeping department. And it’s credit to Simo and David [Aziaya] working as a goalkeeping group to make sure they both support each other and listen to the information given.”
Meeney also took a moment to comment on the superb support by the travelling faithful, who roared the team on to seal an ever so important point.
“They were massive, massive. And to be fair, that’s what Sutton United is about.”
“It’s about togetherness, it’s about the connection between the players on the pitch and the fans off it. They were absolutely superb, they have been all season.”
“Now what we’ve got to do is we’ve got to give them something to sing about come Saturday at Gander Green Lane.”
Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin
