Sutton United

Sutton United Ladies clinched the GLWFL* Div 2 title on Sunday with a great away win at Balham FC

The ladies started quite nervously but soon got into the swing of things with Ella Bale going close early on. The breakthrough came in the 4th minute when Jade Johnson broke the offside trap after a great through ball. Jade finished coolly and after some consultation with the assistant ref the goal stood.From then on Sutton dominated and created a whole host of chances with Ella again going close. It wasn't long before the 2nd goal came with a fantastic header from Faye Butler, who met Emma Green's inviting cross at the near post.Sutton controlled the play again and looked untroubled at the back, with Alex White and Emily Stanley marshalling the back four. On 19 minutes Sutton worked the ball wide to Jodie Fernandes whose fantastic long rage strike looped over the 'keeper to make it 3-0.The ladies' celebrations with the travelling Amber Army eased the nerves and the ladies began to play with real confidence. The fourth Sutton goal was the pick of the bunch, with Emma Green's magical left foot hitting a belter from distance that the keeper had no chance stopping.At 4-0 Sutton were guilty of sloppy play and Balham broke to pull one back.At half-time club captain Tanya Dady made only her second appearance of the season, as she has only recently celebrated the birth of her son. Sutton slowed the pace of the game with the back four working the ball with little pressure from Balham.  Another lapse in concentration saw Balham get a second goal but Sutton were never in real danger and once the final whistle went the huge celebrations started.It has been a fantastic season for the ladies' team and all the hard work has paid off. Manager Duncan Muller expressed his delight and said “It's fantastic for the ladies, all the staff and the club, I'm delighted today and we will celebrate tonight, but I'm already planning for next season and our project has just begun.”Duncan also added “as well as thanking the players and my staff I would like to thank some very important people at Sutton who have backed me all the way and continue to do so, without people like Bruce Elliot, Dave Farebrother, Paul Doswell, Pat Carr, Adrian Barry, Rob Oakes, Paul Loughlin Kerry Knott, Justin Jose, Matt Fanham, David Solly, Louise Cooper and Lorraine Sturton we wouldn't have achieved so much so quickly. A special thanks to Bobby Childs and Tony Henderson-Smith who I work closely with and both give up a lot of time and effort to make this all work”So the Ladies have hit the ground running and the future looks amber all the way!* GLWFL  -  Greater London Women's Football League