At the end of a memorable week for Sutton, which saw a thrilling win against Port Vale and then a giant step taken towards qualification for the knock out stages of the Papa John's Trophy, Sutton play the closest to a local derby that we will get this season on Saturday with a trip down the A23 to face Crawley Town. We will be playing in green.
Like Port Vale last week, Crawley are in good form at the moment, beaten just once in their last six games and unbeaten at the People's Pension Stadium this season, they are level on points with Sutton but two places lower on goal difference. Bradford City, Carlisle and Salford have all been beaten this season at the ground, while Harrogate and Northampton both came away with a point.
Although they are fairly close to each other geographically, this is the only the third senior competitive meeting between the sides and the first in league competition, as well as the first in which Crawley have been the home side. The previous meetings were both in the FA Cup, with Crawley winning 1-0 in the second qualifying round in 1965, and U's recording an impressive 4-1 win in the fourth qualifying round thirty years later, current Sutton director Dominic Feltham and Mark Hynes scoring two each.
Striker Omar Bugiel will return to the Sutton squad after being away with Lebanon on World Cup duty, being an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw with Iraq and the 3-2 win over Syria, while manager Matt Gray returns to one of the clubs at which he was assistant manager, when the Crawley squad included Enzio Boldewijn. Louis John also played for Crawley earlier in his career.
Tickets for Sutton supporters can be obtained on the day, either by phoning Crawley Town on 01293 410000 or at the ticket office or the Portacabin at the top of the car park near the Redz bar, which is open to Sutton supporters. It looks as though we will have well in excess of 500 supporters at the ground, so there should be a cracking atmosphere.
On the day prices are:
Seats: Adults £22; Age 65+ £17; Under 21 £15; Under 18 £12; Under 16 £6; Under 11 free. Terrace: Adults £18; Age 65+ £14; Under 21 £13; Under 18 £12; Under 16 £6; Under 11 free.
The Supporters' Club coach leaves at 12.45pm.
For independent travellers it is an easy journey, the ground being adjacent to the A23 just north of junction 11 of the M23, but roadworks on the Broadfield roundabout outside the ground may delay drivers and it is advised to leave an extra half hour for your journey. While there is no on-site parking for spectators, there are free car park spaces at Broadfield Park and Tilgate Business Centre, both within five minutes' walk of the stadium. Crawley station is about a 15 minute walk from the ground, but can only be reached from Sutton by going in to London Bridge and out again, or travelling to West Croydon and then transferring to East Croydon by tram or on foot.
There will be an audio commentary on our iFollow service and a pass costs £2.50, which you can buy here. We still have monthly (£4.49) and seasonal (£45) audio passes available, and these will enable you to listen to the games against Swindon and Colchester if you are not able to watch the live streams of those games, as single audio passes will not be available.