A hat trick from Jayden Keteku (above) gave Sutton a 3-0 half time lead, and U’s then survived a second half scare to leave the Hive with the points, ending their run of three successive EFL Youth Alliance defeats.

With Barnet getting the better of Sutton twice in October, both in the league and in the Youth Alliance Cup, the third meeting this season belonged to the U’s.

In an action packed game the first notable event, which led to the U’s opener, came from Josh Jenkins winning a free kick inside the Bees’ half by the corner flag. The delivery was met by pandemonium in the penalty area, seeing a mixture of blocked shots, as well as Luke Ashburn’s low strike being pushed away by David Nistor, before Jayden Keteku was brought down on the turn with a penalty kick awarded. Keteku, who earned the penalty, took responsibility, and despite Nistor getting a vigorous touch on the ball, it wasn’t enough, as it nestled in the bottom left hand corner. Nistor needed attention after the penalty, as he had dislocated his middle finger, leading to a five minute break, but fortunately for the Bees he was able to continue as he was the only goalkeeper within the squad.

The stoppage in the play did briefly disrupt Sutton’s momentum as a cut back on the right side of the penalty area found a player in amber and black only for Jay Coombes to block the effort. Keteku very nearly doubled his tally for the day in the 19th minute, following a precise free kick from Ronny Ruiz, only for the header to whizz past the right post. Sutton were nearly rewarded again, following a high press this time led by Taylor Boon. The clearance fell to Ruiz, who after exchanging passes with Bobby Sheargold, chipped the ball into the penalty area, only for Sheargold’s effort to be directed straight at Nistor.

Four minutes shy of the half hour mark, Sutton struck for the second time. After Geri Katana stayed firm at the corner flag he was able to turn, clipping a ball into the penalty area for Keteku to make contact for his second of the afternoon.

On the thirty minute mark, the hosts called Klevis Muca into action for the first time. An initial clearance from the U’s was met by Josh Jenkins on the half way line, only for his backwards pass on the volley to fall to Barnet’s No.10 inside the penalty area but his volley was smartly caught by Muca at the right post. The Bees had another golden opportunity, following a corner from the far side. Their No.6 had space in the penalty area, only for him to chest his effort into Muca’s gloves.

Four minutes away from the break, Keteku completed a first half hat trick. After Ruiz had swayed into the penalty area, he laid the ball off to Sheargold whose first time effort was saved by Nistor, only for Keteku to be vigilant, converting the rebound. The U’s had got a taste for more goals, and Sheargold was inches away from adding a fourth, after a driving run on the far side towards the edge of the box ended with a shot curling past the right post.

The hosts created a promising opportunity ten minutes after the restart, a cross in from the left found the striker in space although the effort came off his shoulder and sailed over the bar. A minute shy of the hour mark, Barnet began their comeback. Coombes was dispossessed in the middle of the pitch for the Bees No.6 to navigate into the penalty area, placing his effort into the bottom left corner.

Barnet came close to pulling a second goal back, as after their goalscorer laid the ball off to a fellow midfielder inside the penalty area, his low effort was dragged wide of the left post. Twenty minutes from time, Muca pulled off a heroic save from close range. A ball into the penalty area was volleyed goalwards for Muca to save with his face. However, Barnet were intent on not going away quietly, and seven minutes from time, they found a second. It was in the same position that Sheargold found himself in  the first half, as the hosts No.7 curled in an effort from the left side of the edge of the box into the top right corner.

Five minutes from time, Sutton were faced with another hurdle. James Fennelow, who had only been on the pitch for less than twenty minutes after making his first appearance since October, was forced to depart after a coming together in the centre circle. In relation to the severity of the injury, Glen Nichols stated that “ there is swelling on the ankle”. However, the team are unsure on how long he will be sidelined. Glen further voiced that he is “devastated” for James, after working so hard to get back onto the pitch.

Despite a frantic ending and eight minutes of stoppage time, Sutton were able to keep hold of the three points to get their first win in the EFL Youth Alliance since the 2-1 win away at Northampton at the end of January.

Sutton are now faced with a hectic schedule of games, seeing them play three times in six days. The first of these is on Monday against a Maidstone side who the U’s comfortably beat 4-0 ten days ago. This game gets underway at 1pm at Leatherhead Youth FC. Sutton have another chance to close the gap on the league leaders Southend, currently sitting seven points off the Shrimpers but with a couple of games in hand. Glen has proclaimed that this busy period will be “ the making of us”.

Sutton: K Muca, H Boateng, J Coombes, L Ashburn, R Ruiz(sub B San-Norton 67), D Ashia, T Boon(sub M Nzi 63), J Keteku, B Sheargold(sub J Fennelow 67)(sub C Lee 85), G Katana, J Jenkins(sub O Bello 47).

Report: Finlay Harris