Sutton made it five wins in a row with what Glen Nichols regarded as “the most complete performance” that he has witnessed in his time at Sutton so far.  With Southend approaching on Wednesday, a supreme 4-0 triumph over Bromley was the perfect end to a wild run of four games in seven days.

Sutton almost scored within the first twenty seconds after Bobby Sheargold’s lay off to Ronny Ruiz on the edge of the area. The midfielder moved into the penalty box but saw his shot blocked by a Bromley defender. Six minutes later the Ravens hurled a ball from the left hand side towards the back post. However  Bromley’s  No. 7’s attempt to head the ball back into the danger zone went out of play for a goal kick. A minute later, after disarray in the middle of the pitch, the hosts’ No. 7 powered towards goal, passing the ball to their No.9, whose attempted cross went out of play. However, the referee brought play back after initially playing an advantage for a foul on the edge of the box. The following free kick, though, failed to beat the Sutton wall. The final chance of Bromley’s spell resulted from the following corner taken short, with the hosts’ No.10 playing a low ball into the area for the attacker’s shot to whizz over the crossbar.

Eleven minutes on the clock, Sutton broke the deadlock as a cross from Sheargold on the right side was headed down by Geri Katana at the back post for Ruiz to volley a low effort into the net, claiming his fifth goal of the season. The U’s were unlucky not to strike again three minutes later, a free kick taken short was collected by Sheargold, who hammered an effort against the crossbar.

Klevis Muca had a very quiet half, as his only duty came ten minutes from the interval, pushing away a low cross from the right hand side. Four minutes from the break Omotolani Bello had a shot on the turn from inside the penalty area cleared off the line. Sutton were getting closer to a second as a corner  played short by Adam Reeves was delivered low into the box by Ruiz, for an ingenious flick by Jay Coombes to be saved by the home ‘keeper down to his left.

Seven minutes after the restart the U’s grabbed a second. A flick from Ruiz on the edge of the box fell nicely to Derrell Ashia, who curled a low effort into the bottom left hand corner. It was his first goal in amber colours.  A few minutes later, Ruiz mirrored Sheargold’s first half effort as his shot thumped against the crossbar.

On the hour mark, Bello broke into penalty area, taking the defender to the byline and being brought down for a penalty to be given. With Jayden Keteku  absent today, after converting his  penalty against Barnet, it was up to Kai McKenzie.  Despite the keeper guessing the right way, he was able to score on the second attempt. With just over ten minutes left to play, Sheargold produced a moment of magic. After receiving the ball from Katana on the far side,  he struck an effort from the edge of the box which sailed into the top left corner. That was the midfielder’s eleventh goal of the season, making him the U’s leading scorer.

The home side were nearly gifted a consolation goal in the closing stages, after Coombes was dispossessed in his own half, only for the attacker’s effort to glide over the crossbar.

Next up for the U’s is a mouth-watering encounter this Wednesday with current National League Academy South Division leaders Southend United. The Shrimpers currently hold a four point lead at the top, although Sutton do have a game in hand, meaning a positive result against them could leave the title in Sutton’s control. Glen voiced that “ we will take confidence from our current form”. Southend have not lost in this division since early December, but U’s won 4-1 in Essex a fortnight ago in the League Cup.

This game is scheduled for an 11.30 kick off at Leatherhead Youth FC. The U19 Division F side are also in action on the same day, hosting Woking. They previously lost 2-1 to them in the away fixture in December. The venue is yet to be confirmed.

Sutton: K Muca, B San-Norton, D Urpens, J Coombes, A Reeves, D Ashia(sub H Boateng 86), R Ruiz, G Katana, B Sheargold, O Bello(sub T Boon 78), K Mackenzie(sub L Ginger). Subs n/u C Lee, R Drysdale.

Report: Finlay Harris