With Head Coach Chris Agutter, as he had promised, fielding a line-up comprising mainly first team players Sutton eased in to the second round of the Specsavers Surrey Senior Cup at the Spectrum Centre, earning a second round tie at home to AFC Croydon Athletic.

While Aaron Jones, Lewis Simper, Jayden Harris, Jack Wadham and Ashley Nadesan were all absent, there was still enough experience in the side to suggest that Guildford, rooted to the bottom of the Combined Counties League and coming in to the game on the back of thirteen consecutive league defeats, were in for a long evening and after Harry Phipps, deployed in an attacking midfield position, had scored with two headers inside the first quarter of the game there was never any danger of the evening not going as U’s would have hoped, and the victory was rounded off as Brandon Njoku shrugged off a missed penalty to score twice in the last twenty minutes.

Sutton were on the attack from the kick off, and while an early corner from Charlie Bell that went straight out of play was not an auspicious start, he had a number of chances to make amends, with another corner soon afterwards causing a goalmouth scramble in which home goalkeeper Mason Whittall made a good save. It was a short respite, though, as when Bell’s next corner was cleared out as far as Kai Jennings, his cross was headed in by the diving Phipps. Ten minutes later Phipps had another, a routine header from another Bell corner, this time from the right, and Sutton were heading for a comfortable victory.

 

Before half time Jack Taylor saw a shot blocked on the line following another corner, and Bell shot just wide from twenty yards.

U’s made a change in goal at half time, David Aziaya replacing Tommy Reid, who had largely been a spectator, while Kane Crichlow also came on for Jennings, and as in the first half Sutton enjoyed lots of possession from the start. Junior Eccleston headed over from a corner before Hayden Muller’s attempted cross was blocked by the upraised arm of Alexander-William Nwadike, referee Patrick Dixon pointing to the penalty spot. Njoku had missed in the recent shootout against West Ham, and failed again here as Whittall dived to his right to save.

Sutton’s wastefulness in front of goal was becoming a frustration, Crichlow volleying wildly over from around the penalty spot and Will Tizzard heading wide from another Bell corner, but the third goal did come on the hour when Bell was allowed space just outside the penalty area and sent a low shot that Whittall got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.

By then Alex Woodyard had made his return from injury, replacing Phipps, and soon afterwards two Academy players, Adam Reeves and George Vorster, were also brought on, Vorster’s pace on the left soon catching the eye. U’s continued to create chances, Alex Stingelin making one superb clearance in the six yard box as Sutton players lined up to meet Bell’s cross from the left, and eventually Njoku broke through on the left and put his penalty miss behind him with a left footed finish beyond Whittall.

Guildford had their moments, mainly through the direct running of substitute Callum Peart, but one dangerous run ended ignominiously with a booking for diving under Tizzard’s challenge in the penalty area, and on a second occasion he was crowded out by defenders. Aziaya did have to punch away one corner, and Kai Zini stabbed a shot wide, but otherwise U’s substitute keeper was as unoccupied as Reid had been in the first half.

At the other end Bell saw a corner bounce across goal off the crossbar before Njoku rounded off the scoring three minutes from time, cutting in from the left and shooting in via a slight deflection. He was only denied a hat-trick in the last action of the game when Whittall’s fingertip save pushed his angled shot just beyond the far post, the final whistle going before the corner could be taken.

Sutton: T Reid(sub D Aziaya H-T), N Boutin(sub A Reeves 63), J Eccleston, W Tizzard, H Phipps(sub A Woodyard 56), J Taylor, M Dabre, H Muller (sub G Vorster 63), B Njoku, K Jennings(sub K Crichlow H-T), C Bell.

Guildford: M Whittall, A Rodway-Brown(sub B Matthews 63), T Falodi, A McLean(sub F Santana 55), A-W Nwadike, A Stingelin, L Le Page(sub C Robertson H-T), G Gabriel(sub C Peart 55), D Fosu, K Zini, J Adjei(sub J Ampah H-T)

Referee: Patrick Dixon