Lucy Clark’s side were held to a 1-1 draw with Newhaven in a scruffy encounter at Cobham. Sutton faced up to a stern Newhaven defence at the beginning but took an early lead when a corner by Emma Spear found Emily Oliver at the far post to volley the U’s in front after 7 minutes. Newhaven could have responded immediately as they hit the post a minute later with ‘keeper Megan Taylor rooted to the spot.
Besides those two moments, the first half went by without much further incident and very few shots on target with the U’s in front.
Newhaven came out in the second half with a bit of belief to get something out the match, Sutton struggled to break down a resolute red defence. Just after the hour, Newhaven found the equaliser through Emilia Rahaus with a 35-yard strike that caught Megan Taylor out as the ball looped over the Sutton ‘keeper.
U’s made a response with attacking changes but continued to find Newhaven’s defence hard to break down. Phoebe Langley hit the post from a corner while there were penalty appeals when Amy Warren’s cross hit a Newhaven arm but just outside the box, despite claims that the player was in the box. Sutton pushed for the winner, but Newhaven held out for a valuable point with relief for the Sussex side at full time.
The draw means the U’s move above Millwall Lionesses on goal difference while Newhaven move out of the relegation spots on the same points as Sport London e Benfica but with a better goal difference and two games in hand.
The development side saw their 100% league record ended in the eleventh game as they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Oxted & District, Sarah Chapman the scorer. Their next game is scheduled for next Sunday at home to Chessington & Hook United, venue and kick off time to be confirmed.
Report: Ahmed Nur
