Sutton were made to work much harder than would have been suggested by the Premier Division table in the London & South East Counties League, scraping through against an Ebbsfleet side whose relegation was confirmed by the defeat but who were only denied their first point of the season when a free kick came down off the underside of the crossbar in the last ten minutes.
Sutton had most of the play in the first half but that the afternoon would not be straightforward was shown early on when Lily-Ella Amos broke free on the right and fired in a shot that tested Megan Taylor. However U’s went in front midway through the half when Brianna Gilbert-Lawal (above) was put in on the right of the penalty area and although her first shot came back off goalkeeper Jade Magero she stabbed the rebound in to the net.
A second followed ten minutes later when Ebbsfleet played themselves in to trouble at a defensive free kick, and Millie Cutler eventually got possession on the left and sent in a cross which was neatly turned in at the near post by Emma Spear.
There might have been a third early in the second half when Cassie Chase met a corner with a header that came back off the bar, but instead Ebbsfleet had a goal back when Amos forced the ball over the line from close range following a left wing corner. Sutton had chances to restore the two goal advantage, the best falling to Cutler who shot straight at Magero from inside the penalty area when it looked easier to score, and the striker was again denied by the keeper’s legs near the end.
The failure to put the game away was almost costly when Ella Meehan was penalised just outside the penalty area for a foul, and Lauren Nicholls saw her free kick crash down off the underside of the bar, U’s scrambling the ball to safety and holding on for a win which moved them level on points with fourth placed Barking with a game in hand. The last two games are at home to Ashford on Wednesday 6th May and Dorking Wanderers on Sunday 10th May, both at the VBS Community Stadium, while Barking’s last game is at home to Aylesford.
Sutton: M Taylor, L Dunne, E Meehan, M Heavingham-Ford, B Humphrey, N Sabania, B Gilbert-Lawal, P Langley, M Cutler, C Chase, E Spear. Subs H Baptiste, E Clark, A Warren, K Burch-Waldron, E Oliver.
