Second win on the bounce
SUTTON Bonington FC secured their second win on the bounce after a dominant display against Rothley Imperial.
Goals from Jackson, Stanton, Shaw and Crosland ensured it was a good day at the office for the boys in yellow.
Manager Jordan Allen opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, a slight change from his usual 4-3-3 and this paid dividends almost immediately. The gulf in class between the two sides was evident from the first whistle and Sutton began strongly, with Zac Jackson having an early goal questionably disallowed by the opposition’s linesman after some good work from Connor Martin and Ryan Langdon.
Sutton would eventually take a deserved lead in the 36th minute with a great solo effort from Jackson, leaving Rothley’s right back wondering where to look, he curled the ball into the far-right corner after receiving the ball from Jack Tormey on the counter.
The second half was a continuation of the first half, Sutton started well and reaped the rewards from a set piece. Jordan Crosland curled a corner into the box and Charlie Stanton was able to finish in style, scoring an overhead kick from the 6-yard line.
Soon after though the match official awarded Rothley a penalty for reasons unclear, in spite of an apparent foul on Stanton near the corner flag before the ball made its way into the box. Despite this, goalkeeper Dan Hyde was able to thwart the penalty and keep the game at 2-0 to Sutton.
As the minutes ticked on the game was becoming routine for Sutton, however, once again the referee thought he would spice the game up by awarding another penalty, yet again for unclear reasons. However, Hyde stepped up to the plate again and pulled off another crucial save to keep Sutton on top.
In the final ten minutes of the game Sutton turned on the style and were utterly dominant, Man of The Match Joe Shaw scored a fantastic strike from outside of the box after some good work from Olly Worthington on the left-wing, making it 3-0 to Sutton.
In the dying embers of the game Sutton were able to complete the rout after Jordan Crosland was fed through by Zac Jackson in the area and he coolly slotted the ball away to make it four. At this point the game was over, though temperatures were rising between the two benches and some choice words were shared, once this had all cooled down Sutton played keep ball and were able to comfortably secure the 3 points.
The win lifts Sutton up to 4th in the table. The boys now have a week off as they were originally down to play Coalville Town Ravens next week, but they resigned from the league just before the start of the season.