Today we welcome Sutton United to the Melbourne Stadium, with the
visitors sitting 5th in the table, accruing 33 points in
the process. In the teams last meeting, the Clarets ran out 1-0
winners in a game that could have seen the home side win by more had
it not been for some fine goalkeeping from Sutton keeper Tom Lovelock
and some wayward finishing by Chelmsford. This was a reverse of the
earlier meeting between the two teams, meaning a win a piece for each
side last season.
Sutton United Football Club was formed on March 5th 1898
when two leading junior sides, Sutton Association and Sutton Guild
Rovers, combined. Progress was unremarkable until 1910 when the club
decided to obtain senior status as members of the Southern Suburban
League. The club settled on a home ground in 1919, called the Borough
Sports Ground and have played there ever since. Nicknamed 'The U's',
the club rapidly became a force in the amateur leagues and gained a
reputation as one of the most imaginative and forward thinking clubs
in the country. In the 50's, the club bought in top young coaches
such as Jimmy Hill and Malcom Allison to try and push the club
forward but it wasn't until Sid Cann took over that the club really
started to progress. Hailed as the clubs 'golden era', Cann lead the
club to Wembley in 1963 for the Amateur Cup final where the U's lost
4-2 to Wimbledon. The club returned to Wembley in 1969 for the
Amateur Cup final, only to fall to a surprise 2-1 defeat to North
Shields. Sutton gained national attention in 1970 however after
progressing to the FA Cup fourth round, where they welcomed high
flying Leeds United to the Borough Sports Ground. 14,000 people
squeezed in to see 'The U's' take on Don Revie's star studded team
and with 11 full internationals on the pitch, Leeds won the game
comfortably 6-0.
The following decade would see little in the way of success for
Sutton, once again losing at Wembley to Bishop's Stortford in the FA
Trophy final in what was to be their last appearance at the stadium.
Success returned on the pitch in 1985 after the club won the Isthmian
League title, however the club controversially refused promotion to
the Conference due to issues with the home ground. These were
eradicated the following year and the club welcomed promotion after
retaining the Isthmian title in 1986. They once again gained national
attention with their exploits in the FA Cup whilst in the Conference,
most famously beating top flight Coventry City in the 3rd
round in one of the competitions all time giant killings. They were
the last non league side to knock out a top flight side before Luton
Town replicated this feat in last years FA Cup by beating Norwich
City.
The club were relegated back to the Isthmian League two seasons
later, enjoying only one more stint in the conference for the 1999/00
season. With the introduction of the Conference North and South in
the 2004/05 season, Sutton were selected as a founding member of the
Conference South. Sutton had bought the average age of their squad
considerably over the years, with midfielder Nicky Bailey's stand out
performances attracting interest from league clubs. Bailey was sold
to Barnet in 2004, continuing Sutton's tradition for producing
players who have gone onto play in the Football League and
Premiership. With the loss of Bailey the team struggled to maintain
their Conference South status and were relegated in 2008. After back
to back play off semi final defeats the U's finally returned to the
Conference South for the 2011/12 season. The club surprised many with
their performance in their first season back at this level, finishing
4th before suffering yet more play off heartache after
defeat by Welling. Sutton missed out on the play offs last year by
just two points, with the clubs early season form costing them dear.
Manager Paul Doswell bought in experienced strikers Jamie Slabber and
Jamie Taylor to boost the fire power at the club ahead of the 2013/14
season. Chelmford fans will need no introduction to Jamie Slabber
after a fantastic season for the club last year, firing in 28 goals
for the Clarets. He has continued his scoring form this year, scoring
9 times in total. Taylor was bought in from Lincoln City, where he
was top scorer last season, contributing 5 goals so far. Chelmsford
will also have to be weary of Sutton stalwart Craig Dundas should he
start, the powerful U's striker is always a danger and will be
looking to improve on his 7 league goals if given the chance.
Sutton find themselves third in the league, facing an away trip to
Dover on the Tuesday which, if won, could see them rise as high as
third. With a lot of expectation surrounding the club coming into the
season, the team had a rather disappointing start to the campaign,
losing two of their first three games. The 2-1 defeat at home to
Bishops Stortford would be the last time the team would taste defeat
for eleven games however. An impressive undefeated streak saw the U's
chalk up victories against Whitehawk, Dover, a five nil thumping of
Havant & Waterlooville, a four nil win against fellow play off
contenders Eastborne Borough and a one nil win against current
leaders Bromley. Sutton finished the month of October in 4th,
five points off leaders Eastleigh.
The U's failed to continue this form in November, enduring a
frustrating month they managed just three points from four games. The
U's had however gained a worthy draw against promotion chasing
Eastleigh after playing over an hour with just ten men. Two further
draws followed, where the U's faced awkward away trips to Bath City
and Weston-super-Mare. But it would have been the game sandwiched in
between these two that would have disappointed Doswell the most; a
one nil home defeat at the hands of Dorchester Town. By the end of
November, Paul Doswell's men had slipped out of the play off spots
despite having only lost three games all season.
The start of December saw an exciting encounter at home to Maidenhead
United, after Sutton had twice surrendered a lead the home crowd were
relieved to see Craig Dundas goal seal a 3-2 win and their first in
five games. This was followed by a hard fought, three one away
victory over Boreham Wood, with in form striker Dundas once again on
the score sheet. Since these back to back victories, the U's have
struggled and picked up just one win in their last four games. They
had the opportunity to go second in the Skrill South when they faced
Tonbridge Angels at home, a chance they spurned as they lost 2-1. An
away trip to fourth placed Ebbsfleet United was always going to be
tough, especially with the hosts on an eight match unbeaten streak
and top score Slabber out through injury. The home side ran out 2-0
winners meaning Sutton were now 7th in the Skrill South,
two points off the play off places. Boxing day saw the return of
Slabber and a return to form for the U's as Hayes & Yeading were
brushed aside in a two nil win.
In their last outing Sutton failed to recover from a first half, two
goal deficit at Staines Town, despite a second half goal from
Slabber. On a day where a lot of their promotion rivals lost, Paul
Doswell would have been frustrated with his teams sloppy start to the
game. Like most of the Skrill South however, Sutton haven't had a
chance to bounce back from this defeat yet as the weather has taken
its toll on grounds across the country. With competition for play off
places high and only four points separating fourth and eight
position, today's guests will be looking to get back to winning ways
as soon as possible. Clarets fans should take heart in the fact that
Sutton have often struggled against teams in the lower half of the
league this season, especially when on the road.
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