Sutton United v Barrow match thread

[Amber Aleman]

Very much a game of two halves, each side better playing into the wind. I thought we were a bit rusty in the first half, Barrow that much sharper and looking a better side than the one that beat us 1-0 at their place in November. But Harry gave us a lifeline before half-time and we were much improved after the break. Barrow will be disappointed to have surrendered a two-goal lead but, given their position in the table, will see an away point as an acceptable return. Overall this was an entertaining watch for the BT Sport viewers.

There was no Tommy Wright in our squad today (illness I hear) and Millwall loanee Isaac Olaofe made his Sutton debut up front. He had a decent game, was not averse to physical challenges, and played a crucial role in our equaliser. Barrow had already had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside before the division's leading goalscorer Scott Quigley put the league leaders 2-0 up. We lost Kenny Davis to an injury, Rob Milsom his replacement. Harry's goal back just before the break, a superb turn and strike following good work by Ben Wyatt, gave us the platform we needed.

The pace of the game slowed in the second half and that seemed to suit us. One promising Sutton attack led to David Ajiboye striking the goalframe. Then Olaofe broke down our right, riding one challenge before being fouled in the box by Jason Taylor. The ref pointed to the spot and showed a yellow card to Taylor before Harry tucked away the penalty, his 17th goal of the season. We might even have snatched a win near the end when Dundo, on as a sub, headed down from a corner, visiting keeper Joel Dixon finger-tipping the up-bounding ball over the bar.

Four of the clubs below us managed to win earlier today, and we slip a place to 15th. We're now only three points clear of one of those, fourth-from-bottom Chesterfield, albeit with a game in hand. This was another point that inches us closer to safety.

[tonyd]

Starting the match only 2 points above the drop zones gave cause for concern. But I’m no longer worrying about the gap because I can’t believe that a team that showed so much determination, resilience and ability today could fail to get the 9 points from the remaining 12 games that should see us safe.

[Andy K]

Cracking game today. Took us a half to get our match sharpness back but a top result against a side that makes it obvious why they are top of the league.

[Andy K]

Feb 22, 2020 21:43:56 GMT garethl said:

Thoroughly enjoyable game. Barrow showed they were a very good side in the first half and after it went 2-0 you feared another 1 was coming before ht. In fact it went the other way and we got a vital goal back with the last kick of the half. Excellent 2nd period and could easily have won it, twice striking the woodwork. Brilliant spirit, work rate and no little skill shown in the 2nd half. Thought both wide players were good, Rob Muslim did exceptionally well in the centre where Harry also came to the fore. The front 2 both put in a big shift. If we want a blueprint for the rest of the season that 2nd half was it.

Rob Muslim!

[garethl]

Sorry, corrected!

[ganderpoke]

I think it was more of a case of over hit long balls in the first half rather than rustiness but once we kept the ball out of the sky we looked much better. I thought it was also our best performance without Easty which shows the squad looks stronger now than earlier in the season.

Interesting that BT gave MoM to David rather than Harry (who seemed to be everywhere, as usual). With the amount of mentions he (David) got on the commentary will we have problems holding on to him in the close season?

Still no goals from our strikers but what better place to start than Hayes Lane next weekend.

[halftimet]

I think we might find it hard to hang onto Harry Beautyman next season.

[kpinwp]

Just some words of extra praise.

Between Barrow's second goal and Harry pulling one back, I think many of us may have worried that we might get ripped apart. Barrow looked very confident at that point.

But we kept composure and had the tenacity to get right back into it. That's showed real character. I do believe that this squad is starting to look more than the sum of its parts, now.

[pinewalker]

I think that was the best home performance under Matt Gray. It is great that we have put on such a show for the live TV audience! A mention also for the referee Mr Barrott who controlled the match firmly but unobtrusively. The combination of a stiff wind straight down the ground and the bounce of the Jako ball on 3G made it a near impossible task for a forward to start from an onside position and control a long ball before it ran out. U's struggled at the start while proving that to thmeselves. As AA says,it proved easier to play football against the wind.

The league-leaders Barrow probably needed no geeing-up, but our programme gave them the badge of the non-football-playing Solihull Moors,so they started as if determined to show a much different talent. I don't think Quigley is a common name, but it is common for Quigleys to cause U's problems. Scott of that Ilk caught our RB daydreaming as he sped onto a through ball inside him, and the closing CB never got a foot to the ball before it was driven under Tonev. Later, Quigley gambled on a low cross from the same side reaching him when it seemed within the reach of 3 U's defenders and fired home from close range. The 2-0 lead was looking ominous until a great piece of skill from Harry skinned a very close marker. Harry spun round him to the right while flicking the ball round him to the left and Harry's powerful shot gave the keeper no chance.

So U's had the 'advantage' of the wind holding the ball up as they surged forward in the second half. Tommy would probably have started if he had been fit, with Isaac Olaofe coming off the bench. As it was, Isaac got the starting place and proved to be an exciting forward. You probably wouldn't regard Milsom for Davis as a like for like swap yet when Kenny limped off after a good showing the team adjusted their formation well. They were clearly the better side after the interval, and looked the more likely winners after levelling.

[os]

I think it was probably the best and worst performance under Matt Gray, for 40mins it looked men against boys and simply a question of how many we would lose by to the far superior top of the league Barrow. I feared even more when we lost Davis, but then it was like a different team emerged, effectively playing Barrow off the park for the next 45 mins, hitting the bar and the post on the way to a richly deserved point by a superior Sutton side.