Sutton United Under-18s continued their unbeaten run in the EFL Youth Alliance with a 0-0 draw away to Bromley.
In a match of few chances, the U’s withstood Bromley’s physicality in attack to earn an important clean sheet.
PDP lead coach Rob Tuvey was pleased his side put in a better performance than in the previous fixture between the two clubs – a 3-2 win for Bromley in the EFL Youth Alliance Cup just seven days earlier.
“It was a really competitive game,” Tuvey told Sutton United FCtv. “You’ve really got to respect the way that Bromley play. They ask questions of you a lot and they put you under pressure from a lot of set plays.”
“I thought we could have committed a little bit more [going forwards] at times, but overall a much improved performance.”
The U’s made a bright start, with a number of positive forays into Bromley territory. Khyan Edwards and George Vorster both tested the opposition full-backs before delivering crosses into the box, but the home side were able to scramble the ball away to safety.
Amber goalkeeper Lenny Jones was called into action for the first time when a long throw was flicked on towards the front post, throwing himself down to his left to make a solid stop.
Industrious forward play from Joden Trickett saw him rob a Bromley defender of possession inside the penalty area, but his shot on the turn was blocked behind for a corner.
In the second half, James Fennelow managed to beat the offside trap and get in behind the defence, but the goalkeeper came out from a good starting position to clear the ball before he could get a shot off.
With 20 minutes to go and the deadlock still not broken, Dan Urpens covered the ground to great effect to make a last-ditch challenge on an opposition forward to prevent him from shooting from a one-on-one opportunity.
Sutton then had a shout for penalty when Adam Reeves appeared to be brought down just has he was about to get a shot off, but the referee’s whistle was then followed by a yellow card for the U’s defender, deemed to have gone to ground too easily.
Bromley turned up the pressure late in the game with an onslaught of crosses and long throws into the Sutton penalty area, but the defence stood firm to see out the game with a clean sheet.
“Our centre-halves have been constantly asked questions of, aerially and physically, especially by their number nine, so it’s really good test for them and their development,” Tuvey reflected.
“A lot of the time the ball is in front of them, this week they’ve had a lot of balls into the space behind them and had to deal with that. I’m really pleased with how the boys have stood up to it.”
Sutton United: Jones (GK), Lee, Urpens, Reeves, Vorster, Moore, Bell, Edwards (Bello), Fennelow (Hepburn), Sheargold (Milchev-Szczepaniak), Trickett
Unused: Fletcher, Ruiz
The U18s return to action on Saturday, October 26 against Leyton Orient.
