Match Report

Goals from Mike Fondop, Charlie Raglan and James Norwood were enough to condemn Sutton United to defeat against play-off rivals Oldham Athletic.

Fondop gave Oldham the lead after 18 minutes when his header from a Mark Kitching cross somehow escaped the grip of Steve Arnold, but Will Davies levelled the score at the start of the second half when he converted the rebound from his initial effort following Josh Coley’s free kick.

Raglan restored the Latics’ lead moments later when he met Tom Conlon’s free kick, and former U’s loanee Norwood would come off the bench to secure the victory when he met fellow substitute Jake Caprice’s cross.

A second league defeat on the spin means the U’s drop to 13^th in the Vanarama National League table, and are back in action after a short break with Gateshead visiting the VBS Community Stadium on Wednesday night.

Steve Morison made four changes to the side which beat Chertsey Town in the FA Cup last weekend, with Jack Sims, Jeremy Sivi, Siju Odelusi and Matt Rush making way for Steve Arnold, Ashley Nadesan, Finley Barbrook and Jayden Harris.

It was the visitors who saw the first chance of the match, with Reagan Ogle twice cutting the ball into the danger area with Josh Lundstrum first having a shot deflected back off himself, before Chin Okoli producing a crucial last-ditch intervention to deny Kane Drummond.

This preceded a golden opportunity for the U’s, with Will Davies trapping a high ball into the penalty area amidst a crowd of bodies before firing inches wide of the near post from just a few yards out.

Oldham will have been disappointed to not go ahead just after the quarter-hour mark, as Drummond went even closer than before when he picked up the ball in space inside the box, before drilling a low effort which whistled past the post.

The Latics would take the lead moments later though in fortuitous fashion, with Kitching crossing towards the back post towards Fondop who’s header crept inside the near post.

Kitching would almost turn from provider to scorer soon after, with Arnold standing firm to deny the away number three’s looping header following a superb diagonal ball from Conlon.

Morison would then be forced into an early change when Lewis Simper was replaced by Siju Odelusi, shortly before Conlon struck wide on the volley.

The U’s best chance of the half would fall to Davies with less than five minutes to go, with the ball being deflected off Raglan high into the sky, with it dropping towards the Sutton number nine who had acres of space to set himself, but his header was tame and comfortable for Oldham keeper Matthew Hudson.

This was followed by a flurry of half chances for the visitors, with Charlie Waller on hand to put Kitching’s cross behind for a corner shortly before Raglan’s header required a vital touch to at the back post to keep the score at 1-0, and ensured this would be the case come the start of the second half.

Sutton got off to a perfect start following the interval, with Will Sutton going into the book for dragging down Coley in a dangerous position. The U’s number seven subsequently whipped in an inch perfect delivery which met the head of Davies, with his effort smacking against the woodwork, but he would get a second bite of the cherry as he made no mistake with the rebound to level the score.

Oldham responded in lightning quick fashion though, and the U’s barely had a chance to enjoy being back on level terms as Raglan headed a Conlon free kick past Arnold to restore their advantage.

A change on each flank saw Dillon De Silva make his first appearance at the VBS along with Jeremy Sivi in place of Coley and Nadesan, and the former almost had an instant impact following a superb interception from Okoli to deny Oldham substitute Norwood.

Harris made a superb intervention in the middle of the park and set De Silva away down the left flank, with an Oldham defender well placed to clear his delivery.

This preceded some superb defending from the U’s as Finley Barbrook put his body in the line to block Caprice’s powerful drive, with a couple of chances for Conlon and Norwood going amiss soon after.

Norwood would go close again with a little over ten minutes to go, with Fondop nodding the ball into his path with the former U’s loanee hammering over the crossbar.

Fondop would almost add as second to his tally moments later, forcing Arnold into a smart save.

Morison threw Matt Rush on with minutes left in place of Waller in search of an equaliser, and eight minutes of added time might have given U’s fans hope.

However, Norwood struck at the death to add a third from Caprice’s cross and seal the three points.

Sutton United: S Arnold; T French, C Okoli, A Kirk, C Waller (sub M Rush 89); F Barbrook, J Harris, L Simper (sub S Odelusi 28); A Nadesan (sub J Sivi 63), W Davies, J Coley (sub D De Silva 63). Subs n/u J Sims, E Vaz, N Boateng. Booked: Okoli, Nadesan.

Oldham Athletic: M Hudson; R Ogle, M Kitching, E Monthe, J Lundstrum (sub J Kay 76), M Fondop ( sub J Stretton 90+3), T Conlon (sub D Gardner 90+3), C Raglan, W Sutton (sub J Caprice 71), K Payne, K Drummond (sub J Norwood 60). Subs n/u S Moloney, J Uchegbulam. Booked: Sutton, Norwood.

Referee: Andrew Humphries

Attendance: 3,429(463 away)