Match Report

The third meeting between Sutton and York ended with the same scoreline as the previous two as York substitute Lenell John-Lewis scored with five minutes to go to earn York a point after Sutton had come from a goal down to lead. It was an entertaining game, and probably a fair result, even though U’s will be disappointed at not holding on to the lead that another substitute, Josh Coley, had given them six minutes after coming on with his third goal in four games since the start of the season.

Ryan Jackson, Nana Boateng and Will Davies, against his former club, returned to the starting line-up and U’s might have been behind after just thirty seconds when Jackson headed out a Ryan Fallowfield cross as far as Joe Felix, who sent a 20 yard shot inches wide of Steve Arnold’s left hand post. Sutton responded with a Boateng volley which was blocked by Darragh O’Connor, a team mate of Tyler French’s at Morton last season, and U’s should have been ahead when Jayden Harris, having dispossessed Daniel Batty and given Davies the chance to knock the ball across past Watson, managed to shoot wide of an open goal from no more than ten yards out. If that was a bad miss, York’s Dipo Akinyemi matched it ten minutes later when Fallowfield, not for the first time, found space on the right to collect a diagonal pass and cross low to give Akinyemi what should have been a tap in, but a complete miskick saw the ball going back across goal for Hayden Muller to clear.

A similar attack saw French divert another Fallowfield cross away from the lurking Akinyemi, who was also denied by a fine block from Hayden Muller just before half time, but the striker, who had been caught offside several times in the first half, would have a major impact two minutes after the break when he stayed onside to run on to a long pass and, with Arnold coming out, a neat pass gave Marvin Armstrong the chance to roll the ball in to the empty net. It took Sutton only three minutes to equalise as Boateng’s run down the left ended with a cross that was overhit but rescued by Jackson, who was fouled by Ashley Nathaniel-George. The York player was booked, and from Lewis Simper’s free kick Davies directed a downward header in to the corner of the net for a goal against his former club.

Both sides made changes midway through the second half, and the immediate impact was made by Coley, who six minutes after coming on pressurised York captain Callum Howe in to a misdirected pass which was intercepted by Ashley Nadesan. He couldn’t break through, U’s appealing for a penalty as he went over under a defender’s challenge, but Harris continued the attack and lifted in a cross from the left that was met by Coley’s superb header which went in off the post.

York remained a threat, though, with Batty’s long range shot saved by Arnold and Ollie Pearce seeing an effort ruled out for a foul on Arnold by John-Lewis, who had come on with fifteen minutes to go. It meant trouble in store for Sutton as John-Lewis came desperately close to an equaliser when he just failed to reach a low Felix cross, but it was only a brief reprieve as within seconds Howe headed a long Watson clearance in to Pearce’s path, and the former Worthing striker did well to take the ball round Arnold and pull it back for John-Lewis to score.

Sutton almost regained the lead within a minute as Harris saw a shot kept out by a combination of Watson and the post after Nadesan had headed Charlie Waller’s diverted cross in to the six yard box, but the golden chance to grab the points fell to John-Lewis, who found himself unmarked and onside from Ricky Aguiar’s cross after French had headed away a Tyrese Sinclair centre, but put his header high over the bar leaving both sides still unbeaten after four games.

York: R Watson, R Fallowfield, J Felix, D O’Connor(sub C John 62), C Howe, D Batty, M Armstrong(sub L John-Lewis 75), A Hunt(sub R Aguiar 68), D Akinyemi(sub B Chadwick 61), O Pearce, A Nathaniel-George(sub T Sinclair 61). Subs n/u H Male, P McLaughlin. Booked: Hunt, Nathaniel-George.

Referee: Elliot Bell

Steve Morison’s post match interview here

Charlie Waller is interviewed here