Tonbridge Angels 0 Sutton United 4 (French 4, Vaz 43, Rush 69, Trickett 78)
Sutton’s pre-season programme began with a comfortable victory at the Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium thanks to two goals in each half. U’s played a different team for each half, but apart from a five minute spell in the second half when National League South Tonbridge might have reduced the arrears it was a commanding and encouraging performance from a Sutton side which, particularly in the second half, featured a number of academy players.
Two of the summer’s new signings in defence, Tyler French and Eduino Vaz, provided the first half goals, French in only the fourth minute when Dillon De Silva and Vaz worked a short corner before De Silva’s cross was acrobatically volleyed back by Will Davies and headed in by Tyler French. Vaz saw a free kick tipped round the post by the Tonbridge goalkeeper, while De Silva sent a shot too high, but just before half time Josh Coley rolled a pass in to Vaz’s path and the left back rounded off an impressive 45 minutes with a fine left foot shot from just outside the penalty area.
Wholesale changes came at the break, and Matt Rush came close to opening his account when his chip over an out of position goalkeeper clipped the outside of the post. Tonbridge had their best spell as one low shot from Taylor Maloney just wide and a triallist striker missing at the far post from a Sean Shields cross. Sutton were soon back on top, though, and after Nana Boateng had seen a shot parried over the bar the third goal came when Bradley Williams put Rush in on the right of the penalty area to score inside the near post.
After finding the net only to be denied by an offside flag, Joden Trickett added the fourth with twelve minutes left, a confident low finish in to the bottom corner after being set up by Boateng, and only a last gasp deflection prevented Rush scoring his second after an exhilarating run from Jeremy Sivi which had started near his own penalty area and ended with a cross from the by-line.
Sutton (first half). 24 Sam Roberts, 12 Jay Williams, 3 Eduino Vaz, 4 Tyler French, 16 Jack Taylor, 23 Jack Wadham, 7 Josh Coley, 8 Jayden Harris, 9 Will Davies, 14 Vinnie Tume, 11 Dillon De Silva
Second half: Matt Kerbey, 2 Bradley Williams, 22 Adam Reeves, 20 Junior Eccleston, 5 Harry Ransom, 26 Triallist, 7 Nana Boateng, 17 Lewis Simper, 18 Matt Rush, 19 Joden Trickett, 15 Jeremy Sivi
