The kind of tight. drab game I was expecting, reminiscent of our National League meetings with Sutton, and an equally disappointing outcome as several of those games. As average as the performance was, neither team deserved to win in my view and we would have taken a deserved point if it had not been for Clarke's uncharacteristic error.
Sutton are no mugs and will probably be challenging for promotion, and I don't accept that they are simply 'bang average': they are organised, physical, direct and horrible to play against. However, the way we are setting up at the moment we are always vulnerable to the sort of sucker punch we received today, as we simply don't ask enough questions of the opposition in the eighteen yard box. Simply playing another striker would not solve the problem, not least because I think we would have been bullied and outmuscled in midfield today if we had gone 442. However, there is plenty for the manager to think about tactically.
I thought the first half was ok, with some decent approach play which was again let down by the final ball, or a lack of movement from the striker in the final third. However, Sutton started the second half the sharper of the two sides, and once we conceded I could not see us getting back in the game. Hawkes and Glatzel did perk things up a bit when they came off the bench, but we still looked pretty toothless.
Individually, I thought NKP had a decent game and Feeney actually put in one of his better displays.
