With 16 adult sides - including the Ladies 1st XI in the Slazenger England League Premier Division and the men in the DTZ League, the top Midlands mens' event - Sutton Coldfield justifiably claim to be one of the region's best hockey clubs. Club members report on recent matches here. Sutton 5th XI 3-4 Harborne 4th XI March 24 Sutton started badly and were two-nil down inside the first five minutes as shocking defending let the opposition score a simple opener and then a penalty corner doubled the lead for Harborne. Sutton responded with a good passage of play for the remainder of the half and, despite several penalty corners, could only manage to pull one back through captain Ian Nicholls, following up a rebound.
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Sutton equalised shortly into the second half when leading scorer Dave Morrison buried a penalty corner and the game was in the balance. Harborne scored again when keeper Jayson Burns was caught a long way out of position but Sutton pegged it back to three-three when Morrison bagged his second of the afternoon from a scuffed penalty corner strike. The game could have gone either way as both teams pushed for a winner but Sutton were cruelly robbed with the last play of the game - the ball travelling over the Sutton back line as the Harborne player dribbled through and pulled the ball back for an unmarked player to slap home writes Ian Nicholls. Sutton Ladies 3rd XI 1-1 Edgbaston 2nd XI March 24 Sutton found themselves a goal down in the first minute as it took time for the team to settle down. This seemed to wake the Sutton team up who then started to play some spells of good passing hockey and putting pressure onto the opposition defence.
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The second half saw a revitalised Sutton team come out and play some good hockey, moving the ball around well and winning the ball in 50/50 contests. A good clearance from the back found Sarah Finegan unmarked. She drew the Edgbaston keeper out, rounded her and coolly slotted the ball home to level the game. Sutton continued to work hard and the defence worked well together to keep Edgbaston out, in particular Gemma Kehoe and Simone Richardson both worked tirelessly on the left and right. The game ended at one apiece which was a fair result with Sutton finishing above Edgbaston in a respectable mid-table position says Simone Richardson. Sutton Ladies 4th XI 2-1 B'ham Univ'sity 4th XI March 24 Dominating much of the game, Sutton continued to put pressure on the Birmingham side up until the final whistle.
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The first goal of the game was scored from a penalty corner by Ang Evans who dribbled past many defenders and shot straight past the keeper into the left hand corner. After the University's first goal at the beginning of the second half, Sutton continued to play well and came back with a goal finished by Louise Evans after a great pass from Lauren Storer. Becki Alsop, announced girl of the game, cleared a great ball under pressure through the goalkeeper's legs in order to secure the well deserved win reports Claire Wright. North Notts U18 XI 1-4 Sutton U18 (Eng Plate) March 24 It was Sutton’s captain Matt James who broke the deadlock as he beat two Notts players to fire a reverse-stick shot into the bottom corner. Sutton doubled their lead through a well worked short corner, finished by Andy Millman on the back post. Sutton then took a step back and allowed North Notts into the game with a few attacks that were snuffed out by the defensive quartet of Tom Nicholls, Andy Millman, David Moss and David Williams who played excellently all game. Sutton were two-nil up and cruising at half-time with coach Dan Harris’ team-talk aimed at re-producing more quality hockey without exposing ourselves defensively. Within two minutes of the restart, John Carr brilliantly beat two players only to be hacked down as he passed the second, resulting in a penalty stroke which could have taken the game out of Notts' reach but cruelly rebounded off both the post and crossbar.
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To further increase Notts' chances, Sutton had a player sin-binned for a reckless challenge straight after an initial warning which spurred the home side on to go in search of a goal. However, Sutton's hard work prevented a Notts goal and allowed speedster Josh Hendon to be put through one-on-one after a clever aerial ball from Tom Nicholls. Hendon dummied the keeper and fired from a tight angle to increase Sutton’s lead to three goals. With Sutton back to full strength, another player was sin-binned for dissent to leave the visitors struggling against a more confident Notts side who would have had more success had it not been for some excellent tackling from the defence - in particular Moss who won every 50-50 battle to release James Taylor and Louis Yates. Hendon again showed composure in front of goal to carefully place a shot into the bottom corner and make the score four-nil. With the game now seemingly won by Sutton, credit must go to Notts who eventually got their reward with a late consolation goal writes Matt James. Sutton 3rd XI 2-4 Mansfield (DTZ EMids Prem) March 17 Despite suffering defeat, Sutton should have won this game but mid-table obscurity is having a bad effect on their game. Sutton took a very early lead after only 90 seconds rushing the young Mansfield side and forcing an early error – the telescopic arms of Reid intercepting and quickly supplying Harding at the top of the D. The club’s leading scorer missed the intended pass but picked up the rebound off the keeper and finished at full stretch. Time after time the ball was coughed up and Sutton pressed for a second. It did not materialise unfortunately and a missed clearance in the Sutton D handed Mansfield an easy tap in to level the score. Somewhat stunned by this, Sutton conceded again – another fluffed clearance putting undeserved pressure on the Sutton goal and a second was conceded. Half time came and went and Sutton were very quickly 1-3 behind as yet again a stray out ball handed Mansfield a soft-ish goal. Sutton then turned up the heat and drew a string of corners from which nothing resulted but fifteen minutes of pressure resulted in Harding slotting home from a penalty corner. Mansfield now scrambled in defence and held on despite the pressure. More and more frustration for the Sutton skipper followed as his team rushed passes and stopped playing as a team before a fourth goal against as yet another poor out-ball from the back gave keeper Heywood no chance writes Ian Harding. Coventry & NW 5th XI 4-4 Sutton 6th XI March 17 Sutton ended the season as they started - with a champagne performance. Sutton dominated from the off, making the most of the experience of Nigel Cox, Tony Smith, Jake Nicholls and James Taylor in midfield. Keeper Tim Parkes was a revelation. Sutton's defence of Mark Reid, Kev Tredwell, Pat Thomas and Andy Lane stayed cool throughout despite quirky umpiring. Skipper Ken Barratt was a happy man at the break despite Sutton being behind. Creative discussion at half-time transformed the game with Sutton making the most of their opportunities. Goals from Bruce Halfpenny(2), Tony Smith and Nigel Cox rounded off a season in which the squad system certainly proved beneficial reports Ken Barratt. Sutton Strollers 2-3 Bowdon (Nat Mixed Cup) March 18 Sutton were cruelly eliminated from the last 32 of the national mixed cup after an even game between two quality sides. The Strollers started poorly and deservedly found themselves two goals behind despite some tremendous defensive work from Becky James and Betty Cantonsmith. A second half revival brought the Strollers back into the game and Aly Smith pulled a goal back following some stylish approach play. The equaliser followed shortly after as Smith picked out Ollie Westbrook who powered a shot low into the corner. At this point it looked like there could only be one winner as the Strollers swept forward at every opportunity. However disaster struck in the dying seconds when Sutton were denied a penalty corner and Bowdon broke upfield. James Maxwell had been magnificent at sweeper throughout the game and duly broke up the visitors' attack. However, he was to fall foul of the substandard repair work that has recently been completed at Wyndley and lost his footing on the replacement turf. This resulted in a misplaced pass and the visitors capitalised on the ensuing two on one to steal the game from Sutton’s grasp. This is at least the second Sutton result that has been influenced by the poor standard of maintenance. Despite this cruel fortune, Sutton ultimately paid the price for a poor first half display and will have to look to the summer touring season to make amends says Matt Taylor. West Bridgford 5th XI 1-2 Sutton 4th XI March 10 In a top of the table clash, Sutton came away deserved winners through consistent hard work from the whole team. Despite having to defend for the first ten minutes, Sutton started to create chances and Steve Guest beat the keeper after Simon Willis put him in the clear. In the second half, it was hard fought at both ends and excellent play from Cliff Marshall, David Williams and Richard Fox in defence plus some excellent saves from James Carr held on to Sutton's lead until the home side scored with a lucky deflection with ten minutes to go. Sutton increased the pressure and were rewarded with a Rob Franklyn short corner goal with just two minutes left. West Bridgford won a series of short corners in the dying minutes but Sutton held on to be the only side to beat the league leaders this season writes Colin Reid. Sutton Senior Badgers 6-0 Yardley March 10 From the start, Sutton played some fine hockey, attacking with pace and skill and soon the Yardley goal was under siege - it was only a matter of time before the first goal. A fine cross from Luke Jordan was finished with style by Matt Poole and then Jordan scored with a superb reverse stick shot into the roof of the goal to make it two-nil at half time. Ryan Willis and Tim Brazier excelled at the back as Sutton kept the Yardley strikers under control. Sutton continued to play excellent hockey in the second half and more goals came as both Jordan and Poole added their second goals with Oliver Long and midfield dynamo Jake Nicholls also scoring as Sutton threatened to overwhelm the Yardley defence. This was a performance all involved can be proud of and Sutton's young players can look forward to a promising future reports David Long. Edgbaston Ladies 1-0 Sutton Ladies 4th XI March 10 It was a beautifully sunny Spring morning and Sutton's fourths were in a positive mood. This was matched by the quality of hockey shown by the team. But however much the fourths dominated possession, they were unable to convert it into goals. Then a little before half time, Edgbaston broke through and out of nothing scored past the unsighted keeper. The team came back out again after half time with renewed vigour and continued to pile on the pressure, but still couldn't find the target. So it remained to the end with Edgbaston stealing a win says Claire Wright. Sutton 1st XI 4-6 Telford & Wrekin (DTZ Prem) March 3 A six-four score line is an accurate reflection of the game but it need not have been. One of Sutton's best players, Oli Westbrook, was dropped from the first team and undoubtedly this had a bearing on the result. When in combination at the back, Westbrook and Ward have not played on a losing side but neither of them played in the defence at the weekend. After the first twenty minutes, though, no-one supporting the home team would have thought Sutton would lose. They played well and were three goals to the good, as much due to Telford’s poor play as to Sutton’s excellent start. Anton Lea opened the scoring with an excellent finish on the turn and everything in the garden seemed rosy. Two more goals and Sutton seemed to be well on top. This was soon to change, though - a defensive error letting Telford back in with five minutes remaining in the half. Several short corners on the trot eventually led to another goal before half time and Telford, rather than Sutton, were on a roll. The second half saw an equalizer almost immediately, quickly followed by another goal to leave Sutton feeling exactly how they had made Telford feel earlier in the season. It was great credit to Sutton that they came back and equalized to level things at four apiece. It was not meant to be, though, and the lack of confidence and communication from the back spread throughout the team with basic errors made and poor goals conceded reports Jonathan Ward. Nott'ham Univ 2nd XI 2-3 Sutton (DTZ Mids 1) March 3 The casual observer would have assumed Sutton were topping the table as they opened the game with ambition and panache, a series of slick passing moves leaving the students working overtime to keep the scores level. Despite great approach play from Jon Owens, Matt Taylor had a good chance tipped around the far post and it looked as if the home side would weather the opening storm. However, moments later Taylor crossed from the right hand side of the circle for Ollie Goldstein to complete the simplest of finishes to give Sutton a well deserved lead. Moments before the interval, an umpiring misunderstanding saw Sutton concede a penalty before Nottingham managed to get the shot away and the ball struck a Sutton foot on the line with a penalty stroke duly awarded. Despite the best efforts of keeper Simon Carey, the scores were level going into the break. Sutton surpassed all expectations by scoring the goal of the season moments after the re-start. Reminiscent of Argentina’s wonder goal in football's World Cup, the move began with a free hit deep in the Sutton half. The ball was calmly passed around the back four before being moved to the right hand side of midfield then switched at pace across the midfield and worked neatly down the left hand side. Just about every Sutton player was involved before Louis Yates picked out James Long who controlled and lifted the ball over the onrushing keeper into the corner of the net. Andy Sinclair and Ollie Westbrook enjoyed imperious games in the centre of midfield to drive the students backwards as Sutton stretched their advantage. Happily, the umpire atoned for an earlier aberration by playing an excellent advantage to allow the alert Goldstein to strike a thunderbolt into the bottom corner - the old adage, "play to the whistle", had never been more apt. Nick Dale controlled the defence well and Sutton’s two young centre backs, Tom Nicholls and man of the match David Moss, denied the home forwards any meaningful possession. Sutton never make things easy for themselves and, true to form, an unforced error in the dying seconds gave the home side a penalty corner but the defence stood firm to clear the ball up-field to the sound of the final whistle - a truly deserved win after Sutton's best performance of the season writes Matt Taylor. Sutton Boys U18 6-1 Shrews U18 (EHPlate 2) March 3 With the downpour of rain and a slow start, which saw goalkeeper James Carr pull off some good saves to keep the scores level, Sutton began by being outplayed. But after five minutes of Shrewsbury pressure, Sutton began to show signs of good, passing hockey. Sutton finally struck after an early ball from James Taylor that wasn’t controlled by the Shrewsbury defence was latched onto by captain Matt James whose fierce shot into the bottom corner gave the home side a one goal lead at half-time. Manager Dan Harris’ half-time team talk seemed to have been completely disregarded when Shrewsbury's attack beat the helpless Carr in goal to equalise. However, at one-one, Sutton responded straight away with James Long converting from a tight angle to make the score two-one to Sutton. With confidence now growing, Josh Hendon put the ball into the back of the net after delicately manoeuvring around three Shrewsbury defenders inside the ‘D’ to extend the home side's lead. Solid defending from Tom Nicholls, David Moss, Andy Millman and Dave Williams prevented any further goals against while Ant Czaiczki tirelessly ran up and down the pitch making him a valuable midfield asset. Sutton extended their lead with an almost identical run, this time midfielder Ed Ingram striking his shot into the roof of the net. A minute later, good play by Louis Yates allowed Long to pick out Matt James who played in Steve Howard, who slotted home with ease. Good work by Hendon and Long eventually led to Long finishing past a stranded Shrewsbury keeper with two minutes left. Sutton's next match is away to North Notts Under 18s, Sunday March 25 - all support welcome. Thanks must go to umpire Ian Nicholls and all supporters who braved the cold, miserable weather to see Sutton advance to round three says Matt James. | 
