Sutton United v Rovers,4th Tier,Match Thread.

Well... if they have deleted their accounts, not likely to be here seeing your post....... and from recollection there was one.....  yes ONE poster who openly said what you have mentioned!!   .... i get the impression that "prefer those above us to win" is a different interpretation from want us to lose? #bartonout

Yep it's a good result,Suttons home form is good.Keeps us nicely in the 'chasing pack'.

The field of play at Gander Green Lane.

Looks like it plays like an artificial pitch to me,although I've only seen the highlights.

I'm not saying it is artificial,but I think they won the 5th tier on artificial pitch and it looks to me as if this time,they've got the firmest pitch allowed within EFL rules.

I'll wager it's the hardest surface in the 4th tier and possibly the EFL.

Clever Sutton United.

One reason why they've done so well at home and it shows what a tidy point we earned today?

Stats: Sutton United 1 BRFC 1 - 36% - 64% - Shots 16-9 - On Target 10-2 - Corners 8-8 - Fouls 21-6 - Yellows 4-1 - Reds 0-0 - Referee: Robert Madley - Attendance 3,394

Match Report:

Sutton returned to the automatic promotion spots in League Two, despite Anthony Evans' late penalty forcing them to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers.

Matt Gray's side stretched their unbeaten league run to eight games, but in-form Rovers made it 14 points from a possible 18 after Evans' late leveller.

Richie Bennett had scored his first home goal since September to give the promotion chasers the lead at Gander Green Lane.

Rovers goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola was quickly called into action to keep out Isaac Olaofe's early effort.

Defender Paul Coutts then had to be in the right place at the right time to clear Joe Kizzi's effort off the line as the hosts threatened an opener.

And striker Bennett got one in the 18th minute as he bundled home from a corner.

At the other end Aaron Collins' deflected strike rattled the bar.

Joey Barton's side were once again frustrated by the frame of the goal when Evans' first-half stoppage-time free-kick hit the bar.

Sutton keeper Dean Bouzanis then tipped Collins' goal-bound strike past a post just after the hour mark.

The equaliser came in the 85th minute as Elliot Anderson drew a foul from Bouzanis, giving Evans the chance to fire home from 12 yards.

Omar Bugiel hit a post for Sutton in stoppage time before Jaakkola made a great double save as Rovers hung on to ensure a share of the spoils

Went to this one, my first away game of the season.
I thought it was a very encouraging display, with a clear pattern of play developing, which I hadn’t particularly seen in the majority of home games, which have been marred with too much sloppy passing.
Rovers were very patient, switching play continually, passing on the floor, without resorting to unnecessary long balls,which would have played into the hand of the big Sutton defenders.
In the first 15 minutes or so, Sutton put Rovers under pressure, with a succession of long balls, throw inns and corners, and we seemed to have weathered the storm, when one of my pet hates, an unnecessary free kick was conceded,allowed Sutton to pump a ball into the box, which seemed to be poorly defended.
Rovers reacted well to conceding the goal, putting together some thoughtful moves, with good understanding between the players, probing, not giving the ball away, and it was in this passage of play, that the Sutton bar was hit twice.
Although no goal arrived, I was hopeful that an equaliser was on the cards, if this pattern was repeated in the second half.
Sutton had clearly identified Thomas as a threat, and he was marked closely, but Nicholson showed he could be a threat, trying to run at defenders, and created a chance for Collins, which he could have done better with..
It was pleasing to see Rovers having wingers to take the game to Sutton, and Rovers played some good one touch football, even if clearcut chances weren’t often created.
Sutton seemed content to see the game out, when the penalty brought what I considered to be a deserved equaliser.
I was hoping that this might spur Rovers into snatching a second goal, but the equaliser spurred Sutton into raising their game, and suddenly went up a gear, with the last few minutes seeing them create plenty of problems for the Rovers defence, some of them self inflicted by some nervy play, which hadn’t been in evidence for most of the second half.
I was glad to hear the final whistle, as Sutton could easily have grabbed a winner, showing more enterprise that they had shown for much of the game.
Taylor was immense in defence, yet again, and I though Coutts played a vital role in midfield, and it was good to see Rovers having so many options from the bench.
Sutton were a very effective side, with the way they play, and if Rovers can win at Oldham, and at home next Saturday, it will increase confidence that the play offs could happen.
I left the ground thinking that Rovers seem to be getting somewhere, and hope that the the same standard of performance can be seen in home matches, where wins have also been picked up, without being particularly convincing.
Obviously, it is so important that goals can be scored when dominating possession, it sounds like the game at Swindon was similar to what I saw yesterday.
What was comforting, was that Rovers genuinely looked a good side.