Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Old Suttonians 2 Old Meadonians 1

Newly promoted Old Suttonians took revenge on visitors Old Meadonians for the cup final defeat they suffered at Meads’ hands earlier in the year by riding the ‘rub of the green’ to a narrow last minute victory at East Ewell on Saturday. This was, in joint manager Paul Rumley’s words, the clichéd but ill famed chalk and cheese game of two halves, with Meads dominating the first half to such an extent that, inevitably, there could only be one winner.

Strikers Craig Jones and Jeff Phillips both brought out superb saves from Chris Parlett the home keeper, mid-fielder Jack Costello rounded the keeper and could only hit the post from a narrow angle and when Phillips again stranded the keeper defenders rallied to squeeze him out. Jones broke Sutt’s spell by poaching a goal from Costello’s long throw on twenty five minutes for Meads to go in one up at half time.

The hosts did buck their ideas up on the restart but their pretty patterns were woven in their own territory and were therefore of little worry to Meads who looked likely to build on their lead until one of the referee’s assistants took a fatal hand. The ball was played through to a striker lurking in a suspiciously isolated location and, with multiple appeals coming from both field and dug-out, he strolled in on Gary Robinson in Meads’ goal to equalise.

Even though the referee had enough suspicion to consult his assistant he failed to overrule the decision which stood. Worse was to come when in the dying minutes Meads won a free-kick at the edg of Sutts’ area the kick was charged down and the ball cleared into Meads’ half for naïve defending to leave Gary Robinson looking down the barrel of a second one on one shoot-out as the hosts stole the spoils.

Squad: Robinson, Shea, Pointer, Thompson, Quinn, Allen, Gerrish, Mace, Costello, Jones, Phillips, Granville, Stephens.

September 26, 2012