3rds defeated by Sutton 5ths
Posted by Aidan Dowen on 8 February 2019
After news of cancellations across the leagues, the thirds game was the only club game to be played this weekend. West Brom travelled to Sutton Coldfield for the early afternoon pushback on what turned out to be a bright but cold afternoon.
The stags started off on the front foot, scoring first through Mark Jones. Unfortunately West Brom couldn't keep the lead for long. Sutton put the visitors under pressure straight away and continued to do so throughout the half. Their goal came from a counter attack, leaving most of the visiting midfield in the opponents half. The West Brom defence were able to clear the initial threat, but the Sutton midfield were first to the loose ball. Despite a valiant, defensive effort from Adeem Mir, the ball looped up over Jules Frost and crept in under the crossbar.
The visitors were unable to compose themselves again, before Sutton added a second and took the lead. A moment of madness occured, when a whistle from a nearby sports hall was heard. Two West Brom defenders stopped momentarilly, but the frosty pitch meant they were unable to recover, slipping on the surface and allowing the attacker through to score.
West Brom changed things up in the second half, changing from a 4-5-1 to a 3-5-2. This allowed the Stags to compete in the middle of the park. However changing to a more attacking style and pressing up the pitch, allowed Sutton to break and score their third and final goal of the game.
Sutton flooded their left flank, pushing men forward. The West Brom defence moved across to deal with the pressure, but were unable to pick up the attacker, making a run into the D. Both Dowen and Frost made a dash across to intercept the player but ended up colliding with each other, allowing a simple tap in goal.
Man of the Match
Neil Fellows - Performed well when asked to step in at centre back, last minute. He also made an impact in the second half, when he reverted back to his centre midfield role.
