A red card for Sutton forward Donovan Wilson midway through the second half preceded Matt Gray\u2019s men surrendering a 1-0 lead as they eventually fell to a late Ryan Watson goal, but the performance of the home side with both 11 and 10 men on the field showcased everything that has made the perennial non-leaguers such a welcome addition to League Two.<\/p>\n
Gray, appointed manager of the south London club in May 2019, was in charge of a lower mid-table National League club when the outbreak Covid-19 meant his first full season in management was never played to completion. Against all odds, Sutton romped to the title in the following campaign and secured a promotion that ended a run of 123 years outside of the football league.<\/p>\n
2021-22 went better than anyone could have expected. Sutton not only held their own at a level they had never experienced, but went toe-to-toe with clubs with much larger budgets and more illustrious histories, ultimately finishing eighth in the league and reaching the final of the Papa John’s Trophy.<\/p>\n
Losing out on the play-offs on the final day of the season just a matter of weeks after falling to an extra-time defeat at Wembley would appear the perfect recipe for a hangover going into a new campaign, and wealthier clubs with greater resources than Sutton have been victims of \u2018second season syndrome\u2019 without having achieved half of what Gray and his players did last term.<\/p>\n
It can often seem that teasing greatness by falling just short and not quite embracing it as intended can cause it to reject you entirely when you come calling for it once more, but Sutton are not allowing the greatest period in the club\u2019s history to pass by without trying to create a few more memories.<\/p>\n
In the summer, Dean Bouzanis, Isaac Olaofe and David Ajiboye all left the club after making 255 appearances between them across the promotion season in the National League and Sutton\u2019s debut campaign in the football league, and the rigours of competing across four competitions have only added to the challenge faced by Gray.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe had a big turnaround in the summer when we lost Bouzanis, Olaofe and Ajiboye,\u2019 the 41-year-old explained. \u201c(Ben) Goodlife goes and gets injured and is out for six months. Alex Smith got injured this week and is out for three-four months. They are huge players for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
However, a direct and aggressive style of play means that they often get the better of opponents with more established names on the team sheet, and against cash-rich Salford on Saturday a barrage of set-pieces and long throws meant the visiting defence were forced to work for their money.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m constantly learning,\u201d admitted Gray when asked about the challenge of competing against established EFL sides like Salford.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a young manager, I\u2019m a reasonably new manager. Fortunately, this season I am learning all the time and that is helping us to keep getting better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at us off the ball tactically today, they (Salford) didn\u2019t pass it out from goal kicks once,\u201d remarked Sutton\u2019s young manager as he assessed his team\u2019s relentless pressing at full-time. \u201cWe were all over them until the sending off.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAs much as Sutton had the upper hand throughout the first hour of the game, clear-cut chances were hard to come by for either side. Defender Louis John headed a free-kick across the face of goal after escaping his marker at the back post just before the interval, but stand-in Salford goalkeeper Jacob Chapman was rarely forced to get his gloves dirty.<\/p>\n
Arguably more impressively, debutant Lewis Ward in the Sutton goal was equally unworked. Despite Salford fielding an array of talent acquired at no little expense, John marshalled a disciplined Sutton backline that was rarely troubled even after Wilson\u2019s sending off.<\/p>\n
Ward is something of a rarity within the Sutton squad. His late summer arrival from Swindon saw him become one of the few players to have been signed by Gray on a permanent deal when under contract at another club. Whilst Salford have spent several million pounds on playing talent since promotion from the National League in 2019, Sutton have relied on free transfers and loan signings long before they won the fifth-tier title two years later.<\/p>\n
Gray\u2019s capacity to make the most of these restrictions was displayed in the goal that gave Sutton the lead just after the hour mark. Half-time substitute Enzio Boldewijn \u2013 a free singing from National League Notts County in the summer of 2021 \u2013 saw a cross blocked before having another go, and on the second occasion he found the perfect delivery for Luton Town loanee Josh Neufville to open the scoring.<\/p>\n
With a bumper crowd of 3,404 soon serenading Gray\u2019s charges with a chorus of \u2018Sutton\u2019s going up\u2019 and Salford showing few signs of troubling Ward, the U\u2019s looked set to secure a fifth successive home win in a row that would have moved them level on points with the play-off places.<\/p>\n
But within five minutes, Donovan Wilson \u2013 a striker initially borrowed from Bath City of the National League South in the closing stretch of the promotion season \u2013 had gotten into an altercation with Salford\u2019s Theo Vassell that caused the referee\u2019s assistant on the near side to instantly raise his flag.<\/p>\n
Referee Robert Lewis brandished a red card and changed the complexion of the game.<\/p>\n
Down a man, Sutton\u2019s admirable level of organisation and determination only seemed to increase. Heroic block upon heroic block was performed by Paul, club captain Craig Eastmond came out on top in challenge after challenge, and forward Omar Bugiel found a way to occupy all three Salford centre-backs even without his strike partner.<\/p>\n
However, their resistance was eventually broken when some intelligent movement by Salford substitute Odin Bailey was rewarded by a composed Matty Lund finish as red shirts queued up at the back post.<\/p>\n