FA CUP: Sutton 2 Bromley 2
Sutton United 2 - Scarborough(3), Martin(24)
Bromley 2 - Quinton og (43), Luckett (48)
In the space of less than an hour on Saturday, Sutton went from appearing to have one foot in the FA Cup 4th qualifying round to being extremely relieved just to be in Monday's draw.
Two up after 24 minutes against opposition two levels below them, U's seemed to have done the hard bit of taking the sting out of Bromley's efforts to cause a surprise, and had Craig Watkins converted a chance he should have taken two minutes later they probably would have done, but somehow U's allowed their Ryman League Division One opponents back in to the game in a dreadful half hour either side of half time.
They then survived some desperately close scares as the Kent side, playing against ten men for the last half hour after Andrew Martin's dismissal, saw their chance of a famous victory.
The afternoon couldn't have started much better for Sutton, with Matt Gray's first dash down the right halted by a tug on the shirt from Sam Okafor, and John Scarborough meeting Peter Fear's free kick with a powerful downward header that slithered through goalkeeper Andy Walker in to the net for his first Sutton goal.
When Gray went forward again a minute later Okafor clattered in to him to earn the first of Bromley's four bookings, and they must have feared a long afternoon. The next twenty minutes will have done little to allay those fears, despite an early injury to Joff Vansittart. Before giving way to an ankle injury sustained in the first ten minutes he won a header that put Watkins through, but a combination of defender and goalkeeper prevented Watkins managing a clear shot.
Then within two minutes of replacing Vansittart, Martin had doubled U's lead, lifting the ball in to the net from a tight angle on the left after a Gray cross had ricocheted to him off a defender and Eddie Akuamoah.
Watkins was soon set free by Gray and should have made it three, but he shot against the legs of the advancing Walker and Bromley made the most of their reprieve. U's began to lose their way and Gray, having been penalised, delayed giving the ball back just long enough to earn a yellow card that would rule him out of the next round should Sutton make it through. He was joined in the book by Tony Quinton for a wild challenge on Leroy Huggins, and Quinton then compounded his own misadventure two minutes before half time when his attempt to head clear a left wing corner from Gary Drewett saw the ball loop in the opposite direction and end up in his own net.
It was just the boost Bromley, who for all their efforts at a comeback hadn't posed any direct threat to Phil Wilson's goal, needed and soon after half time they were level. Scott Corbett was penalised for a foul 25 yards out and injured himself in the process. As is the convention, after treatment he had to go off the pitch and could only watch as veteran defender Colin Luckett, one of the major influences in Kingstonian's FA Trophy mauling of U's five seasons ago, curled a superb free kick inside Wilson's left hand post.
Worse almost followed for U's when substitute Solomon Taiwo came close to matching Martin's impact, shooting past the advancing Wilson after going through on the right. Gray cleared from the six yard box but off balance could only direct the ball to Huggins, who blazed wildly over a gaping goal.
On the hour, Sutton's frustration at the change in fortunes boiled over when Watkins seemed to be pulled down on the edge of the penalty area only for play to be waved on. In the ensuing scramble Martin transgressed sufficiently for referee Chris Salt to show him a red card on the advice of his assistant Shaun Scott.
Watkins was left to battle alone up front before being joined by Akuamoah and subsequently Evren Arkali, and although he wasn't quite at his best Bromley still had three players booked in the last half hour for fouling him.
Only once did U's come close to a goal though, as a Fear free-kick found Quinton diving in at the far post but heading just wide, and it was at the other end that the heart-stopping moments occurred. U's failure to cut out a through pass left Okafor clear, but as he tried to go round Wilson the keeper managed to push the ball away, and then followed this up with a fine double save from Okafor and former U's favourite Mark Watson.
Substitute Chris Hill shot wide when well placed, and then right at the end U's again failed to cut out a harmless looking pass. This time Drewett took the ball round Wilson, but a superbly judged intervention inside the six-yard box from Scarborough, U's best player on the day, managed to avert the danger. Bromley screamed for a penalty, but Mr Salt turned away the appeals and then blew the final whistle, and it remains to be seen on Wednesday whether Bromley's best chance of an upset had gone.
Sutton: P Wilson, M Gray, E Akuamoah , N Brake(sub E Arkali 78), T Quinton, S Corbett , P Fear, J Scarborough, C Watkins, J Vansittart (sub A Martin 22), L Gonsalves. Subs n/u P Honey, S Booth. Booked: Gray ( 33 -delaying opposition free kick), Quinton (3 6 -foul). Sent Off: Martin (60 - violent conduct)
Bromley: A Walker, S Potterill, S Okafor (sub C Hill 75), M Kember (sub S Taiwo 53), C Luckett, D Arkwright, G Drewett, G Rose, L Huggins (sub A Amoako 67), M Watson, S Bennetts. Subs n/u: T Henriques, P Kember.
Booked: Okafor (4 - foul), Arkwright (64 - foul), Potterill (73 - foul), Taiwo (86 - foul)
Referee: C Salt
Attendance: 495
Sutton's youth win 10-0
Meanwhile, Sutton's youth team made spectacular progress in the FA Youth Cup last Thursday when they trounced Ashford Town 10-0 at Short Lane to earn a third qualifying round tie at home to Lewes. U's led 4-0 at half time thanks to two goals from Steve Douglas and one apiece from Russell Newbury and Sam Clayton, and it could have been more with Mark Dalziel and Greg Andrews both hitting the bar.
The rout continued unchecked in the second period as skipper Grant Hearne forced in a Clayton cross, and Greg Andrews squeezed in a shot from a ridiculously tight angle before Clayton scored his second. Substitute Tom Weber-McCartney made it eight and then Douglas completed his hat trick with a superbly taken goal from another Clayton cross. Weber-McCartney went through to bring up U's double figures.
U's will face Lewes at Gander Green Lane next Wednesday, 27 October, kick off 7.45. Seven of the players involved in Thursday's goalfest then returned to Short Lane on Saturday for the Suburban League meeting between the sides, and although Douglas continued his form by putting U's ahead in the first half they found the more experienced Ashford reserve side a tougher nut to crack and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
