SOUTH: SUTTON UTD 3 LEWES 5

After a month in which they looked as though they might gain the momentum to pull themselves away from the Nationwide South danger zone, a second successive defeat on Saturday saw Us slip back into the bottom three after a performance that had quite a lot of good things in it going forward was undermined by some haphazard defending.

It made for a high level of entertainment, particularly for those fans who had travelled from Sussex to see their side's first ever league game at Gander Green Lane, and whose side took the chances that were handed to them.

Sutton had the first opening of the game, Eddie Akuamoah chasing a long pass and setting up Andrew Martin, but a good challenge from Jay Lovett deflected the ball for a corner and instead it was Lewes who went in front in the 12th minute. Peter Adeniyi cut in from the right and hit a low shot of no great power that slithered under Phil Wilson into the net.

With Kirk Watts threatening on the left, Lewes looked capable of adding to the lead and Wilson went some way to atoning for his error by blocking a Lee Newman shot with his legs, although he needed help to clear the rebound. There wasn't much between the sides at this point, though, and U's equalised when Luke Cornwall was adjudged to have pulled Glenn Boosey's shirt on the Sutton right, and while Lewes were arguing about the decision Boosey quickly played the free kick to the overlapping Matt Gray, whose low cross was turned emphatically in by John Scarborough.

Boosey soon had a low shot well saved by Scott James Ward in the Lewes goal, but when another attacking move broke down two minutes later, Stuart Booth's pass being intercepted, Sutton were found wanting at the back as Barry Moore was allowed to run unchallenged to meet a hopeful high ball with a diving header past the exposed Wilson.

U's keeper did well to parry away a Watts shot minutes later after some more careless work by his team mates in their own half, but having reached the interval without sustaining further damage Sutton came out for the second half looking capable of turning things round as they penned Lewes in their own half.

Not having learnt their lesson in the first half Lewes almost conceded to another quickly taken free kick, this time Lewis Gonsalves being put in on the left, but this time Scarborough couldn't direct his shot as the ball skidded across goal and it bounced agonisingly wide. Gonsalves then just failed to reach a Gray cross ahead of Ward, but U's then released the pressure on the visitors by gifting them a third goal. Tony Quinton did well to prevent a deflected through ball going out for a corner, but then put himself under pressure by trying to beat two opponents on his own by-line. When he did clear the ball it only reached the 18-yard line and was promptly rattled back past a helpless Wilson by Adeniyi.

U's response was a double substitution that saw Steve Douglas given the chance to transfer his blistering reserve and youth form to the first team alongside Joff Vansittart, who was pushed up front as the unlucky Martin made way. Before any of this could have an impact, though, Newman was allowed space on the edge of U's area to send a shot in to the corner of Wilson's net.

On the basis of the balance of play in the second half, with a quarter of the game still left, Sutton were entitled to feel they had a chance, and after Douglas's first contribution of a low cross had been sliced goalwards by Joe Vines and kept out by a fine save, Vansittart scrambled the ball in after Quinton had headed on the resulting corner from Gray. Hopes of a comeback were soon dashed however, as Quinton's afternoon veered downwards again with a booking from referee Justin Comley, whose gamble on putting some early rash tackles down to the conditions was vindicated as the game stayed comfortably in his control, but who now decided that Quinton had committed one foul too many.

U's failed to deal with the free kick, and Newman again had space to shoot between Wilson and his near post. With only 14 minutes now left this did leave Sutton with too much to do, and although Vansittart glanced a Gray free-kick in with three minutes left it only served to make the scoreline a truer reflection of the game.

Sutton: P Wilson, M Gray, L Gonsalves , T Quinton, J Scarborough, S Booth , A Martin (sub G Tydeman 63), P Honey, J Vansittart, G Boosey (sub S Douglas 63), E Akuamoah. Sub not used: Hewitt
Goals: Scarborough (27), Vansittart (72,87)
Booked: Quinton (75 - persistent infringement)

Lewes: S-J Ward, J Lovett, J Vines, F Duku, M Hustwick, P Kennett, P Adeniyi, B Moore, L Newman, L Cornwall (sub B Belgrave 70), K Watts (sub D Davis 55). Subs not used: M Whiteman, W Haughton, M Cable
Goals: Adeniyi (12,62), Moore (31), Newman (67,76)

Referee: J Comley

Attendance: 476