SOUTH: Thurrock 1 Sutton United 2

There have been a number of occasions this season when Sutton have picked up less from a game than they deserved, so it was a welcome change on Saturday for them to pick up a victory which came against the general run of play and was courtesy of two goals in which the home defence played a significant role.

It was the third year in a row in which U's have gone to Thurrock very much the underdogs on paper and come away with all three points, and given Thurrock's serious play-off pretensions it was probably U's best result of the season so far. The home side were without their much-vaunted strike partnership of Tresor Kandol (suspended) and Cliff Akurang (injured), but replacements Kris Lee and Simon Martin would walk in to most sides at this level so it hardly diluted the threat U's faced.

The normally reliable Lee found his radar letting him down with two clear first half chances however, while Martin, denied in the first half by a fantastic save from Phil Wilson, limped off just after U's had established a two-goal lead. The biggest threat to U's came from Glen Poole, recently signed from Redbridge and a consistent thorn in U's side over recent years, who tested Wilson with a 20-yard shot in the 14th minute which the keeper held well, and ten minutes later forced Wilson into another save after U's had left him free on the left to collect a flick on from Lee.

Between those chances Lee had finished a strong run with a shot that was deflected for a corner, and it wasn't until the 28th minute that U's had a shot worthy of the description: Lewis Gonsalves firing over from 20 yards after a move in which Gary Haylock, making his debut in place of the injured Joff Vansittart, had shown some neat control and awareness. Two minutes later U's had the lead when Matt Gray cut in from the right and hit a left foot shot that had no real power in it but bobbled through the grasp of goalkeeper Billy McMahon and into the net.

Although U's now had the advantage it was still the home side who had most possession, and U's defending wobbled at times. In the space of two minutes Stuart Booth and then Tony Quinton made errors that gave Lee the sort of chances that he would normally snap up without thinking, but on both occasions he failed even to force Wilson into making a save, the second miss after Quinton's errant pass coming into the 'sitter' category.

Wilson was called in to action shortly afterwards though, when Martin met Mark Goodfellow's cross from the right with a close-range header that the keeper somehow kept out with a fine reflex save. The difference in the performances of the two goalkeepers was crucial, because when U's extended their lead ten minutes after half time McMahon was again implicated, this time due to a lack of communication with his centre-back Richard Goddard, which saw them make a mess of dealing with a long ball down the middle. Haylock, who had a prodigious scoring record in Irish football before moving to England at the start of this season, had seen the possibilities from putting the two Thurrock players under pressure and was rewarded when he found the ball at his feet and an empty net in front of him.

Thurrock made changes in an effort to rescue the game, and one of the new arrivals, Fernando Manuel, proved quite a handful for U's defence and helped his side to pull a goal back when he exchanged passes with Poole, now in the inside right channel, who clipped the ball past the advancing Wilson.

U's added the pace of Craig Watkins to the game and the home defence struggled to contain him as he raced past Goddard from a standing start and fired just wide. Jimmy McFarlane picked up a yellow card for halting Watkins with a tug of the shirt, and Peter Fear's free-kick deflected just out of the reach of Gray, but after that U's faced a desperate last three or four minutes as Thurrock threw everything at an attempt to equalise.

Lee went clear but was denied as Wilson came out to save well, and when the ball was crossed back in and headed down, Manuel lifted it high over the bar from close range. The substitute had another chance, bursting free on the right, but again Wilson was equal to the task, coming out to block with his legs, and deserved to see his efforts rewarded with the three crucial points.

Sutton: P Wilson, M Gray, L Gonsalves, T Quinton, J Scarborough, N Brake, P Fear, P Honey, G Haylock(sub C Watkins 71), S Booth, E Akuamoah. Subs n/u: G Boosey, A Martin
Goals: Gray (30), Haylock (55).

Thurrock: B McMahon, D Collis, M Goodfellow, R Goddard, J McFarlane, D Lee, R Kirby, L Hodges(sub S Thompson 59), G Poole, K Lee, S Martin(sub F Manuel 55). Subs n/u J Broom, R Fletcher, G Sealey.
Goal: Poole (71)
Booked: Kirby (67 - foul), McFarlane (87 - foul)

Referee: A Biddulph (Nether Wallop, Hampshire)
Attendance: 237