Sutton United will have travelled home wondering how they let two valuable points slip out of their grasp in a game that they had well won. After heavy rain, that continued a little beyond half-time, the pitch was unplayable in parts and the game must have been close to not starting.
There was also a very strong wind blowing down the pitch, into the faces of the team defending up the hill, and in the conditions both teams should be congratulated for producing an open game.
A minute later home skipper Ben Herd cut inside onto his left foot but blazed high over Ross Worner’s bar from 18 yards. Ross Stearn then struck a free-kick straight at keeper Butler before the U’s took a 9th minute lead. Wishart was the architect, attacking down the left and turning inside to whip a cross-field pass at the feet of Tom Bolarinwa, who took on his man on the outside without breaking stride and then rifled in a low shot that Butler will be disappointed to have allowed in at his near post.
Both sides attacked freely and it was easy to see how Hemel have been free scorers in the league but most of their attacks came to nothing as they struggled to cope with the surface water at the top end, and it was the U’s who always looked the more threatening. Dan Fitchett was constantly hanging on the shoulder of the last defender and very nearly got free after 25 minutes only for Jamie Butler to come out quickly and do well to force him wide, allowing more defenders to get back.
Butler’s next intervention to thwart Fitchett was more controversial. This time Butler got to the ball first, sliding in to take the ball off Fitchett’s feet, but his slide carried him outside the box and referee Tim Wood correctly gave handball when the keeper continued to hug the ball to his chest. Fitchett would still have had work to do to score from a wide position so a red card would have been harsh, but many referees would have taken that course of action, but Mr Wood did not even brandish his yellow card.
Fitchett was again at the centre of the action when he broke into space with runners free on either side only to be hacked down from behind by substitute Oliver Thorne, who was booked. Wishart’s 30-yard free-kick was well hit and on target but proved a comfortable stop for Butler.
After the team switched ends at half-time, it became apparent how wet the top end was and it was a bit of a surprise that the match had been allowed to go ahead, although much of the pitch did play very well despite the rain. Sean Shields began the second half in lively fashion for the hosts, shooting at Worner from 20 yards and then looking set to score from the inside left channel before Wishart got across to make a great block.
Ten minutes after the interval Fitchett’s running finally brought dividends, as he latched onto a back-pass that held up in the morass and allowed him to knock the ball beyond the keeper. Bolarinwa gathered the ball on the right and crossed low for Fitchett to score with a first-time finish from 12 yards.
Bolarinwa almost scored with a curling effort that Butler did really to palm out from out almost under the bar and then Craig Dundas beat three men down the left before a last-gasp tackle prevented him pulling the ball back to one of several marked strikers in front of goal. James Potton then tested Worner with a good effort from twenty yards and Todorov went close with a diving header before the U’s were rescued by post and goal-line clearance after Potton had glanced a left wing corner goalwards.
As injury time began at the end of the game Michael Richens pulled a goal back with a good low drive after a shot from Shields had rebounded off Simon Downer in to his path before, unbelievably, Butler hit a massive kick forwards out of his hands, the ball caught the wind and bounced, rather than, splattered, in the mud and flew into the net for a most unlikely equaliser that gave Worner no chance.
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