Sutton Athletic 3-5 Hollands & Blair - The boys are still giving me everything, says Paul Piggott

The Gillingham-based club extended their lead at the top of the Kent Invicta League to three points after winning an eight-goal thriller at third-placed Sutton Athletic, while title challengers Lydd Town slipped up by being held to a goal-less draw away to second-from bottom side Eltham Palace.

Sutton Athletic opened the scoring through Chris McGinty’s 25-yard screamer, which flew into the top left-hand corner of the net, before Hollands & Blair scored the first of three headed first half goals when Steve Dampier came up from the back to score.

However, the game edged Blair’s way when Sutton Athletic keeper Dean James suffered blurred vision and Sam Welch and Stuart West took advantage to give the away side a commanding 3-1 lead at the break.

Rob Denness converted a penalty early in the second half, before Hollands & Blair were reduced to ten-men after 48 minutes when right-back Lewis Taylor was sent off for kicking out at Chris Mirrless, who then went in goal for the home side.

Sutton Athletic fought back and pulled two goals back through Denness’ own goal and a volley from substitute Richie Humphrey, but Hollands & Blair weathered the storm and killed the game off through a late close range finish from substitute Tom Michelson.

“We come here for the win,” said Piggott, 42, afterwards.

“We needed to win. We need the three points against a good side and we’ve got them!

“I’m not too bothered about how we get them now at this stage of the season. It’s getting them and we got them.”

Reflecting on Lydd Town’s shock draw, Piggott replied: “So I’ve just heard, which makes it a good day, but it’s not to say it’s done and dusted yet. We’re still close to that. We’ve got our three points. We’re more than pleased with that.”

Sutton Athletic’s fifth league defeat of the season saw them slip down to fourth in the table following Bearsted’s 2-0 home win over Fleet Leisure.

“It’s probably the worst we’ve played all season in all honesty,” was the reaction from Sutton Athletic boss James Collins, 31.

“I think we’re a team that like to get the ball down and play and I thought for fifteen minutes we done that.

“We went 1-0 up, then got sucked into the game that they play.  We’re 4-1 down, keeper gets injured, they’ve had a player sent off and we’ve got back into it, but disappointing from us really.”

Both sides were clinical in front of goal as the three goalkeeper’s hardly made a save to make on a sunny day in Hextable.

Sutton Athletic opened the scoring inside the opening nine minutes, which was the first goalmouth action of the game.

Piggott admitted he wasn’t pleased with his side’s defending as they allowed McGinty to pick up a loose ball and bulldoze his way forward before drilling a right-footed shot into the top left-hand corner from 25-yards.

Collins said: “A great goal! He scored four against them in the cup so he obviously likes playing against them!

“It was a great finish. I thought he taken it too early, but it was a great finish anyway, superb finish from a good player.”

Collins believes the former Cray Valley player should have more than sixteen goals this season.

He said: “He should’ve had more.  We’ve had games where we’ve played against the lower teams in the league and that’s where I think he should have been scoring threes and fours.

“He came down and he was good. I thought he was a good player, who can score goals and in the last couple of weeks he’s looked like a class player, but he needs to prove that week in week out, but he’s in a good run of form. He’s been doing really well for us this year.”

Piggott, meanwhile, wasn’t happy with his side’s defending.

“He didn’t pick the ball up. My central midfielder misses a tackle, the two centre halves miss a header then he picks the ball up so there was a couple of mistakes before that, which we’re not happy about,” said Piggott.

“You can’t afford good players to have free shots at the goal and we did that so it’s a disappointing goal to lose.”

However, Hollands & Blair also scored with their first chance, just 189 seconds later.

Louis Valencia swung in their first corner from the left and keeper James missed his punch and Dampier planted his header into the roof of the net from inside the six-yard box.

Piggott said: “It’s a strength of ours, dead-ball situations and we felt it was a weakness of theirs so we played on it a bit today and it’s paid off for us.

“It’s not how you want to score all your goals. It’s not how you want to win all your games, but it’s about identifying weaknesses in positions and we felt there was a weakness there and we played on it today.”

Collins added: “I think Dean will say he could have done better but he’s been brilliant for us all season. It might even be his first mistake all season.  It happens. He’s saved us more times than he’s cost us. It was one of those things. It was a great delivery anyway and that’s what they’re good at.”

Sutton Athletic went close in the sixteenth minute when McGinty clipped the ball into Mirrlees feet and he dragged his right-footed shot just past the right-hand post from 25-yards.

Hollands & Blair linked up well in midfield when Valencia played the ball inside to West, who swept the ball out to winger Welch, whose left-footed effort was gathered by James at his near post.

Hollands & Blair created a chance in the 34^th minute when West played the ball to left-back Bryan Greenfield, who cut inside before floating over a cross towards the far post where striker James McDonald steered his shot harmlessly wide.

Sutton Athletic keeper James required treatment for three minutes but he bravely continued, but Hollands & Blair put in some excellent deliveries into the penalty area to twice stun the home side before the break.

Hollands & Blair took the lead in the 44^th minute when Valencia swept in a right-footed cross from the left and Welch ghosted in to plant his free header into the top near corner from 12-yards.

Piggott said: “It’s uncharacteristic from Sam, he’s not a ghost in to the far post and header type of person!  He’s a man who we like to get the ball and get at people so I’m pleased to see him add another string to his bow.”

Collins added: “They’re good at what they do.  I think they’re the best team in the league. I’ve said that they’ll win it and they’re better. We can’t play them and beat them, the way they play. You have to take them out of their comfort zone. That’s why I wanted to pass from the back and when we stopped doing that they’ve won the first headers and they’ve won the second. We’ll never beat them dragging them into their game.”

Piggott admitted his side’s third goal – timed at 47:40 – changed his half-time team talk.

Greenfield whipped in a brilliant hanging free-kick with his left-foot which dipped down at the goalkeeper’s throat but West showed the desire to get to the ball before the struggling keeper to plant his header into the roof of the net from six-yards.

Piggott said: “Six yard’s out, there was no defenders around him and Stuart’s big and strong in those situations and I always put my money on him there.”

Collins added: “They’re really good at that. I’m not doing them any service saying that’s all they do but they are very good at that.  They’re very dangerous at set-pieces but it was all a result of us by not doing the right things.

“When we played them on the Cup we tried to play. We dragged them out of position and then we could find the little holes that Chris McGinty found but when we stopped doing that, when we weren’t winning first balls and second balls and balls were coming into our box.

“Dean had blurred vision and he was being sick in the goal. I think he wasn’t really with it and they capitalised on that.”

The keeper’s condition certainly helped Hollands & Blair go into the break with the lead.

Piggott said: “No-one wants to see anyone hurt, especially a player or goalkeeper or anyone.

“He’s come from the first one and he’s taken a whack from Stuart I think. Hopefully the lad’s alright.”

Piggott said he changed his half-time team talk.

“I did because the goal we conceded, it weren’t good enough. We’re at a stage of the season now where we can’t give away sloppy goals and that was a sloppy goal, but they responded like all good players do and we got ourselves back in the game and it did change it.

“But we weren’t going to sit back because we knew they’ve come back before in the second half against us. They’re a fit and busy side and they’ll always get at you.”

Collins admitted he wasn’t happy with his side’s capitulation.

“I had a go at them at half-time because we’ve played a certain way all season and for some reason we decided not to do that today and we got punished.

“We had to believe in ourselves like we did when we played there that we’re good enough to play from the back.  Of course, they were going to put pressure on us from the back because they saw that’s how we played last time.

“We’ve got the players to get out from there but people started throwing each other under the bus. People didn’t want the ball. People started hiding and they had control of the game and they’re good at that.”

Sutton Athletic committed footballing suicide when they gave away a penalty after only 54 seconds when West turned Alex Chapman in the box and was tripped by the central defender.

Referee Stuart Marriott pointed to the spot and Denness smashed his right-footed penalty straight down the middle with goalkeeper James going slightly to his left to score after 101 seconds after the interval.

Collins said: “It was a blatant penalty. Again, it was sloppy defending and we got punished.”

When asked how he was feeling at the time, Collins replied: “I said to them at half-time we were 3-0 down in the cup on aggregate and scored the goals so I knew we could score against them, but I wanted us to start doing the right things. It was a bad start. You can’t give goals away like that but I wanted to see what the reaction was. We played better in the second half.”

The Hollands & Blair manager added: “I was pleased to see Stuart get into the box. That was one thing we say to Stuart, he doesn’t get into the box enough. He got in there, made himself a run and it was a desperate tackle by the centre half and he’s brought him down.

“I’m glad to see Rob take his penalty well because he’s missed one before.”

However, the game’s turning point came very quickly, in the 48^th minute, when Mirrlees appeared to have fouled Taylor, who kicked out at the Sutton Athletic midfielder and was shown a deserved red-card.

Collins turned into Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and said: “I generally didn’t see it. I generally didn’t but the referee saw it straight away. There was no doubt in his mind.  I generally didn’t see what happened.”

Piggott definitely saw the incident because it happened in front of his dug-out.

He said: “He done a stupid thing. He did kick out at the lad. It weren’t the most vicious kick out that you’ll ever see but nevertheless it was a nonchalant little kick out and unfortunately if you do that you stand a chance of being sent-off.

“The one thing I’ll say to that, the centre half there (Alex Chapman) in the corner (of the pitch) has absolutely leathered my centre forward Ben Brown. How he didn't get the same punishment I don’t know but there you go. 

“Lewis knows he’s let us down today.”

Piggott sacrificed Welch for Michelson and changed his formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1, with Denness working tirelessly as the lone striker.

“It was backs against the wall there at the time,” admitted Piggott.

“At that time we was struggling. They’re a good side and they get at you, no matter what the score is, they’ll get at you and that gave them another lift.

“At 4-1 you didn’t see them getting back in the game but that sending off gave them a lift and to be fair we had to do a lot of defending and fair play to the boys because we’ve defended and defended and defended.

“We had to make a couple of changes to our shape to help do that but we’ve dug in when we could have collapsed.”

Collins responded in the 55^th minute by bringing on three substitutes with Humphrey coming on and handing debuts to striker Adam Williams (who is on loan from VCD Athletic) and right-winger Alani Mounter (Phoenix Sports) and Mirrlees took the gloves.

Sutton Athletic took the game to their opponents and poured bodies forward.

“We had to. We didn’t really have nothing to lose today. We want to consolidate third and we just went for it a little bit,” said Collins.

“I just wanted to see a reaction and there was a reaction in the second half, but we lost it in a mad three minute spell.

“It was always going to be an uphill struggle but like we said to them in the changing room, that’s probably the worst we’ve played all season and we’ve still run them close again and still scored three goals.  I get frustrated because I know how good we are.”

Right-back Jack White was given time and space to float a cross into the penalty area, which was knocked down by Adam Williams only for left-back Tom Carlse to lash his left-footed shot high over the near post.

Sutton Athletic pulled a goal back in the 63^rd minute, courtesy of Denness finding the net for the second time.

They were awarded a free-kick close to the right by-line and Harry Montgomery whipped in a left-footed free-kick towards the near post where the Blair striker sliced the ball into the roof of his own net in an attempt to clear his lines.

Collins said: “I think it was a case of putting it in the right area. There was a bit of desire from us. I thought they showed more desire than us. It was unfortunate for him (Denness) but it gave us a lift.”

Piggott quipped: “That’s what you get when you get forwards trying to defend!

“I mean he’s back there trying to help his team mates out. He’s trying to get the ball cleared and he’s stretching for a ball. It’s just unlucky. It’s just one of those things that went against us today and we had to respond to it.”

Sutton Athletic accepted their lifeline when they scored their third goal in the 69^th minute.

Once again, former Erith Town midfielder Montgomery produced a quality delivery in to the box, this time a corner from the right, which the Blair defence failed to clear and Humphrey was left unmarked to guide his right-footed volley into the far corner from six-yards.

Collins, who saw his side win 6-3 at Star Meadow in the Pain & Glory Sports Kent Invicta League Challenge Trophy Quarter-Final after losing the home leg 1-0, said: “Nice little finish! I fancied us when that went in with what happened in the cup.  I think they had that in the back of their minds.  A little bit of pressure they had to get a win, obviously down to ten men.  I thought we could go for it but it just didn’t go for us again.

“It was similar against Orpington. We’re still learning.  Hollands & Blair and Lydd are established sides and this is our first year that we’re really broke in that top three so they’re experienced in doing that and we have to find a way of breaking teams down, when people put men behind the ball.”

Piggott added: “It’s another goal I’m disappointed about. It’s becoming a thing for us. We’re not defending set-pieces well enough. There’s a bit of wind. It’s been whipped across our face of our goal but we’re better than that. We’ve got a big, strong side and we shouldn’t be letting people in.  I’m disappointed with that!”

When asked whether he was worried that his side would cave in under pressure, Piggott said: “I said to Clint (Gooding, my assistant), we’ve just got to put our faith in the players and that’s what I did.  They’re good players. They’re sitting top of the league at the moment because they’ve been good players for me all this season and I had to trust them and I do trust them and I put my life in their hands and let them get on with it. Let them deal with it and they did.”

The complexion of the game now turned into Sutton Athletic’s favour and they should have equalised in the 72^nd minute.

Montgomery whipped in a cross from the left channel towards the near post where Adam Williams rose to send his header sailing across goal and past the far post.

“Tony Russell (VCD Athletic manager) rang me on Wednesday and I think Adam wanted to get back into it,” explained Collins. “Tony’s been good enough to send him our way. He hasn’t played this season so he’s getting some games for us.  Our run-in is hectic so we’re going to take any player like that that becomes available.”

Hollands & Blair, who were hanging on, called stand-in Mirrlees into action in the last thirteen minutes when Greenfield whipped in another quality left-footed free-kick and West jumped up with Mirrlees, who did well to flick the ball behind for a corner.

Piggott explained why this was the only time that his side called Mirrlees into action.

He said: “The trouble is we were down to ten men and we were under the cosh so it was hard to get the ball into their third and into their penalty spot.  You’d like to get more pressure on a non-goalkeeper, but I can’t ask too much.”

Sutton Athletic went agonisingly close to completing their comeback in the last seven minutes.

Sean Heather played the ball out of defence and found Mounter out on the wing, who cut the ball back to White, who whipped in a first time cross with his right foot.  Adam Williams brought the ball down and teed up Ben Williams, who steered his first time shot just wide of the right-hand post.

However, Hollands & Blair killed the game off with their fifth goal on a clinical counter-attack with three minutes remaining.

Greenfield played the ball to Denness on the halfway line who burst forward down the left, cut into the penalty area to reach the by-line before cutting the ball back across goal.

Piggott said he was pleased with Michelson, who burst a gut to sprint from inside his own half to meet the ball at the far post to sweep a left-footed volley into the bottom near corner from close range.

He said: “Tom Michelson is probably the unluckiest bloke in the ground today to be left out. It was only for a tactical reason and he could have been sulking but he didn’t.

“When he got on the pitch he made that run from in our half. We’re down to ten men to try to pick up a pass from Rob, who was out on his own and worked really hard to get the ball into the box and I was really pleased with Tom today.”

Collins added: “It was poor defending again.  I thought all the goals that we gave away were poor defending.

“Credit to them still but we should have done better.  It looked offside but you can’t really tell from where you’re standing but I thought the flag might have gone up but it killed the game then.”

Piggott, meanwhile, says he’s thriving on the pressure of the two-horse title race with Lydd Town, as both sides battle it out for the title, with both sides having eight league games left.

“We’ve got to that stage of the season, it’s not about how we get them (3 points), we’ve got to get them,” said Piggott. 

“We’ve come through a tough time this month but we’ve come through it and the boys are still giving me everything.

“I love this time of the season. If we were playing games of football for nothing I probably wouldn’t even bother turning up. We’re here trying to win games of football because three points are massive at the moment.”

Collins added: “We’ve run Hollands close in every game. Today was just a mad game. I’ve not been involved in a game like that in ages.

“We had seven players out injured today.  Grant Brown, who is massive for us, Kane Rice and Will Roomes so three players who were missing.  I’m saying I’m disappointed but that’s three players who start every week for us and we’ve run them close and not played particularly well.”

Sutton Athletic: Dean James (Richie Humphrey 55), Jack White, Tom Carlse, Chris Mirrlees, Alex Chapman, Sean Heather, Ben Williams, Chris McGinty, Jack Howlett (Adam Williams 55), Arlie Desagnes (Alani Mounter 55), Harry Montgomery.
Subs: Alex Mann, Tom Fitzgerald

Goals: Chris McGinty 9, Rob Denness 63 (own goal), Richie Humphrey 69

Booked: Sean Heather 30, Alex Chapman 90

Hollands & Blair: James Smith, Lewis Taylor, Bryan Greenfield, Sam Prescott, Tom Staff, Steve Dampier, Sam Welch (Tom Michelson 50), Stuart West, James McDonald (Billy Johnson 73), Rob Denness (Ben Brown 90), Louis Valencia.
Subs: Anthony Carlton, Dan Ellis

Goals: Steve Dampier 13, Sam Welch 44, Stuart West 45, Rob Denness 47 (penalty), Tom Michelson 87

Booked: Bryan Greenfield 71, Tom Michelson 90

Sent Off: Lewis Taylor 48

Attendance: 60
Referee: Mr Stuart Marriott (Deal)
Assistants: Mr Chris Reeve (Orpington) & Mr David Lunani (Bromley)