Sutton United vs Harrogate Town – Match Report

Town move to within 1-point off the play off places thanks to Muldoon brace

Muldoon shines to see off Sutton as Town move to up 8th and just one point off the play-off places.

Town came into this fixture on the back of a good run of form in the league having gone 3 games unbeaten in the league and looked to extend that to 4 against a struggling Sutton side who winless in their last 6 games.

Sutton have been somewhat of a bogey team for Town having won all the previous six meetings between the two sides stemming back to 2019. A statistic that Simon Weaver and his side wanted to put to bed regardless of the home side’s recent form.

As for team news it was two changes for Town on the night with Matty Foulds missing out due to a groin injury and Anthony O’Connor due to illness. In replace of the pair was Warren Burrell and Toby Sims to cement the back four.

There was also a familiar face in the Sutton lineup on the night with former Town loanee Josh Coley earning himself a place in the starting lineup having joined Sutton in the summer.

Town were put under pressure early on from Sutton United who created a few early chances, the best coming on 13 minutes as Belshaw was called into action for the first time with a brilliant save following a wicked deflection which looked to be taking the ball beyond his reach, but he showed great athleticism to tip the ball over the bar.

Sutton had great joy down the wings and proved to be a threat in the air as on 25 minutes, the centre back Sowunmi had a header which just went past the post which had Belshaw worried.

After a start which the travelling supporters were not used to seeing in recent games, Town grew into the match with the first dangerous move stemming from Cornelius down the right wing. His delivery to the edge of the box found M. Daly who met the cross with a volley which was headed for the corner, but Bouzanis in the Sutton goal got across well to prevent the goal.

On 33 minutes the first card of the game was shown to Dooley for bringing down Beautyman in the middle of the Town half as he bared down on goal.

Town started to push on in the final third creating many chances before the break. On 38 minutes Thomson plucked a forward ball from Sims out of the sky before jinking past his opposing defender and released a shot which was goal bound if it wasn’t for a vital block from Sowunmi.

Shortly after, Muldoon nearly broke the deadlock before the break as Thomson released him through the middle, he took the shot early which caught Bouzanis off guard, but the ball just trickled past the post and both sides went into half-time with the scores all level.

Sutton had a quick start to the second half as Patrick struck the post after turning Burrell and fired a shot from the right side of the area which Gibson deflected onto the post.

The home side gained momentum early on in the half as Burrell was the second to be shown a yellow for a late high tackle on N’Guessan.

Simon Weaver attempted to turn the tide in Town’s favour making a change 10 minutes into the second half opting to bring on Levi Sutton in replace of Dooley.

And indeed, the tide did turn as Muldoon gave Town the lead on 58 minutes and made it 7 for him this season. It was a sweeping move which stemmed from a crossfield ball from Thomson then a delicate touch from Odoh to put the ball in the path of M. Daly before delivering the ball low across the face of goal for Muldoon to meet it and slide the ball home.

After the goal, Sutton were keen not to let the game pass them by and strived to create frequent chances. On 67 minutes, Levi Sutton earned himself a yellow card with a tactical foul having no choice but to stop a counter attack in its tracks and prevent Sutton from gaining momentum to draw level.

With 15 minutes to go Town doubled the lead with Muldoon bagging himself a brace on the night. The ball was won high up the pitch from Thomson who showed composure to pass the ball infield to Ramsey who drove at the defence and threaded a neat through pass into the path of Muldoon who showed class and composure to slot the ball beyond the keeper.

The game was not all yet done as Sutton pushed to find a route back into the game as Patrick put a low cross into the box which Angol met but his strike could only rattle the crossbar and over.

Sutton brought one back late on to give Town a few scares with minutes to go as Jackson fired a low shot from the edge of the box following a short corner. The strike evaded Gibson who attempted to clear, but his air kick resulted in the ball passing through the legs of Belshaw.

Despite a late push to find an equaliser for Sutton, Town showed maturity to run down the five additional minutes and see out a well fought victory. The travelling fans delighted with the victory and will be hoping for Town to take the terrific form into the weekend for a difficult test against league leaders Stockport County.