An action-packed encounter that saw four goals in a hectic first half was eventually edged by Swindon Town in stoppage time, as substitute Jacob Wakeling headed home a late winner to give Scott Lindsey’s side a valuable three points.
Town’s First-Team Head Coach made two tweaks to his starting eleven, as deadline day recruit Luke Jephcott started, along with midfielder Ronan Darcy.
Town have made a habit of scoring early on home soil and almost continued their run as Luke Jephcott, making his first start for the club, pounced on a sumptuous low cross from Jonny Williams on the right side, only for Sutton keeper Jack Ross to pull off an impressive stop to deny him.
But it was the visitors that took the lead shortly after, as a mazey run from Donovan Wilson on the right culminated in the attacker reaching the byline and pulling the ball back to an unmarked Will Randall, and the former Robin slotted calmly past Sol Brynn into the bottom right hand corner.
Swindon were then reliant on their loan keeper just minutes later, as Brynn pulled off three saves in quick succession, first palming a looping Randall cross away from under his crossbar and then tipping a header wide from the rebound.
From the resulting corner, he was called into action again, getting down low to foil a back post header by Louis John.
As we approached the ten minute mark, Marcel Lavinier was forced to defend well, as he scurried back to clear a dangerous free-kick into the box with John poised to nod home.
Moments later, Donovan Wilson crossed for Josh Neufville who fired over for The Us from ten yards.
Scott Lindsey’s side responded well with three opportunities of their own in the space of five minutes.
First, Louis Reed hit a dipping free-kick from around 25-yards that Jack Ross did well to push wide, before the midfielder tried his luck again from long range, with Sutton reliant on their stopper to dive and save once again.
Then it was Luke Jephcott’s turn, stealing possession on the left and breaking into the box before sending a curling effort towards goal, but Ross was again on hand to save.
As we approached the half hour mark, the game saw a flash point with what appeared to be an off the ball incident involving Town’s Angus MacDonald and United’s Omar Bugiel, which after much deliberation by the match officials and treatment time for Swindon’s skipper, resulted in the visitors forward receiving a yellow card.
Then the match was turned on it’s head as Town netted twice in quick succession.
Grit and determination from Ben Gladwin on the edge of the Sutton area resulted in the ball falling to Tyrese Shade, who hit a low, first time effort that squirmed through the hands of the unfortunate Ross for the equaliser.
With their tails up, Town then took the lead as Matt Gray’s side failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Jonny Williams inside the area, and without hesitation, the Welshman struck a delightful half volley high into the top right-hand corner with his left-foot, giving Ross no chance.
However, Lindsey’s side weren’t in front for long, as a hectic final few first-half minutes saw Will Randall score his second of the evening, cutting inside and bending a deadly curling effort into the bottom right hand corner, beating the diving Brynn.
Referee Darren Handley brought the first period to a close moments later, giving everyone at SN1 the chance to draw breath with both sides locked at 2-2.
As we entered the second period, it was Sutton that looked to take the early initiative, as Josh Neufville collected the ball on the left and shot low at goal, but Brynn got down well to gather with ease.
Moments later, Neufville turned provider as he evaded a challenge from Frazer Blake-Tracy to cut the ball back across goal on the right hand byline, only for captain Craig Eastmond to fire over.
It was then straight back up the other end as good interchange play between Ronan Darcy and Ben Gladwin saw the latter fire over the bar.
The action at both ends continued as Sol Brynn turned over a long range curling effort from Rob Milsom, before Scott Lindsey shuffled the pack with two changes, bringing on Jacob Wakeling and Saidou Khan for Luke Jephcott and Ronan Darcy.
For the first time in the game, we hit a period where chances were few and far between with both sides cancelling each other out.
Sutton boss Matt Gray attempted to change that as he made a treble change on 76-minutes, but it was Town who broke the quiet spell, as Blake-Tracy setup Tyrese Shade on the edge of the penalty box, but the attackers powerful shot cleared the crossbar.
Opportunities continued to be at a premium as the clock ticked down, and then Jacob Wakeling stepped up to break Sutton hearts.
A whipped cross from the left side by Frazer Blake-Tracy was headed goalward by the forward, and the ball skidded off the surface past the diving Ross, much to the crowds delight.
A morale-boosting win for Scott Lindsey’s side, who hadn’t tasted victory since their win over Rochdale last month.
MATCH INFORMATION:
Swindon Town Line-Up:
1. Sol Brynn (GK) – 22. Marcel Lavinier (2. Remeao Hutton 81mins), 21. Angus MacDonald ©, 20. Frazer Blake-Tracy, 4. Tom Clayton, 10. Ronan Darcy (23. Saidou Khan 60mins), 5. Louis Reed (6. Mathieu Baudry 90+4mins), 7. Ben Gladwin, 15. Luke Jephcott (24. Jacob Wakeling 60mins), 28. Tyrese Shade, 8. Jonny Williams.
Subs not used: 25. Conor Brann (GK) – 17. Ricky Aguiar, 33. Morgan Roberts.
Goals : Shade 35, Williams 38, Wakeling 90+2
Yellow Cards: 4. Clayton 27mins, 22. Lavinier 68mins.
Red Cards: None
Sutton United Line-Up:
1. Jack Ross (GK) – 4. Coby Rowe, 6. Louis John, 22. Joe Kizzi, 24. Robert Milsom (2. Jonathan Barden 76mins), 20. Josh Neufville, 11. Will Randall (7. Enzo Boldewijn 87mins), 15. Craig Eastmond ©, 10. Harry Beautyman (8. Alistair Smith 76mins), 25. Donovan Wilson (23. Charley Kendall 76mins), 9. Omar Bugiel (27. Kylian Kouassi 69mins).
Subs not used: 13. Brad House (GK) – 39. Kwame Thomas.
Scorers: Randall 4,42
Yellow Cards: 9. Bugiel 31mins, 2. Barden 81mins
Red Cards: None
Referee: Darren Handley
Assistant Referees: Grant Taylor & Christopher Husbands
Fourth Official: Richard Morris
Attendance: 7,589 (85 away)
