Royals seize victory with dominant performance.
Craig Marshall scored a second half brace to give Sutton Town all three points and maintain the Royals’ unbeaten home record this season.
Sutton started the match brightly, and within the first minute Ross Miller saw a shot deflected over the bar. Five minutes later James Reid should have capitalised on confusion in the Belper defence, but his shot also rattled the woodwork. Reid then found himself with another opportunity following a scramble in the box, but shot agonisingly over the bar.
Sutton were having by far the best chances of the half, limiting Belper to long range efforts which did little to trouble Niall Cooper in goal. Ben Bailey thought he had scored on 25 minutes, but saw his header cleared off the line, while the troublesome Reid and Miller both failed with further attempts on goal. As the game crept towards half time it turned into a midfield battle, with neither side able to keep hold of the ball for extended periods, but it was Sutton who went in the happier side at half time.
The second half saw Belper start the stronger of the two sides, and they were unlucky not to be ahead within a minute as a corner from the right was met by the head of Deon Meikle, and Jon Jones did well to clear the ball off the line. Lee Morris then saw his header blocked, and with the resultant corner played short Joaquin Ortuno had a shot which went just wide.
Belper should have been ahead on 62 minutes, as substitute Jaylee Hodgson found himself through on goal with no offside flag, but his shot was well blocked by Niall Cooper. Just two minutes later, it was Sutton who took the lead when a ball through the middle from Stuart McNaught found Craig Marshall, who chipped the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
Sutton now took the game to Belper in the search for a second goal, and were unlucky not to get it five minutes later as a cross from Matt Dodd was tipped onto the bar and over by Andy Richmond, and from the following corner Ben Bailey saw a great shot from outside the box tipped over by the Belper goalkeeper.
Sutton began to dominate once again, and a great ball from substitute Dean Rathbone saw McNaught take a strike on the volley which was just knocked onto the post by the keeper. It took just another three minutes for the Royals to get their second goal of the game, as a cross from the right by Dodd found McNaught in space. His shot could only be palmed away by the keeper as far as Marshall, who had an easy tap in to double Sutton’s lead and his own goal tally for the match.
The remainder of the match saw both sides battle it out once again in midfield, but Sutton held on comfortably for the win.
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