NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE

Attendance 1432

HEREFORD UNITED 4 v SUTTON UNITED 1

It was party time today as Sutton supporters celebrated their last game in the Nationwide Conference. The result was secondary and not even the four goals that Hereford scored could spoil the mood. Add to that the first goal that Sutton had scored in eight hours of football and you have a 'successful' conclusion to the season.

Hereford always looked the stronger side and were unlucky not to score in the 8^th minute, when a centred ball produced a header that skimmed off the base of the post. Sutton did have some moments in the first half, although they were few and far between. Dave Harlow put Ed Hutchinson through and his angle shot went just wide of the upright. After 19 minutes Sammy Winston protested too much and found his name in the referee's book. Hereford continued to expose the Sutton back four and after 33 minutes they got their reward. Yet another through ball dissected the Sutton defence. This time however the Hereford forward Steve Pierce looked suspiciously offside but he made the most of it and tucked a low angled shot past Gareth Howells and into the goal. Hereford finished the half strongly and could have added to their lead.

The second half saw Keith Rowlands and Scott Forrester on for Sammy Winston and Ed Hutchinson. There was more purpose to the U's now and Ekoku's strong run resulted in a foul about 35 yards from the Hereford goal. From the free kick the ball was rolled to Dave Harlow who shot over. Hereford had their own free kick shortly after when a driven cross was well met with a header which had to be well saved by Howells. There then followed what must have been an act of charity to Sutton. The U's pressurised the Hereford goal and as the Hereford defence pushed up Keith Rowlands and another Sutton player found themselves in front of goal with no other defenders between them and the net. The ball was played through to them and everybody hesitated, Rowlands decided that there had been no whistle and slipped the ball past Scott Cooksey to score Sutton's first goal in 450 minutes of football. If there was a suspicion of offside about Hereford's goal, then there was very little doubt that the equaliser was off. However Sutton weren't about to turn it down. There then followed a good spell for Sutton but it wasn't to last. Any hopes that the season would end with the symmetry of a 1-1 draw were soon dispelled. John Snape put Herford back in the lead with a fine shot just outside the area. Steve Pierce the got his second with a follow up shot after Gareth Howells had initially saved well. In the last minute Mark Taylor scored the last Conference goal against Sutton when he squeezed a low shot past Howells.

And so the Nationwide tour ended. It started back in August, against Hereford, with a 1-1 draw and tons of optimism. It finished with a 4-1 defeat at Hereford, but the Sutton supporters didn't let a little thing like relegation and the 8^th straight defeat spoil the party.