Report by Tony Dolbear

A battling performance up the slope and in to the wind in the first half gave Sutton the base to push on for victory in the second half of Saturday's Ryman League clash at Claremont Road and they took full advantage with an exuberant second half display to which Hendon, who had suffered fewer defeats than any other Premier Division side prior to the game, had no answer. Their efforts to try and find an answer in the last twenty minutes led to a more entertaining game than anyone had a right to expect in the conditions, but by then if Sutton's finishing had matched the rest of their game they would have been out of sight. It was a good afternoon all round for U's from the moment they were able to name Danny Hodges in the starting line up for the first time since September. His return was every bit as solid as he would have hoped, and with the rest of U's back line defending stoutly, Ryan Palmer quite outstanding, Hendon's attempts to capitalise on the advantage of wind and slope in the first half came to very little. Dale Binns provided most of their threat from the left, Matt Gray having a testing afternoon, and came closest to scoring for the home side but even that was with a mis-hit cross that clipped the outside of the post. Tom Dunn's only major alarm was when he had to adjust his position as former Sutton favourite Rob Haworth's head diverted an Iain Duncan shot, but he held on comfortably. Although they only rarely found themselves in an attacking position, it was Sutton who came closest to a first half goal when Mark Watson found space to hit a low 20 yard shot that Dave Hook was down well to save. Nick Bailey and Jon-Barrie Bates were fortunate to escape punishment just before the break following a Bates foul and Bailey's reaction, but they escaped with a lecture and managed to keep hostilities going throughout the second half with no further involvement from referee Gary Evetts, whose card did come out for mistimed tackles from Paul Honey and the home side's Paul Towler and Duncan. U's could be well satisfied with the first 45 minutes, and took just 63 seconds after the break to show the sign of things to come in the second half.

Bailey ran at the home defence, played in a pass that was touched on by Danny Bolt, and Matt Fowler, although forced slightly wide by his marker, nevertheless hit a low left foot shot past Hook to give U's the lead. By the time an hour had gone it should have been all over, but U's wasted several clear chances, with Fowler ironically the worst culprit three minutes after his goal when he collected Dunn's huge clearance, left the one covering defender floundering in the mud, but then shot straight at Hook. Watson shot wide after being put through by Bailey, and then dived to head an Eddie Akuamoah cross just past the post, and as Haworth put a header just over and Binns shot high and wide after a dangerous run the worry was that U's would pay for their inaccuracy. Then Bolt, otherwise quiet, at last found some space 25 yards out with the ball on his left foot, and before Hook could move the ball had flown past him in to the top corner of the net. It was a much needed second goal as Hendon made a real fight of it in the last twenty minutes, but Dunn preserved his fourth clean sheet in five games since returning from Banstead, and his seventh in eleven games overall this season, with a fine diving stop to keep out a Paul Yates header. U's were still not flattered by the margin of victory, though, and should have had rounded off a second half performance that was a joy to watch when Fowler's counter attacking run on the right ended up with a pass to Bailey, who played a delightful one two with Bolt to leave himself with just Hook to beat, but then shot wide.

Hendon: D Hook, R Hollingdale(R Alvez 72), I Duncan, L Harvey, M Cooper, P Yates, R Crace, R Haworth, P Towler, J-B Bates, D Binns. Subs n/u J Burgess, M Woolner, G McCann, P Wemboloua. Booked: Towler(70-foul), Duncan(84-foul).

Sutton: T Dunn, M Gray, E Akuamoah, R Palmer, D Hodges, N Bailey, D Bolt, P Honey, M Fowler, M Watson, L Gonsalves. Subs n/u C Brown, D Brooker, S Corbett. Goals: Fowler(47), Bolt(68). Booked: Honey(51-foul).

Referee: G Evetts Attendance: 273