Report by Lyall Reynolds
The weather had led many to believe the game was in danger of being postponed, but the improved drainage at Gander Green Lane, ensured a slick surface which should have suited a quick paced, passing game; instead, Sutton, who probably shaded the first half, were unable to control the game and succumbed to an injury time winner. Sutton took the lead after just eight-minutes when Danny Bolt's dart between the defence caught the back four napping, his cross-field pass wrong-footed all but Nicky Bailey. He gathered the ball and with his second touch fired past a despairing dive. United then pressed for a second, but stout defending halts Matt Fowler and Mark Watson's aspirations before Hendon recovered their composure and began to mount concerted pressure on the United goal. Sutton's failure to clear the ball during a scrambled melee, eventually saw the ball fall to Forbes on the edge of the area and he slammed an unstoppable shot past Pape's right-hand to the top corner. Sutton then came back with Watson going close and Bolt teasing the opposition. When Danny Bolt was tripped thirty-yards out, the buzz of expectation grew. Bolt again let fly as his shot arrowed past the Hendon 'keeper for a deserved lead; which they should have held. However, the disappointing trend continues. Sutton seem to concede a goal at the end of the first half with frightening ease, and as the referee's watch ticked to the fifth minute of added-on time, Hendon drew level once more when Towler reacted first to a loose ball from a corner, which again the United defence failed to clear. United heads dropped, and despite a battling performance from Bailey they did not seem to have any punch in the second half. Hendon hit the post soon after the restart and again later on, but it was not until the 95th minute when Hendon stole their last gasp winner. United did not necessarily deserve the point, but surely believed that they had done enough to finish level.
Line-up: Pape, Timothy, Hollands, Palmer, Ottley, Bailey, Bolt, Corbett, Fowler, Watson, Gonsalves. Sub (n/u) Beale, Honey, Gray