SUTTON UTD 0 PURFLEET 0

Given that they were playing one of the in form sides in the Ryman League Premier Division and the unpredictable nature of a hard and bumpy pitch, Sutton were entitled to think that they had produced one of their best performances of recent weeks at Gander Green Lane on Saturday but it still wasn't enough to bring them a first win in seven games as it lacked the crucial ingredient of a winning goal. U's created plenty of chances, and for long periods of the game a neutral would not have known that it was their opponents that were 4th in the table and in the middle of a long unbeaten run, but the tone was set in the 5th minute when Paul Honey failed to keep a half volley down from a central position 15 yards out . That was probably the clearest chance U's had all afternoon, although Honey sent a much more difficult opportunity wide two minutes later, and Eddie Akuamoah then stabbed a deep cross goalwards without anyone on hand to apply the final touch. It wasn't all one way traffic in the early stages, with Terry Bowes and Martyn Lawrence threatening on the flanks, and Tommy Dunn had to be alert to keep out a header from former Sutton striker Colin Simpson and a low shot from Steve Brown. Sutton were definitely in the ascendancy, though, and before a quarter of the game was played Phil Wingfield had sent a half volley just too high from a similar position to Honey but under more pressure, and Mike Mison clipped the top of the crossbar from a Wingfield corner. Four minutes before half time U's thought they had broken through as Rob Haworth met a Nick Drew cross with a superb header that looped in to the top corner of the net, but an offside flag that had in fairness gone up as soon as the cross was hit cut short the celebrations. Purfleet thought they had scored, too, eight minutes after half time but were left holding their heads in anguish as Dean Chandler, who it seemed had only to make contact to score when Jimmy McFarlane headed a free kick back across goal, made rather more contact than was necessary and from almost on the goal line managed to clear the crossbar by a distance. That was the one serious scare U's had as if anything they were more dominant than they had been earlier, but the goal wouldn't come. Mison should have provided it seventeen minutes from time when he put another header over the bar from a left wing corner, and near the end Alex O'Reilly did well to divert a Wingfield shot for a corner, but otherwise the moves broke down or crosses were cleared before U's had a clear sight of goal. Purfleet substitute Cliff Akurang always looked a threat on the break, but after being reduced to ten men when Brown hobbled off moments after they had used their third substitute the visitors were always going to be happy with a point and held on to achieve it.

Sutton: Dunn, Palmer, Gonsalves, Mison, Drew, Honey, Timothy(Gray H-T), Corbett, Wingfield, Haworth, Akuamoah. Subs n/u Fowler, Hammonds.

Purfleet: O'Reilly, Purdie, Southon, Chandler(Jones 76), McFarlane, Pashley, Linger, Simpson(Akurang 51), Brown, Bowes(Cartlidge 70), Lawrence.

Referee: A Cane Attendance: 480