Sidcup prove too savvy for Sutton

Sutton & Epsom’s aspirations towards a top two finish in the league were dealt a blow on Saturday as they slipped to a narrow defeat against old rivals Sidcup at Rugby Lane. Back in October, Sutton produced one of their best results of the season to secure a victory at Sidcup, but the visitors exacted their revenge with a disciplined and drilled performance. Sidcup’s straight forward game plan was to absorb as much pressure as possible in the first half and to keep Sutton in their own territory in the second; they executed it perfectly.

On a heavy pitch and with a stiff breeze blowing from one end to the other, this was never going to be an afternoon for expansive rugby. Sutton struggled to find their rhythm or gain any significant momentum as Sidcup competed effectively at the break down and Sutton were guilty of losing possession, through turn overs, on a regular basis. In the second half, Sutton had to complete endless energy sapping phases of possession to gain ten or fifteen metres as the visitors’ defence pinned Sutton in their own half for extended periods of time.

Taking advantage of the wind in the first half Sutton created a number of early opportunities, although Andy Matthews and Guy Stuckey-Clarke were well marshalled by the Sidcup defence and not their usual potent attacking force. The blustery wind turned the box kick into a lottery so Sutton were not able to bring Kyren Ghumra’s catching and ground speed into play. However, it was some accurate kicking from Frankie Murray which resulted in Sutton’s only score of the day. His chip from the twenty two metre line towards the left hand corner was almost inch perfect for Sam Hurley who just managed to evade his defender and touch down. Sidcup claimed that Hurley had knocked on but referee Andrew Gaynor stood by his decision, Hurley’s attempt at a difficult conversion went astray.

Sutton continued to dominate from a territorial perspective but were not able to unlock the Sidcup defence and on a rare incursion into Sutton’s half before the interval, Sidcup scored a penalty from Jim Hardy. For all of Sutton’s supremacy a two point lead at half time was less than Sutton’s coaching team would have expected.

With the wind strengthening in Sidcup’s favour, it was the hosts that started the second half on the attack. Early pressure on the Sidcup line came to nothing and Sidcup began to dominate proceedings. Hardy added another penalty to edge the visitors into the lead and with the Sutton pack starting to tire, a driving maul from Sidcup opened up the Sutton defence and full back James Poland scored a try when the ball was spun through the Sidcup back line giving them a six point lead with a quarter of the match remaining.

The subsequent conversion was missed, requiring Sutton to score at least a converted try to win the match. However Sidcup continued to dictate matters and they pushed Sutton back into their own 22 metre area. The wind made accurate defensive kicking from hand almost impossible and Sutton had to retain possession to gain territory. Sidcup’s defence stood firm and it was not until the dying minutes of the game that Sutton created a scoring opportunity. A series of penalties took Sutton into Sidcup’s half and winger Kyren Ghumra had clear sight of the try line but some excellent cover defending pushed him into touch a metre from the goal line, this was immediately followed by the final whistle.

Whilst the result is obviously a disappointment it is hoped that lessons can be learnt from a shrewd Sidcup side who took full advantage of the conditions. This also highlights that there is little to choose between the top four or five teams in the division and margins for error are very small. Sutton now drop to fourth in the league and trail second placed Chobham by five points.