Four From Four, Ten Men and a Friday Night in Gateshead

It has been a busy few days around Sutton United, with a Friday night trip to Gateshead, a difficult journey north for supporters, another league win, a red card, a late Temi Babalola goal and plenty of debate about just how excited we are allowed to get after four games.

The latest episode of Sutton United Talk Time looks back on a 1-0 win that probably told us more about this Sutton side than any of the previous three league victories.

There was also plenty away from the men’s first team to talk about, from DAZN’s Friday night experiment and the new lavender kit to coach travel, Sarah’s cycling challenge and a chaotic 5-5 draw for the women’s side.

WATCH HERE

Friday night football, but at what cost?

The Gateshead fixture was part of DAZN’s decision to move most of the National League programme to Friday night, presumably in an effort to place more matches in a television window before the Premier League weekend took over.

In theory, you can see the logic. In practice, it placed a lot of strain on the supporters actually attending the matches.

Mark’s journey summed it up nicely. His booked train was cancelled, he moved onto an earlier service and then stood from King’s Cross to Newcastle for more than three hours because the replacement train was packed. Others faced heavy Bank Holiday traffic. Despite all of that, 68 Sutton supporters still made the trip.

That deserves mentioning before anything else.

The wider question is whether DAZN actually gains much from moving 11 or 12 matches into the same Friday night slot. As Mark pointed out on the podcast, a neutral viewer is then being asked to choose between a whole group of simultaneous fixtures. It may increase overall visibility, but it also risks splitting the audience so much that individual games do not benefit greatly.

For the players, Friday night into a Bank Holiday Monday fixture is arguably better than Saturday to Monday. For the supporters, particularly those facing a trip to Gateshead, Carlisle or Barrow, it is a very different calculation.

The lavender kit looked good, until it didn’t

Sutton’s new lavender kit has generally gone down well, but Gateshead was probably its toughest test.

In daylight, those in the stadium did not seem to have much trouble distinguishing the two teams. Once darkness fell, things became more awkward. The distance from the stand to the pitch, the running track and the uneven lighting all made it harder to pick Sutton players out on the far side.

The same issue came across on television. The colour itself can look quite different depending on the screen, while certain shades of lavender and purple are not always rendered particularly well under floodlights.

The awkward part is that the alternatives were not obvious either. Black was never going to work against Gateshead’s kit and yellow would also have caused problems. It may simply have been one of those evenings where every option had a flaw.

There was also another kit-related curiosity. Sutton’s black shorts and socks were close to the referee’s colours, something we had noticed in the Hartlepool game as well. It did not cause an obvious problem, but at the speed players make decisions, you can understand why similar colours at lower-body level could be less than ideal.

A red card that nobody needed to defend

The biggest football talking point was Noah Nzuzi’s second-half red card.

There was some provocation and the Gateshead player certainly made the most of the contact, but there was no real argument from a Sutton point of view. Nzuzi moved his head towards the opponent and, once he did that, the referee was always going to produce a red card.

What was refreshing was the complete lack of excuse-making afterwards.

Agi called it stupid and naive. That was also where the podcast discussion landed. There may have been an element of inexperience and there may have been an attempt to wind him up, but senior football demands a level of control in those situations. If you give the referee the decision to make, you lose control of the outcome.

Mark made an interesting point about younger players developing that mental side of the game. Talent is one thing, but learning when not to react is part of becoming a senior player as well.

It was also noticeable that Temi Babalola appeared furious with Nzuzi at the time. Rather than that being a bad sign, it probably says something useful about the standards within the squad. Senior players should be able to tell younger team-mates when they have let everyone down, and then move on from it afterwards.

Going down to ten did not feel like the beginning of the end

This was probably the most encouraging part of the whole night.

In previous seasons, there have been moments where going down to ten away from home would immediately bring a sense of dread. Gateshead did not feel like that.

Both Mark and Rory made the same point. Sutton had already grown into the game after a slow first 10 or 15 minutes and, even after the dismissal, there was no immediate feeling that the match had slipped out of control.

That is important.

Sutton did defend deeper later on, but they did not simply retreat to the edge of their own penalty area and hope. They continued to get players forward, they retained the ball at times and they still looked capable of scoring.

Rory described the team as almost being galvanised by the red card. That may sound odd, but it fits what happened. Sutton became more compact, more disciplined and more deliberate in how they used the ball.

There were nervy moments in stoppage time, of course. There always will be when you are defending a one-goal lead with ten men away from home. But the overall feeling was not panic.

That is a very different experience from last season.

The squad suddenly looks deep

Another positive from Gateshead was the impact of the bench.

Charlie Bell, Jermaine Francis and David Ogbonna had all dropped out of the starting side. All three came on and affected the game positively.

Bell in particular earned a lot of praise. He had shown flashes of hot-headedness himself last season, but here he came on and helped calm the game down. He got on the ball, retained possession and gave Sutton control at a time when they badly needed it.

That is exactly what you want from a squad player.

The wider point is that Sutton now appear to have genuine competition in several positions. Players are dropping out of the XI without the team suddenly looking weaker. That changes the feel of the squad completely.

You can rotate because of the opposition, form or workload rather than because somebody has failed.

That depth will matter even more as the season becomes busier.

Temi Babalola is starting to look very important

Two goals in two matches now, and two very different goals.

Against Gateshead, Babalola had been relatively well marshalled for long spells. Then Manny Osadebe produced a wonderful cross and Temi only needed one real opportunity.

That is the encouraging part.

He is not simply functioning as a target man. He is giving Sutton a focal point, unsettling centre-backs, allowing the team to go longer when needed and still getting into scoring positions himself.

Agi’s description of him as “a beast” was fairly accurate.

The other useful thing is the confidence around him. Players often respond when a manager makes it very clear that he believes in them. Babalola looks like somebody playing with that kind of confidence at the moment.

He gives Sutton an option they did not really have last season. If the ball goes forward now, there is a much greater chance of it sticking or at least causing enough disruption for somebody else to profit.

The defence is becoming the real story

Four league games.

One goal conceded.

And that one came from a mistake against Hartlepool rather than an opposition player carving Sutton open.

For a team that conceded far too easily last season, this is a remarkable early change.

There are several reasons.

Will Nightingale has brought experience and calm. Alex Kirk is returning after a very long injury lay-off and should still improve. Dan Urpens has developed enormously at right-back. Besart Topallaj gives Sutton quality going both ways on the left.

Spike Brits also had his most obvious test of the season at Gateshead and passed it with some very good saves.

The big difference, though, may be that Sutton are defending as a team rather than as four defenders plus a goalkeeper. Jake Taylor and Manny Osadebe provide protection in front of the back line. The forwards work to force play into certain areas. The full-backs know when to go and when not to.

There are still imperfections, but the structure looks much more convincing.

And when Jordan Moore-Taylor eventually returns, the competition in central defence becomes even stronger.

Alex Kirk and the return to Gateshead

There was also a very personal element to Kirk’s performance.

Gateshead was the ground where he suffered the back injury that ruled him out for such a long period. Returning there and producing a strong performance must have meant something, even if he would probably never make a big show of it.

He still looks slightly rusty at times, which is hardly surprising after 18 months out, but the quality is obvious. He is comfortable in possession, he can play out from the back and he appears to complement Nightingale well.

Mark described it almost like having a new signing.

That feels fair.

And the really encouraging part is that Sutton are winning while still talking about players getting better. That is a far nicer position to be in than last season, when we often talked about potential improvement while points slipped away.

Four from four, and now what?

This is where restraint becomes difficult.

Sutton are four from four in the league and the only team yet to drop a point.

Rory is already carried away.

Mark is still holding something back and wants to see how Sutton perform against sides such as Barrow and Scunthorpe before getting too excited.

Both positions are understandable.

There is an argument that Sutton have had a kinder opening run than last season. Some of the opponents may end up lower down the table. Hartlepool probably look the strongest of the four so far.

There is also an argument that none of that matters particularly much because Sutton have won all four anyway.

The most interesting thing is that even Agi keeps talking about there being more to come.

Sutton have not produced a flawless 90-minute performance. They have won games in different ways. They have defended leads, ground out results, scored late and now won with ten men.

That does not mean promotion talk is sensible after four matches.

It does mean this looks like a good team.

Wealdstone next

Attention now turns to Wealdstone.

The expectation from the panel was that Sutton should attack the game and try to use the current momentum, while still respecting a Wealdstone side with pace going forward.

There may also be a little rotation after the physical effort at Gateshead, although probably not wholesale changes. Agi has already shown that he is willing to pick teams based on the opposition rather than simply keeping a winning XI together.

One interesting squad question also emerged from the discussion.

Sutton look well stocked in defence and midfield, but are they still one striker light?

Babalola and Brandon Njoku give Sutton two recognised central options, but one injury or suspension could leave the squad relying on wide players or midfielders to fill in. Mark would prefer another experienced striker, perhaps somebody capable of contributing in shorter bursts rather than demanding a starting place every week.

It is probably the one area where the squad still looks thinner than elsewhere.

Away from the men’s first team

There was plenty else in the episode too.

Supporters are being encouraged to get their names down early for coach travel. Halifax in particular needs more bookings to make the trip viable, and later journeys such as Tamworth will also depend on enough interest.

Sarah’s cycling challenge continues as well, with her latest blog now available and more updates to follow.

And then there was the Sutton United Women’s match.

A 5-5 draw.

Sutton went ahead, collapsed to 4-1 down, pulled one back before half-time, went 5-2 behind and somehow dragged themselves back to 5-5.

Lucy’s description of the defending as “Keystone Cops” probably tells you everything you need to know about one part of the afternoon.

But the comeback also says plenty about the character in the side.

For a neutral, it sounds like tremendous entertainment.

For the coaching staff, probably slightly less enjoyable.

Final thoughts

The Gateshead result was not Sutton’s most spectacular win of the season.

It might end up being one of the most useful.

A long Friday journey, a difficult start, a red card, a hostile crowd, ten men and a late goal could easily have produced a completely different evening.

Instead, Sutton came home with another clean sheet and another three points.

That does not make them unbeatable and it does not mean we should start planning the open-top bus route.

It does make the start feel increasingly meaningful.

Four league games have already asked different questions of this side, and so far they have found four different ways to answer them.

The next one arrives quickly.

Wealdstone on Monday.

And, for now at least, Sutton look like a team that expects to win rather than one simply hoping not to lose.