Leatherhead 1 Sutton Common Rovers 0
Leatherhead battled hard to produce a 1-0 win against relegation-threatened Sutton
Common Rovers at Fetcham Grove on Saturday.
Kareem Akinnibi scored the only goal of a tight match midway through the opening
half, producing an excellent wide-angled finish.
Following a hesitant opening passage of play, Tanners had the ball in the visitors’ net
on 20 minutes. But Ruben Bartlett-Antwi’s effort from Kane Fitzgerald’s probing free
kick was ruled out for offside.
Bartlett-Antwi and Akinnibi combined a minute later to produce a sparkling opening
goal for Leatherhead. Bartlett-Antwi took possession of the ball just inside his own
half and advanced unchallenged before feeding an inch-perfect pass for Akinnibi to
run onto.
The former Badshot Lea striker took the ball around Rovers goalkeeper Kacper Orlowski before guiding it into the net from a tight angle.
Tanners missed a chance to double their advantage four minutes later. Alfie Huckle’s
low drive from the eighteen yard line was well saved by the keeper.
Rovers made a substitution on 26 minutes, with Darren Esuka replacing an injured
Lauric Diakiesse. Within two minutes of his introduction, the fast-paced Rovers sub
broke clear of his marker to force a fine low save from Leatherhead keeper Sonny
Wheeler.
The visitors continued to threaten Tanners, with Frankie Maciocia testing Wheeler with another low shot on 32 minutes.
Leatherhead were content to keep possession of the ball in the second half while
Rovers always looked capable of producing an equaliser.
Long range efforts from Harvey Maudner and Noah Africa flew over the bar as the
visitors pressed forward.
Rovers thought they should have been awarded a penalty on 69 minutes when
Wheeler and Maudner came together in a race for the ball in Leatherhead’s six-yard
box. Maudner went down dramatically. But the referee saw nothing untoward, waving
play on, as the ball went behind for a corner.
The visitors continued to threaten in attack, with Esuka firing another long range
effort just wide of the post on 77 minutes.
Tanners almost grabbed a decisive second goal deep in stoppage time. With Rovers
pressing players ever deeper into Leatherhead’s half, Ty Butler launched a strong
counter-attack for the hosts. Butler picked out an advancing Matt Everitt on his left
with the Leatherhead midfielder’s blistering long range effort well saved by Orlowski
moments before the referee blew the final whistle.
The result sees Tanners remain in tenth place but still within touching distance of the
play-offs.
Leatherhead will need to keep grinding out winning performances, such as this one,
from now to the end of the season if they are to achieve their ultimate goal – a top-five
finish.
Tanners face another severe test on Tuesday when they travel to fifth-placed
Hanworth Villa. Kick-off at Rectory Meadow is at 7.45pm.
Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, George Hedley, Niran Butler, Alfie Huckle, Alex
Pearce, Cameron Black, Rhys Murrell Williamson (Marco Haigh 62), Ruben Bartlett-
Antwi (Matt Everitt 53), Kane Fitzgerald, Anuar Ceesay (Kenny Beaney 71), Kareem
Akinnibi (Ty Butler 81)
Sutton Common Rovers: Kacper Orlowski, Cam Dobell, Jake Rumble, Eliel Kamin
(Noah Africa 45), Aaron Bogle, Steven Sylvester-Ajudua, Torin Ntege (Oluremi
Onabanjo 59), Frankie Maciocia (Kieran Smith 87), Christian Adugyamfi, Harvey
Maudner (Daniel Pepple 81), Lauric Diakiesse (Darren Esuka 26)