Leatherhead 1 Sutton Common Rovers 0
Leatherhead edged out Sutton Common Rovers in a tightly contested match at
Fetcham Grove on Tuesday evening.
Omarr Lawson scored the game’s only goal on 55 minutes, latching onto Trevan
Robinson’s crossbar rebound for a close-range finish.
With established keeper Mikey Allen recovering from a long-term wrist injury,
Tanners handed a debut to new signing Marco Underwood. The young Fulham loanee
made a confident start, settling well into the hosts’ defensive line up.
Chances were few and far between at either end as both sides struggled to find a way
through their opponents’ defence.
Leatherhead’s Daniel Hector had a crack at goal on eight minutes, but his long-range
speculative effort went wide of the post.
Fabio Saraiva had a couple of opportunities to break the deadlock midway through the
opening half after Leatherhead were awarded two free kicks just outside the visitors’
box.
The first was fired low and was comfortably dealt with by SCR custodian Sam
Roberts, while the second was lofted over the bar.
Luther Williams came close to scoring on 24 minutes. The SCR defence allowed the
Tanners centre back to travel with the ball into their penalty area before whipping a
shot just wide from a tight angle.
Leatherhead’s patience was eventually rewarded with a goal early in the second half.
Tyler Cox made a break down the left and put a teasing cross into the box. Robinson
outjumped his marker, with his header striking the crossbar before rebounding in front
of Lawson for a close-range tap in.
Robinson had a chance to double Tanners’ lead on 62 minutes, but Roberts dived low
to his left to turn the shot away for a corner.
SCR rarely tested the Tanners’ defence in a tense match littered with loose passes
from both sides.
But Aaron Jenkins posed a considerable threat to the hosts on 80 minutes, driving a
rasping effort towards goal from outside the area. Underwood positioned himself well
to block the shot before the ball was eventually played away to safety.
The result sees Leatherhead maintain their strong position among the play-off
contenders as they prepare for another stiff test on Saturday against high-flying
Marlow. Kick off at Fetcham Grove is at 3.00pm.
Leatherhead: Marco Underwood, Alpha Diallo, Tyler Cox, Jamie Splatt, Ollie Cook,
Luther Williams, Daniel Hector, Ghas Sow, Trevan Robinson, Fabio Saraiva, Omarr
Lawson (Trey Masikini 78)
Sutton Common Rovers: Sam Roberts, Matthew Tanton (Tariq Straker 56), Daryl
Coleman (Noah Africa 44), Antonio Simeone, Bertie Lloyd, Max Oldham, Ollie
Twum, Aaron Jenkins, Lindell Stewart, Ben Holden, Ashley Sheppard (Charlie
Martin 82)