MATCH REPORT

Winning in the rain - and so it came to be Sissons Sutton progress into the next round!
 
Long Sutton won this mixed team cup game with a stunning performance in the most atrocious weather conditions.
 
Long Sutton started this game with a confidence and swagger in their game and with the entire team showing well. Quickly they had the home side on the back foot dominating early play although on breakaways Dragons showed they could inflict damage and Luke Lovegrove in the Sutton goal and their defence needed to stay on their toes.
 
Long Sutton took the lead after 17 minutes when Danny Sisson took control to fire home and unstoppable shot from just inside the D. With the goal advantage the Long Sutton mixed team looked as if they could go on and score more and did so on 25 minutes. From a short corner Robyn Gribble received the ball and neatly passed to Fiona Gray who threaded the ball through defenders and into the Dragons den to make it 2 nil to Long Sutton.
 
The weather conditions continued to get worse and over half time the players huddled and shuddered which gave the umpires the signal to not dwell on half time and cut the break short.
 
The second half took a different course since Sutton edged the first half but it became clear Dragons intended a better showing in the second half quickly applying pressure in the Long Sutton half of the pitch. Dragons efforts were rewarded when they pulled two goals back inside 20 minutes of the second half, the first was a neat move finished well with a reverse stick strike giving Lovegrove no chance. The equaliser however required the boot of Lovers to flick the ball into his own net - unlucky as it was it began to signal extra time might be required which is the last thing anybody wanted in such appalling weather conditions. As both sides continued to threaten it was Long Sutton that forced a short corner with only 10 minutes remaining. The short was fired in well and again Gribble received the ball and this time slickly fired into the path of Jimmy Harrison who turned the ball into the Dragons net to reinstall the lead for Long Sutton. Norwich Dragons pressed  in a determined effort to stay in this competition but it was left to Long Sutton to see the game safely out.
 
All in all this was a great team performance from Long Sutton and Dragons contributed well to produce such an entertaining contest in such terrible weather.        
 

Report by Jess Hudson.