Long Sutton supremo Cawthorn praises his side as Magpies soar up to eighth spot

Matt Cawthorn admitted he was a “happy gaffer” after seeing his Long Sutton Athletic side came from behind to win 3-1 at Glinton and Northborough on Saturday.

The win, Sutton’s fourth in their last six games, moves them up to eighth in the ChromaSport PDFL Division One.

The Magpies started slowly and fell behind after ten minutes when Lewis Godfrey converted a penalty.

That seemed to shock Sutton into action and they levelled when Jake Narducci played a pin-point pass into Matty Oliver, who finished superbly well.

It remained 1-1 until the early exchanges of the second half, when player/boss Cawthorn fired the Magpies ahead with a well-taken penalty.

Sutton then began to cause their hosts all sorts of problems going forward and soon got a third when a long ball from Ant Melton wasn’t dealt with and ended up in the net off the head of a defender.

Cawthorn said: “The previous week our warm up was absolutely terrible, but this week seemed the opposite.

“We looked very good – but we started the first ten minutes looking very sluggish and slow.

“We were getting hit on the counter attack and couldn’t seem to string three passes together.

“But, after that, I felt we were coming into the game strongly and we started to take control in the second half.

“The back four stood firm and our midfield four were superb. Special mention to Billy Radeloff, who was by far our best player. He was superb and played with effort and determination.

“On paper this was a tricky tie, I keep going on about the lads’ characters but it’s shining through now. We made a lot of changes over the summer and maybe took time to gel. But we’re getting it now.

“I’m still looking at bringing in a couple of new faces to keep the squad competitive, but I’m a happy gaffer at the minute.

“We’re slowly going about our business, playing catch up for our poor start.”

Sutton: Taylor, Ramm, Brandon, Melton, Bennett, Radeloff, W Oliver, Narducci, Ward, M Oliver, Cawthorn. Subs used: Nicholson, Nyang. Not used: Woolmore. Att: 25.