Sutton Coldfield Town moved ever closer to relegation from the Evo-Stik Premier Division after yet another abject first half display, against Nantwich, resulted in damage they couldn’t recover from, going down 3-1.

The defeat leaves Sutton nine points adrift of safety with only a further twelve to play for. It’s now a matter of when Rather than if the Royals are relegated.

The visitors took only five minutes to breach Sutton’s leaky defence – one that has conceded 100 goals in the league this season – when Sean Cooke’s cross was met by defender Jordan Cole.

Sutton did briefly rally and The Dabbers were thankful that Courtney Wildin cleared a shot off the line.

After Cole had missed a chance to add a second, Nantwich doubled their advantage as a superb cross from Nathan Cottrell’s was headed in by debutant Sam Wakefield.

The hosts were on the ropes now, an all too familiar feeling for Sutton followers this term.

Goalkeeper Jono Brown backpedalled swiftly to beat away a firm drive from Wakefield.

The contest was effectively killed off close to half time when former Northern Ireland international Steve Jones converted after a neat lay off from Cooke.

HT: Sutton Town 0-3 Nantwich

With Sutton knowing that not just the game but their season was all but over they began to find some form and turned the momentum of the match in their favour.

They were given a lifeline when Troy Bourne turned an attempted clearance into his own net.

On 65 minutes, Sutton almost pulled another back but Karl Hawley’s header was disallowed for an offside infringement.
That seemed to kill any hopes of a Sutton fightback as Nantwich regained the ascendancy. A powerful effort from Jones produced a good stop by Brown.

The flat climax to this match reflected a miserable campaign for Sutton that is now 99% certain going to witness Sutton’s three year stay in the seventh tier reach an all too early denouement.

FT: Sutton Town 1-3 Nantwich

Jay B’s Reflections:

• Seven times this season, across all competitions, we’ve conceded five or more in a game. A stat that reflects our inevitable relegation has been primarily determined by slack defending. The elementary mistakes have been so frequent this season that you’d worry about us even at a lower level. Often when teams go down as poorly as we will, the following season can often be a big struggle. Sunderland and Aston Villa are two recent examples of clubs that went down in disarray and struggled the following campaign to make an assault on promotion.

• A number of these capitulations have seen a good chunk of the damage inflicted in kamikaze first halves. Too often we’ve looked sluggish and wasteful in possession, and the turnover of possession has often left Sutton rudderless at the back.

• I stayed behind for about twenty minutes in a reflective but deflated mood about what has been the least enjoyable season I can remember. Even during last year’s struggle, we had the victories over Stourbridge and Blyth to bask in, and didn’t suffer so many hidings. However, I left knowing that I’ll be back next season hoping for an immediate return to a league that hugely boosts our profile as a club.