Scorers: Harry 2, Coe, Omo

Matchday squad

  • Dave Smith
  • Jon Kent
  • Trevor Huggins
  • Carl Naylor
  • Peter Markham
  • Keri Ryan
  • Alan Coe
  • Dave Harry
  • Dave Gardner
  • Oscar Omo
  • Luis Silva
  • Warren Arlow
  • Nigel Sprunt
  • Ricky Evelyn

Talk about a game of two halves. Tiffs went into this fixture fancying their chances, their tails up after a point away from home last week and more potential goal threat than we sometimes have at our disposal.

But heady dreams of three points looked desperately misplaced after the first 45, when Tiffs failed to get a foothold in the game and trailed 2-0.

A wind assisted Sutts looked irresistible, every ball played forward coming straight back at the defence, the midfield of Oscar and Dave G unable to prevent the red and white tide.

Sutton had the upper hand – as you’ll appreciate, if you have the gist of the story so far.

But they needed a set piece to open the scoring, the ball played invitingly into the six yard box from a corner, and boom, 0-1.

It looked like staying that way, but a diagonal ball over the top in the 45th minute gave the striker the chance to shoot from the edge of the penalty area. Dave in goal could only parry it and Sutts were first to the rebound.

Tiffs had made one gilt-edged chance, a great cross from the left setting up our striker from close range, but it fizzed across him before he could plant a size 11 on it, and the opportunity was gone.

The second half was a different story, a complete role reversal. It wasn’t like it was blowing a gale, but the tailwind suddenly became a headwind and Tiffs game took off.

One of our Daves (we had 3) hit a looping diagonal ball which another arrived to meet in a busy penalty area, and the ball was swept in. 1-2, the comeback was on.

The equaliser arrived thanks to our Harry-Coe combination, which sounds like a variety of bean if you think about it for long enough.

Our opponents had been in the lead, but then Dave Harry – no has bean – stopped to meet Alan Coe’s corner and suddenly we had Sutts on toast.

Then it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the Coe-man. If Alan’s kids had accepted his enticing offer to come to Grists and watch the game from one of our hospitality boxes, they would have seen the following. Instead, they will just have to read, or more likely hear about it.

Thirty yards out, their mini maestro of a dad is lining up a free kick. Everyone is expecting a curler for someone to header the ball goalwards. But Alan has different ideas and hits a thunderbolt which the goalie, suddenly aware of the danger, cannot claw away. It was a great moment, and Put Tiffs ahead with 10 to go.

Concerns that we might fluff it late on we’re put to bed when Nigel Sprunt laid on Oscar for the 4th goal near to the final whistle.

It was Tiffs first league win for a while and, following a draw the previous week, a welcome return to form near the end of the season.