South Yorkshire Times, December 28.
Picture Book End to Good Showing
Denaby United 4 Sutton Town 3
This was the perfect Christmas present, Denaby second win of the season – but worth waiting for; when they win, they win with a vengeance.
Trailing 31 with half an hour to go, the whole team brought out their best display of the season to pull back a goal, equalise, and then hit the winner 3 min from time.
It was a triumph of teamwork and team spirit. There was no giving up on Saturday when they got behind, and in a second half of almost one-way attacking. They gave a confident Sutton, the shock of their lives.
Sutton had taken the advantage early, and Hough justified his return in the sixth minute with a save, which bordered on the brilliant. Hopkins had lobbed the ball over Wild for Allott to turn on it and hit a shot 3 yards from the line. Hough twisted, got a hand to it, and turned it round the post.
But in the 18th minute, Sutton went ahead through Hopkins, who must have been the coldest man on the field judging by the hanging about he did near the Denaby goal.
Denaby equalise 7 min later – with their first goal since November 23 – Cox racing in to hit a ball which skidded across the Sutton goal.
Dipped into Net.
Sutton went ahead again before half-time, when a shot from Allott, which looked to be going over the bar, dipped into the net and 2 min after half-time, after Wood had almost succeeded in going solo through the Sutton defence, the visitors broke away, Hopkins rounded off a 25 yard run with his second goal.
Then Sutton retreated in the face of the most determined Denaby effort this season. Everyone but Hough became an attacker, and Wharam in particular was the scourge of Turton, making him sprawl full-length two or three times to stop goals.
Sutton held out until the 60th minute, when Williams tried to clear a Denaby shot and deflected it into his own net.
30 min later Wharam bustled his way into the Sutton penalty area and slipped the ball past Turton for Cox to push in the equaliser.
The pressure increased and Denaby kept Sutton on the run to 3 min from time when Harvey sent the meagre crowd wild with an angled shot which crash last Turton. It was a picture book end to a superb Denaby performance.
Team: Hough 9; Whant 9, Bailey 9; Wharam 9, wild 9, Grierson 9; Wood 9 Cox 9, Harvey 9, Jones 9, Roebuck 9.