A.F.C. Sudbury welcomed Cheshunt to the Mel Group Stadium with a need to claim some much-needed league points after the club’s excellent showing in the F.A. Cup at the weekend.

     Cheshunt kicked off the match attacking the town end of the ground. The opening action was scrappy and aerial with quality in short supply. The most notable action in the opening ten minutes seeing Sam Clarke, Sudbury’s ebullient captain, floored after a challenge and in obvious pain.  After an attempt at bravely soldiering on, Craig Calver replaced Sam Clarke on fourteen minutes with Clarke exiting to the changing rooms with his arm in a sling.

     The first opening for A.F.C. Sudbury arrived on the quarter-hour. Richard Howell’s right wing cross was volleyed high over the crossbar by Dave Wareham who perhaps had time to simply head towards goal. Cheshunt were creating little attacking football and on eighteen minutes Jordan Lumsden’s free-kick, thirty yards from goal cannoned into the home defensive wall and was easily cleared. Michael Shinn had a shot blocked on twenty minutes after Dave Wareham’s left-wing corner had been partially cleared to the edge of the penalty area. Cheshunt’s Josh Hutchinson found space to cut in from the right, but his shot at Danny Gay was an easy gather for the Sudbury ‘keeper as it rolled kindly through the penalty area..

     On the half-hour Craig Calver looked to have evaded the offside trap from Richard Howell’s cross, but was adjudged to be in an offside position. Calver was again in the action when Robbie Martin chipped the ball into the visitor’s penalty area, but the substitute’s shot was blocked and dribbled through to Daniel Sonner in the Cheshunt goal. Craig Calver looked to be behind Cheshunt lines, but again was adjudged offside despite looking to have timed his run to perfection. The best move of the game thus far came on thirty-seven minutes. Dave Wareham broke with pace on the left wing. His ball to Ashley Sloots was excellently crossed into Richard Howell whose header was brilliantly saved by a leaping Daniel Sonner.

     Steve Adams rose to head a Michael Shinn corner kick towards goal, but again Sonner fell to his left to save well by the foot of his post. Danny Emmanuel looked to be through the Cheshunt lines, but his left wing run was blocked as he entered the penalty area and another Sudbury break was nullified as a tame half closed without goals.

H-T 0-0

     The second period opened with much of the same scrappy aerial football that had so characterised the opening period. Dave Wareham’s left wing run saw Craig Calver shoot high over the visitor’s crossbar on forty-eight minutes from a cross whilst under pressure. Richard Howell headed Michael Shinn’s finely delivered corner over the crossbar on fifty-one minutes as Sudbury continued to search for the opening goal. On fifty-eight minutes a Cheshunt player was tripped and the resultant free-kick by Sam Byles flew miserably high and wide of the target. This was followed a minute later by a Cheshunt corner which went straight out and seemed to sum up the game’s general lack of quality.

     Michael Shinn was booked on the hour for a foul and three minutes later Richard Howell was substituted with James Baker entering the field. A rare Cheshunt attack saw Sam Ruff bearing down on goal with Danny Gay out smartly to claim safely. Ryan Henshaw was booked for a foul and the resultant free-kick was again delivered way off target with Danny Gay able to watch the ball sail harmlessly wide. On seventy-two minutes Sudbury seemed to have created a clear chance with James Baker and Craig Calver clear in the box, but neither player hit the ball which was gratefully cleared by a retreating defence.

     On seventy-six minutes Danny Emmanuel did extremely well to charge along the right wing and beat two defenders. His cross was whipped into Michael Shinn whose shot was blocked for a corner kick. In a further Sudbury attack Dave Wareham’s ball into James Baker saw the Sudbury substitute fail to gain full control, the ball still managing to slip just wide of a beaten Daniel Sonner’s goal. With just eight minutes remaining Matt Thomson’s close-range shot looked set to break home hearts, but Danny Gay dropped to his right to produce a superb save.

     This was a disappointing game, unremarkable as a spectacle with little in the way of real goal chances created by either side. Sudbury entertain Great Wakering Rovers this Saturday in the F.A. Trophy Preliminary Qualifying Round.

F-T 0-0

Richard Whiting