8pm 10 December 2021
Leinster Senior League, Senior Division 1B
Mid Sutton Sportslink 1 Usher Celtic 2 (att 27)
I’d expected to have a wide choice of Friday night games in the Leinster Senior League, but a surprisingly thin fixture list and a postponement left this fourth tier match as my highest level new ground.
A caged artificial pitch in a sports complex in Santry, north Dublin, may not be a very interesting venue, but this was a good game for the level.
High-flowing Usher went into the match top of the division having failed to win just two of their 15 league fixtures, while Mid Sutton are in a relegation fight, with a single victory so far.
Usher dominated from the start, and it looked like being a busy night for the Mid Sutton defence. The visitors played some neat football and created plenty of chances, without going ahead.
It was a surprise that we reached the 37th minute without an Usher goal, and an even bigger surprise that after 37 minutes the opening goal was scored by Mid Sutton. It may have been against the run of play, but it was a reward for steadfast defending.
Mid Sutton were never likely to hold out without conceding though. Usher made it 1-1 about 20 minutes into the second half, and got their winner a few minutes later.
It was a deserved win, and it could easily have been by a bigger margin, but Mid Sutton put up a decent fight and there was always an outside chance of a home equaliser.
Mid Sutton Sportslink play at the Sportslink Complex, which has the feel of a facility that was once a company sports ground. There's various facilities, but the football club plays on a floodlit 3G pitch, equipped with dugouts and a wide spectator area running half the length of one side.
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