Sutton Utd fell to a 2-0 defeat at Tamworth in the National League on Wednesday evening. Two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half decided the match at The Lamb Ground, extending Sutton's winless run and leaving them 11th in the standings with 17 points from 11 games.
Keiran Donnelly opened the scoring for the hosts two minutes after the restart, converting after Spike Brits had saved an initial effort from Joe Rye. The lead was doubled five minutes later when a Teo Kurturan corner bounced in off the head of Sutton's Emmanuel Osadebe for an own goal. Besart Topallaj was involved in the key moment for the first goal, later admitting to "winning possession close to the corner flag but then hitting his clearance straight to Joe Rye".
Sutton's preparations were disrupted before kick-off when Charlie Carter limped out of the warm-up. Charlie Bell stepped into the starting squad, and he said he had "stepped up to replace Carter". Both captains, Jake Taylor for Sutton and Tom Parkes for Tamworth, were substituted at half-time after receiving first-half bookings.
Brits made several saves to keep the score down, denying Tom McGlinchey and later Donnelly a second goal. Sutton struggled to create clear chances, failing to force Tamworth goalkeeper Rhys Lovett into a single save all night. A late flurry saw David Ogbonna, playing on his 25th birthday, have a shot cleared off the line. The team's lack of attacking threat is reflected in their recent stats, having won just once in their last five league outings.
The defeat extends a difficult run of form for Sutton, who now travel to face ninth-placed Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday in their next fixtures assignment.
