2021–22 Sutton United F.C. season

Sutton United F.C.
2021–22 season
ChairmanBruce Elliott
ManagerMatt Gray
GroundGander Green Lane
League Two8th
FA CupSecond round
(eliminated by Bristol Rovers)
EFL CupFirst round
(eliminated by Cardiff City)
EFL TrophyRunners-up
(eliminated by Rotherham United)
Top goalscorerLeague: David Ajiboye
Isaac Olaofe
Alistair Smith (8)

All: Isaac Olaofe
Alistair Smith (9)
Highest home attendance4,010 v Bradford City,
30 April 2022
Lowest home attendance770 v Stevenage,
30 November 2021
Average home league attendance3,089
Biggest win4–0 v Carlisle United,
25 September 2021
Biggest defeat1–4 v Leyton Orient,
20 November 2021
1–4 v Bradford City,
30 April 2022
← 2020–21

The 2021–22 Sutton United F.C. season was the 95th edition of competitive association football and first season in the English Football League played by Sutton United Football Club, a professional football club based in Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England. They won, and were therefore promoted from, the National League in 2020–21 to earn entry into the EFL League Two.[1][2] The club contested in this season's edition of the FA Cup; and for the first time, in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. The season ran from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Background

[edit]

The 2020–21 season was Matt Gray's second full season as Sutton United manager, having taken over the role in May 2019. Sutton finished the season as champions of the 2020–21 National League to gain promotion out of non-League football for the first time in the club's 123-year history, and into League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.[2]

As EFL rules require that all matches have to be played on grass surfaces, Sutton began work on tearing up their artificial pitch at Gander Green Lane in order to meet the requirements on 31 May 2020.[3]

Pre-season

[edit]

Sutton United announced they would have friendlies against Brentford XI,[4] Chesham United,[5] Maidstone United,[6] Haringey Borough,[7] Aldershot Town,[4] Dartford[6] and Barnet[8] as part of the club's pre-season preparations.

On 12 July, it was announced the scheduled friendly against Brentford XI was off due to players coming into contact with an individual testing positive for COVID-19, the club confirmed they would travel to face Chesham United instead.[5] On 15 July, the upcoming game against Maidstone United was called off due to a positive COVID-19 test result in the Sutton squad.[9]

13 July 2021 Friendly Sutton United P–P Brentford XI Farnborough
19:45 BST Stadium: Cherrywood Road
Note: Match postponed due to COVID-19 positive result guideline
13 July 2021 Friendly Chesham United 0–2 Sutton United Chesham
19:30 BST Report
Stadium: The Meadow
Attendance: 140
17 July 2021 Friendly Maidstone United P–P Sutton United Maidstone
15:00 BST Stadium: Gallagher Stadium
Note: Match postponed due to COVID-19 positive result guideline
20 July 2021 Friendly Haringey Borough 0–4 Sutton United Tottenham
19:45 BST Report
Stadium: Coles Park
22 July 2021 Friendly Sutton United 6–0 Brighton & Hove Albion U23 Lancing
10:00 BST
Report Stadium: Culver Road
Attendance: 0 (Behind-closed-doors)
24 July 2021 Friendly Sutton United 1–2 Aldershot Town Farnborough
17:00 BST
Report
  • Andrews 59'
  • Whittingham 83' (pen.)
Stadium: Cherrywood Road
Attendance: 269
27 July 2021 Friendly Dartford 3–1 Sutton United Dartford
19:45 BST
Report
  • Kouassi 67'
Stadium: Princes Park
Referee: Tim Robinson
31 July 2021 Friendly Sutton United 2–1 Barnet Farnborough
12:00 BST
Report Stadium: Cherrywood Road

Competitions

[edit]

Overall Record

[edit]
Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
League Two 7 August 2021 7 May 2022 Matchday 1 8th 46 22 10 14 69 53 +16 047.83
FA Cup 6 November 2021 4 December 2021 First round Second round 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00
EFL Cup 10 August 2021 10 August 2021 First round First round 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 000.00
EFL Trophy 31 August 2021 3 April 2022 Group stage Runners-up 8 5 2 1 12 7 +5 062.50
Total 57 28 12 17 85 65 +20 049.12

Last updated: 7 May 2022
Source: Competitions

League Two

[edit]

League table

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
5 Port Vale (O, P) 46 22 12 12 67 46 +21 78 Qualification for League Two play-offs
6 Swindon Town 46 22 11 13 77 54 +23 77
7 Mansfield Town 46 22 11 13 67 52 +15 77
8 Sutton United 46 22 10 14 69 53 +16 76
9 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 12 13 53 40 +13 75
10 Salford City 46 19 13 14 60 46 +14 70
11 Newport County 46 19 12 15 67 58 +9 69
Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[10]
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted


Results summary

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 22 10 14 69 53  +16 76 14 5 4 38 20  +18 8 5 10 31 33  −2

Last updated: 7 May 2022.
Source: [citation needed]

Results by matchday

[edit]
Matchday12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAAAHHHAHAHAHAAHAAHHAAHHAHHAHHHAAHHAAHAAHAHAHHA
ResultLDDLWWLWWWWLLWLWLWWLDWWDWDWDDDLDWWLLDWLWWWLWLW
Position1816212423151814117581069897666335334345555378981010767788
Updated to match(es) played on 7 May 2022. Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]

Sutton's full league fixture were released on 24 June 2021.[11]

7 August 2021 1 Forest Green Rovers 2–1 Sutton United Nailsworth
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: The New Lawn
Attendance: 1,883
Referee: James Bell
14 August 2021 2 Salford City 0–0 Sutton United Salford
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Peninsula Stadium
Attendance: 1,406
Referee: Samuel Barrott
21 August 2021 3 Scunthorpe United 1–1 Sutton United Scunthorpe
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Glanford Park
Attendance: 2,429
Referee: Ross Joyce
28 August 2021 4 Sutton United 1–2 Oldham Athletic Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,262
Referee: Darren Drysdale
11 September 2021 5 Sutton United 2–1 Stevenage Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,427
Referee: Trevor Kettle
14 September 2021 6 Sutton United 1–0 Hartlepool United Sutton
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,484
Referee: Simon Hooper
18 September 2021 7 Exeter City 2–0 Sutton United Exeter
15:00 BST
Report Stadium: St James Park
Attendance: 4,511
Referee: Scott Oldham
25 September 2021 8 Sutton United 4–0 Carlisle United Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,873
Referee: Simon Mather
2 October 2021 9 Northampton Town 0–2 Sutton United Northampton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Sixfields Stadium
Attendance: 4,789
Referee: Rebecca Welch
9 October 2021 10 Sutton United 4–3 Port Vale Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,905
Referee: Declan Bourne
16 October 2021 11 Crawley Town 0–1 Sutton United Crawley
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: The People's Pension Stadium
Attendance: 3,572
Referee: Tom Nield
19 October 2021 12 Sutton United 1–2 Swindon Town Sutton
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,443
Referee: Chris Sarginson
23 October 2021 13 Rochdale 3–2 Sutton United Rochdale
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 2,248
Referee: Paul Howard
26 October 2021 (2021-10-26) 14 Colchester United 1–3 Sutton United Colchester
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: JobServe Community Stadium
Attendance: 3,013
Referee: Bobby Madley
30 October 2021 15 Sutton United 0–1 Walsall Sutton
15:00 BST Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,319
Referee: Carl Boyeson
13 November 2021 16 Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Sutton United Birkenhead
15:00 GMT Report
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 6,452
Referee: Will Finnie
20 November 2021 17 Leyton Orient 4–1 Sutton United Leyton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Breyer Group Stadium
Attendance: 5,840
Referee: Scott Oldham
23 November 2021 18 Sutton United 2–0 Mansfield Town Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,497
Referee: David Rock
27 November 2021 19 Sutton United 1–0 Barrow Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,678
Referee: Brett Huxtable
7 December 2021 20 Newport County 3–2 Sutton United Newport
19:45 GMT Report
Stadium: Rodney Parade
Attendance: 3,368
Referee: Oliver Langford
11 December 2021 21 Bradford City 2–2 Sutton United Bradford
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Utilita Energy Stadium
Attendance: 14,658
Referee: Peter Wright
18 December 2021 22 Sutton United 1–0 Harrogate Town Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,720
Referee: Josh Smith
1 January 2022 23 Sutton United 2–1 Exeter City Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,278
Referee: Alan Young
15 January 2022 24 Stevenage 3–3 Sutton United Stevenage
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Lamex Stadium
Attendance: 2,961
Referee: Paul Howard
18 January 2022 25 Sutton United 3–2 Colchester United Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,542
Referee: Robert Lewis
22 January 2022 26 Sutton United 0–0 Northampton Town Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,588
Referee: John Busby
29 January 2022 27 Carlisle United 0–2 Sutton United Carlisle
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Brunton Park
Attendance: 4,399
Referee: Darren Handley
5 February 2022 28 Sutton United 1–1 Bristol Rovers Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,394
Referee: Bobby Madley
8 February 2022 29 Sutton United 0–0 Salford City Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,491
Referee: Lee Swabey
12 February 2022 30 Sutton United 1–1 Forest Green Rovers Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,314
Referee: James Bell
15 February 2022 31 Bristol Rovers 2–0 Sutton United Horfield
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 6,700
Referee: Christopher Pollard
19 February 2022 32 Hartlepool United 1–1 Sutton United Hartlepool
15:00 GMT Report
Stadium: Suit Direct Stadium
Attendance: 5,487
Referee: Andrew Kitchen
26 February 2022 33 Sutton United 4–1 Scunthorpe United Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,870
Referee: Simon Mather
5 March 2022 34 Sutton United 3–0 Rochdale Sutton
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,874
Referee: Ben Speedie
12 March 2022 35 Walsall 1–0 Sutton United Bescot
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Banks's Stadium
Attendance: 5,801
Referee: Scott Oldham
15 March 2022 36 Swindon Town 2–1 Sutton United Swindon
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: The County Ground
Attendance: 8,243
Referee: Carl Boyeson
19 March 2022 37 Sutton United 1–1 Tranmere Rovers Sutton
15:00 GMT Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,366
Referee: Will Finnie
22 March 2022 38 Oldham Athletic 1–3 Sutton United Oldham
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 4,624
Referee: Marc Edwards
26 March 2022 39 Port Vale 2–0 Sutton United Burslem
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,362
Referee: Martin Coy
9 April 2022 40 Sutton United 1–0 Leyton Orient Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,152
Referee: Robert Lewis
15 April 2022 41 Mansfield Town 2–3 Sutton United Mansfield
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: One Call Stadium
Attendance: 6,134
Referee: Neil Hair
18 April 2022 42 Sutton United 1–0 Newport County Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,447
Referee: Ollie Yates
23 April 2022 43 Barrow 1–0 Sutton United Barrow-in-Furness
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: The Dune Hotel Stadium
Attendance: 3,019
Referee: Ben Toner
26 April 2022 44 Sutton United 3–0 Crawley Town Sutton
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 3,109
Referee: Sam Allison
30 April 2022 45 Sutton United 1–4 Bradford City Sutton
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 4,010
Referee: Declan Bourne
7 May 2022 46 Harrogate Town 0–2 Sutton United Harrogate
15:00 BST Report
Stadium: The EnviroVent Stadium
Attendance: 2,484
Referee: Oliver Langford

FA Cup

[edit]

Sutton United were drawn away to Hayes & Yeading United in the first round.[12]

6 November 2021 First round Hayes & Yeading United 0–1 Sutton United Hayes
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Skyex Stadium
Attendance: 1,201
Referee: Sam Allison
4 December 2021 Second round Bristol Rovers 2–1 Sutton United Horfield
15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 4,456
Referee: Darren Drysdale

EFL Cup

[edit]

U's were drawn away to Cardiff City in the first round.[13][14]

10 August 2021 First round Cardiff City 3–2 Sutton United Cardiff
19:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 3500
Referee: Josh Smith

EFL Trophy

[edit]

United were drawn into the group stages alongside AFC Wimbledon, Crystal Palace U21s and Portsmouth.[15] The group stage fixtures were announced on July 15.[16]

Pos Div Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 L2 Sutton United 3 3 0 0 0 6 0 +6 9 Advance to Round 2
2 L1 Portsmouth 3 1 0 0 2 6 7 −1 3
3 L1 AFC Wimbledon 3 1 0 0 2 5 6 −1 3
4 ACA Crystal Palace U21 3 1 0 0 2 2 6 −4 3
Source: EFL.com
31 August 2021 Group stage Sutton United 3–0 Crystal Palace U21 Sutton
19:30 BST
Report
  • D. Boateng Yellow card 82'
  • Hannam Yellow card 85'
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 1,504
Referee: David Rock
12 October 2021 Group stage Portsmouth 0–2 Sutton United Portsmouth
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Fratton Park
Attendance: 2,490
Referee: Lee Swabey
9 November 2021 Group stage Sutton United 1–0 AFC Wimbledon Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 2,458
Referee: Neil Hair
30 November 2021 Second round Sutton United 0–0
(4–3 p)
Stevenage Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 770
Referee: Sam Purkiss
Penalties
4 January 2022 Third round Sutton United 2–1 Colchester United Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 977
Referee: Charles Breakspear
25 January 2022 Quarter-final Sutton United 1–0 Harrogate Town Sutton
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: Gander Green Lane
Attendance: 1,499
Referee: Christopher Pollard
8 March 2022 Semi-final Wigan Athletic 1–1
(6–7 p)
Sutton United Wigan
19:45 GMT
Report
Stadium: DW Stadium
Attendance: 6,541
Referee: James Bell
Penalties
Note: Live on Sky Sports
3 April 2022 Final Rotherham United 4–2 (a.e.t.) Sutton United London
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 30,688
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Note: Live on Sky Sports

Transfers

[edit]

Transfers in

[edit]
Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
1 July 2021 RB England Joe Kizzi England Bromley Free transfer [17]
1 July 2021 LW England Ricky Korboa England Northampton Town Free transfer [17]
1 July 2021 CM England Alistair Smith England Altrincham Undisclosed [17]
1 July 2021 CF England Donovan Wilson England Bath City Undisclosed [18]
6 July 2021 RW Netherlands Enzio Boldewijn England Notts County Free transfer [19]
9 July 2021 CF England Richie Bennett England Stockport County Free transfer [20]
1 October 2021 GK England Harry Palmer Unattached Free transfer [21]
14 January 2022 GK England Stuart Nelson England Dorking Wanderers Free transfer [22]

Loans in

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref.
31 August 2021 CF England Isaac Olaofe England Millwall End of season [23]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
30 June 2021 AM England Wayne Brown Retired Released [24][25]
30 June 2021 RW Antigua and Barbuda Rhys Browne England Wealdstone Released [24][26]
30 June 2021 CF Australia Callum Kealy England Dorking Wanderers Released [24][27]
30 June 2021 RB England Jude Mason England Merstham Released [24][28]
30 June 2021 LM England Joash Nembhard England Hemel Hempstead Town Released [24][29]
30 June 2021 CB England Bradley Pearce England Welling United Released [24][30]
30 June 2021 RB England Aaron Simpson England Hemel Hempstead Town Released [24][31]
31 October 2021 GK England Harry Palmer England Maidenhead United Released [32]
31 January 2022 CF England Tobi Sho-Silva England Carlisle United Undisclosed [33]

Loans out

[edit]
Start date Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref.
28 August 2021 CM England Adam Lovatt England Tonbridge Angels 26 September 2021 [34]
24 September 2021 CF England Kylian Kouassi England Hampton & Richmond Borough 24 October 2021 [35]
21 October 2021 CM England Adam Lovatt England Tonbridge Angels 14 March 2022 [36]
26 October 2021 CF England Kylian Kouassi England Chesham United 4 March 2022 [37][38][39]
2 November 2021 GK Poland Filip Chalupniczak England Tooting & Mitcham United 1 December 2021 [40]
15 January 2022 GK England Brad House England Carshalton Athletic 31 January 2022 [41]
3 March 2022 DF England Roman Charles-Cook England South Park 31 March 2022 [42]

Squad statistics

[edit]

Appearances

[edit]
As of match played 7 May 2022
No. Pos. Nat. Name EFL League Two EFL Cup EFL Trophy FA Cup Total
Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts
1 GK Australia Dean Bouzanis 44 44 1 1 6 5 2 2 53 52
2 DF England Jonathan Barden 21 18 1 1 3 3 1 1 26 23
3 DF England Ben Wyatt 16 13 0 0 7 6 1 1 24 20
4 DF England Coby Rowe 15 12 1 1 4 3 1 1 21 17
5 DF England Ben Goodliffe 43 43 1 1 7 7 2 2 53 53
6 DF England Louis John 36 36 0 0 6 6 1 1 43 43
7 FW England David Ajiboye 43 42 1 1 4 2 2 2 50 47
8 MF England Kenny Davis 20 12 1 1 4 3 1 1 26 17
9 FW Lebanon Omar Bugiel 39 27 1 1 4 2 2 2 46 32
10 MF England Harry Beautyman 19 12 1 1 3 3 0 0 23 16
11 MF England Will Randall 28 18 0 0 5 5 2 2 35 25
12 GK England Stuart Nelson 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
13 GK England Brad House 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 3
14 MF England Craig Dundas 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
15 MF England Craig Eastmond 31 31 1 1 6 4 1 1 39 37
16 FW England Isaac Olaofe 27 18 0 0 5 2 2 2 34 22
17 FW England Tobi Sho-Silva 7 4 0 0 4 2 1 0 12 6
18 MF England Adam Lovatt 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3
19 FW England Ricky Korboa 14 3 0 0 5 4 1 0 20 7
20 MF Netherlands Enzio Boldewijn 39 27 1 0 7 4 2 0 49 31
22 DF England Joe Kizzi 32 31 0 0 7 7 1 1 40 39
23 GK England Harry Palmer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 DF England Robert Milsom 38 37 1 1 5 2 2 2 46 42
25 FW England Donovan Wilson 38 23 1 1 7 6 2 0 48 30
26 FW England Richie Bennett 38 22 1 0 8 5 1 0 48 27
27 FW England Kylian Kouassi 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
29 MF England Alistair Smith 33 28 1 0 5 4 1 1 40 33
32 GK Poland Filip Chalupniczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 46 1 8 2 57

Goals

[edit]
As of match played 7 May 2022
Rank Pos. No. Player EFL League Two EFL Cup EFL Trophy FA Cup Total
1 FW 16 England Isaac Olaofe 8 0 1 0 9
MF 29 England Alistair Smith 8 0 1 0 9
3 FW 7 England David Ajiboye 8 0 0 0 8
FW 25 England Donovan Wilson 4 1 3 0 8
5 MF 11 England Will Randall 4 0 1 2 7
DF 24 England Robert Milsom 7 0 0 0 7
7 DF 22 England Joe Kizzi 6 0 0 0 6
FW 26 England Richie Bennett 6 0 0 0 6
9 FW 9 Lebanon Omar Bugiel 4 0 0 0 4
10 DF 5 England Ben Goodliffe 3 0 0 0 3
MF 15 England Craig Eastmond 1 0 2 0 3
FW 19 England Ricky Korboa 2 0 1 0 3
13 DF 4 England Coby Rowe 1 1 0 0 2
DF 6 England Louis John 1 0 1 0 2
MF 10 England Harry Beautyman 2 0 0 0 2
MF 20 Netherlands Enzio Boldewijn 2 0 0 0 2
17 MF 8 England Kenny Davis 1 0 0 0 1
FW 17 England Tobi Sho-Silva 0 0 1 0 1
Own goals 1 0 1 0 2
Total 69 2 12 2 85

Assists

[edit]
As of match played 7 May 2022

Rank Pos. No. Player EFL League Two EFL Cup EFL Trophy FA Cup Total
1 DF 24 England Robert Milsom 7 0 0 0 7
FW 25 England Donovan Wilson 4 0 1 2 7
3 FW 7 England David Ajiboye 5 1 0 0 6
MF 20 Netherlands Enzio Boldewijn 5 0 1 0 6
FW 26 England Richie Bennett 5 0 1 0 6
6 FW 9 Lebanon Omar Bugiel 4 0 0 0 4
7 DF 22