After a hesitant first half Sutton secured an encouraging second half victory to keep their season alive with a satisfying 24-15 win over close league rivals Longton.

In a hard fought, evenly matched contest, with victory key to the aspirations of both clubs, each team scored 3 tries but Sutton's fly half Alex White proved to be the match winner with his 3 conversions and a perfectly executed drop goal in the closing minutes producing the match winning margin of 9 points and a man of the match performance.

In a frustrating first half once again Sutton failed to take their chances and it was only the visitors who troubled the score keeper in the first 30 minutes with 2 tries for a 10-0 lead going into the break. The first Longton try came after 5 minutes when 2nd row Peter Wilshaw peeled off a driving maul following a catch and drive from a lineout in the Sutton 22, to score in the right corner and then on 30 minutes, flanker Joe Clowes made a break down the right wing after stealing the ball on a turnover, to feed winger Siupeli Vaipulu, who raced into the right corner for Longton's second try.

Although the Sutton pack dominated in the scrum's and performed well in the lineout gaining good possession, in the first 40 minutes Sutton's open play lacked fluency and consistency, with simple handling errors and infringements across the piece causing turnovers and lost possession but the second half saw a transformation and the Sutton open play came good, with all the second half points scored by the backs.

The Sutton recovery started 5 minutes after the restart when inside centre Tom McNamee showed his fine form with another weaving run to the try line beating defenders in the Longton 22 to score to the left of the posts and Alex White added the conversion to close the score line to 7-10. However, in spite of increased positivity by Sutton their recovery stalled briefly mid-way through the second period when Longton scrum half Lee Brogen scored following a turnover just 10 metres from the Sutton try line to leave Sutton trailing 15-7 with 20 minutes to play! But Sutton were undaunted and their belief and new found positivity brought just reward when a trademark break by skipper Fraser Tait in midfield was supported by winger Nathan Burchell and a perfect pass sent the flying winger racing in from 25 metres for an excellent try under the posts. Alex White slotted the simple conversion to bring Sutton to within 1 point with 12 minutes to play setting up a tense finale... and it was Sutton who had the nerve and discipline to step up their game against their tiring opponents and apply sustained pressure, which led to a dropped ball on the Longton 10 metre line as the visitors tried to run the ball out of defence. Sutton centre Jonny Raistrick was quick to react as he pounced to kick the ball on and he raced into the Longton 22 in hot pursuit of the bouncing ball. With desperate defenders closing in and the ball bouncing awkwardly, instead of attempting to gather the ball and risking a knock-on, the centre skilfully prodded the ball forward and dived to ground the ball over the try line to give Sutton a 19-15 lead, which was extended to 21-15 by Alex White with just 8 minutes left to play.

Although Longton fought back keenly to rest the game from their hosts, Sutton stood strong and a perfectly executed drop goal by Alex White in the Longton 22 gave Sutton a 9 point cushion going into final 5 minutes and the home side played out the final minutes without mishap to record an excellent and important victory to mark the mid point of a mixed season for the Sutton side.

The other good news for all at Sutton is that Sean Harrison has made a remarkable recovery from the neck injury sustained in the previous game against league leaders South Leicester and the broken bones in his neck have stabilised allowing him to walk freely and without restraint but playing is out of the question for now and perhaps this incident may mark Sean's retirement from the game allowing him to turn his attention to a non playing role at the club.

With Sean's notable absence, the pack was reorganised once again allowing Simon Millard to add his considerable presence to the second row as a new partner for Max Heppner and with the timely return of Harry Pendleton to the front row alongside the established pairing of Jamie Scott at hooker and Liam Hills at prop, the Sutton front five took on a new look but were clearly up to the task against a powerful opposition.

The back row line-up for this critical game continued as in previous games with Marcus Harewood restored to blindside flanker after his brief globetrotting trip to the West Indies to play in the sunshine with Barbados, alongside the outstanding Luke Stewart at 7 and inspirational skipper Fraser Tait at 8... but Sutton had to change their half backs due to availability, with Josh Rolls moving from his more familiar position of fly-half to scrum-half and Alex White moving from inside centre to take his place at fly-half. Both players adjusted well to their new roles with Josh Rolls playing a vital part in the win in both attack and defence and Alex White had an excellent game in the pivotal role of fly half providing good distribution to the backs and kicking the points that separated the two teams.

Encouraged by their home victory last weekend, this weekend Sutton welcome 2nd place Nuneaton to the RSG, Walmley Road to start the second part of the season with the return leg of fixtures and Sutton will be seeking to reverse the defeat they suffered in the away fixture at Nuneaton in what should be an entertaining contest before the Christmas break. KO 2.15 pm