Hammond double gives Town pre-season win
SFC Sutton United 0 Royston Town 2 Royston made the long trip to Nottinghamshire to take on Central Midlands League Sutton Town and the 250 mile round trip was a worthwhile excercise for Paul Attfield s side. Despite a large number of absentees, Attfie
SFC Sutton United 0
Royston Town 2
Royston made the long trip to Nottinghamshire to take on Central Midlands League Sutton Town and the 250 mile round trip was a worthwhile excercise for Paul Attfield's side.
Despite a large number of absentees, Attfield was able to experiment by rotating 14 players.
Seventeen-year-old defender Chris Mulins, midfielder Taz Chiwongo and former player Jez McMurrough all caught the eye in what was an entertaining and committed affair.
The first half was a tight battle with little space in midfield to create chances. Jorden Gibson made one point blank stop from a close range header and Jez McMurrough had Town's best chance when he raced clear but shot weekly off target.
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The early stages of the second half were dominated by Royston as their better fitness levels took over.
Craig Hammond opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when he raced onto Ricky Young's flicked header to shoot into the corner from 12 yards.
McMurrough and Young both had efforts superbly saved by the home keeper and David Cain had a looping header come back into play off the crossbar.
Both sides had a goal ruled out with a Hammond effort being pulled back for offside and a close range header for AFC Sutton cancelled out for a foul on Gibson.
The hosts' James Senior shot tamely wide when well positioned and Gibson made a parried diving block from a Peter Stubley effort.
But Royston doubled their advantage when a fine move saw Chiwongo released down the right and his early cross was clinically finished by Hammond from 15 yards.
Royston have two friendlies in the next week when they visit Haverhill Rovers on Thursday evening 7.45pm kick off and next Saturday they travel to Norfolk to take on Wroxham of the Ridgeons Premier Division (3pm kick-off).
