Millers look for league form

05 February 2010

AVELEY saw their winless run in the Ryman Premier Division stretch to six games after a 3-2 defeat on their first-ever visit to Sutton.

And manager Rod Stringer will be hoping his side - with only two points taken from a possible 18 - can get back on track when Maidstone and Billericay visit the Mill Field over the next few days.

He said: "They're going to be two tough games, but we've got to go and give it our best shot.

"We go out every game to try and win, we never look just for a draw. A draw can be as bad as a loss sometimes. I'd rather win once than draw three times.

"We're still scoring goals, but we're still leaking goals. I watched Billericay beat Dartford [1-0] and they deserved it, they were the better side.

"We've got to hope we have enough over the next 20 games to stay in the division."

Stringer made five changes to the side which had started against Boreham Wood in midweek, with Martin Tuohy and Junior Dadson dropping to the bench, and saw Sutton go close in the very first minute when Matt Hann's cross drifted beyond the far post.

Sherwin Stanley pounced on a loose ball two minutes later, only for Kevin Scriven to block at his feet, and David Knight was denied by a fine Steve Perkins tackle in the ninth minute.

Millers took the lead moments later as Ryan Doyle's free-kick was only half-cleared by the hosts and Nicky Symons sent a 20-yard volley into the bottom corner.

Sutton were back on terms in the 16th minute when Karim El-Salahi's through ball split John Maskell and Michael Alaile and allowed Charlie Taylor to round Ollie Morris-Sanders and score.

And Millers fell behind two minutes later when Morris-Sanders, attempting a drop kick, saw his standing foot slip from underneath him, gifting James Norwood the chance to score.

Stanley saw a weak effort comfortably saved at the other end on the half hour, while Knight sent a dipping volley just over, then fired narrowly wide from Matt Johnson's pass.

Sutton moved 3-1 up shortly before the break when Francis Quarm beat Morris-Sanders at the second time of asking.

But Aveley gave themselves hope 10 minutes after the restart when Sam Holloway's pass from the left found Che Stadhart, who teed up Knight for a composed finish.

Chances were at a premium for the visitors after that, however, on a pitch which passed a morning inspection but cut up quite badly.

Morris-Sanders saved at his near post to deny Norwood from Sam Gargan's pass, before Stringer made three late substitutions in a bid to salvage something from the game.

Sutton went closest to adding to the score, though, as Norwood won possession from Doyle near the byline and fired against the near post.

Aveley put the disappointment behind them 48 hours later to knock Hornchurch out of the league cup, but Stringer added: "I was quite happy to go through, but the cups are not my priority.

"I would swap our two quarter-finals for a league win at the moment. We played well on the night. It was pretty even for 90 minutes, like the previous two games, but we deserved it."

Aveley: Morris-Sanders, Doyle, Holloway, Symons, Alaile, Maskell (Tuohy 83), Quinton (Edgar 77), Johnson, Stanley (Dadson 77), Stadhart, Knight.