Sutton & Banstead Vets Football Club

A brilliant send off for the 2024/25 season awards night at the California Pub in Bellmont! Thanks for all those that have contributed to an amazing season!

Congratulations to Barry Paraskevas on the most improved Player award for Sutton & Banstead Vets Football Club!

Congratulations to ‘Hollywood’ Dave Stevens on Top Goalscorer and Goal of the season awards with 21 Goals this season for Sutton & Banstead Vets Football Club!

Congratulations to James Davis for the Save of the Season award for Sutton & Banstead Vets Football Club!

Congratulations to Mario De Sousa on the Player of the Tour award for Sutton & Banstead Vets Football Club!

Congratulations to Joel Clarke on the Player’s player award for the season!

Congratulations to Andrew Renouf for our Manager’s Player of the season!

Fabulous tour in Playa Del Albir in Spain. More pics and match report to come..

Match report
Sutton & Banstead V Ashtead Vets 13/04/2025
Venue – Tattenham Rec
Result - 5-4 Win

Goodbye Tattenham Rec! - as our last game it was only right we signed off with a victory. To say the pitch is hallowed would be an overstatement / straight up lie. What greeted us this week was the bobble. We've seen it all, frost, mud and even a pile of ....

Todays opponents, Ashtead we not a familiar one so it made a welcome change to play a different team. With the Easter pending and half term in full flight we were missing a few familiar faces so opted for a 3-5-2 formation. Luke and Colm returning from prior cameos earlier in the season. On a reasonably warm morning fitness would be key. Offensively we started well creating space, Joel, Mark and Dave given license to express themselves with Steve and Simon providing cover to the back 3. Wing backs, at Vets level is a tough ask so essentially it becomes a flat back 3, a holder and a 4/5 man midfield depending on if the holder is disciplined.

With long balls floating over the midfield via the wind the battle between the back 3 and the lone Ashtead forward had begun. Lee and said striker swapping insults as well as trying to swap knee caps in the same breath.

As the game mellowed a little it was one of these long lofted balls that caught us upfield and as their striker bore down on goal, going a little wide, he crossed the ball for his teammate to stab home however Lee had other ideas making a miraculous run back towards his own goal with his hands at his chest the ball struck them and Gary gave the penalty which was pretty harsh.
Up stepped there cheeky ( insert description ) striker to power home right in the middle of the net. One nil and a little against the run of play.
One nil soon became 2, again the same striker getting the better of our defense.
After a scrappy spell of play we started to move the ball better although there were quite a few uncharacteristic miss controls and mislaid passes. The communication between the team was to get the ball up and over a little bit more directly which we started to do. The foxes then won a penalty towards the end of the half for an off the ball incident with Sam chasing down a stray ball. After a small fracas with their left back it was Joel that stepped up and stroked home smoothly (that sounded weird).

Going in at half time 2-1 down wasn't the worst outcome, to be still in the game was the most important thing given we had the wind now on our side and also the slight gradient on the pitch (you know that hollowed turf I mentioned earlier).

We adopted to go a bit more direct and it worked a treat and within the space of 20 minutes we were 5/2 up!
Our equalizer coming after a short goalkeeper kick from the opposition into a defender who tried to clear the ball but mark anticipated this expertly by trapping the ball with his face, this allowed him the space for a shot on the half folly which squirmed in between and the goalie and the post for2-2!
2 quickly became 3, a lovely move saw Dave slot from an acute angle and we were up as were our bushy foxy tails.
A few minutes later Hollywood Dave got another, collecting a cute reverse from Luke and slicing across the ball , very deliberately and into the far side of the net from 25 yards out. Bang.
A cracking strike and maybe goal of the day, or was it? Our fifth was a brilliant passing move started off by Simon winning a colossus header in the midfield. This fell to Luke who played it into Dave, he played it into Mark who reversed It into Joel and bearing down on goal he unselfishly played it across for Luke who had continued his run to stab into an empty net. Awesome and perhaps my favorite goal this season based purely on the passing, movement and teamwork.

What should have been a pretty comfortable win especially after a few missed chances, notably Steve deciding to cross/ try and take Dave's head clean off his shoulders with a drilled pass when he should have shot turned into a bit of a frantic ending and an unnecessary scrap after conceding another penalty, which, you guessed it was from another Lee handball. The burly striker got his third and 4th of the game but with a few minutes to go we held on.

Notable highlights;
Luke and Colm returning
Marks Cameo
Geoff (turtle bum - enough said) and Mario for stepping in a keeping net, or was it Lee?
The rocket and his 'lets not be complacent” mantra
Joels rainbow flick (obvs)

Match report
Sutton & Banstead V Chelsham 16/03/2025
Venue – Tattenham Rec
Result - 3-2 Win

Apologies to our fans first and foremost. With a report lacking for the past month (3 games) this week saw our chief football writer return to the fold. To be honest there's not been allot to write home about, bad pitches, rain and 3 losses on the bounce 🙁

This week saw our 8th fixture of the year and a return to winning ways! One things for sure with the mighty foxes, we go all in and either lose or Win. We don't believe in boring draws!

As the weather improves there's hope the surfaces we grace will be a little more akin to the sort of football we want to play. This week we counted at least a few hundred blades of the green stuff!

Although based on recent performances the mood before the game could have been downbeat there was a confidence in the changing room. There's always a positivity around the group and a genuine feeling of togetherness. Fairplay to everyone for creating that environment.

With 2 impressive games under his belt already Tarus in net decided he'd turned up again and dare we whisper it.....we may have found a good'en! An ex Volleyball player to boot .....( or, er hand?) !!!

As sunlight (yes sun!) shone down it was Barrys bootcamp that got us warmed up also. Lee, hobbling around due to an injury (I'd hate to know how many other guys hobble around permanently due to injuries Lees administered) gave us the teamsheet. A strong backline of Chris, Dave, Stu and Barry sat behind Mario on the right, Dirren on the left and Joel and Steve in the middle. Sam and Taiye, sporting a dashing snood got the nod to start up top.

As the game got underway it was clear both teams had the same idea, enjoy the surface and keep the ball down on the deck. The early passages saw lots of neat moves but at times the option to go long, perhaps neglected a little. With a few bobbles here and there both sides were probably guilty of over playing at times. The idea from the Foxes was to be compact and allow Joel the middle of the park to express himself. With Steve returning and not fully fit we were a little too open and unable to cover the spaces. Dave however, stepping up to be a ball playing CB. There were give an goes a plenty but both teams struggled to break the lines and the odd 20/25 yard pot shot were all that got the fans off their seats. Frank and the returning Andy there, having brought a ticket.

Mid-way though the first half Steve found Joel in the middle, he turned and delayed a pass into Taiye, now snood-less and warm, he delayed his run perfectly and off he went. Powering down on goal and with Sam in the middle as an option he shot low and true into the bottom left corner, great finish and two in two. Nice move the Foxes although slightly against the run of play!

Chelsham had their first half chances but if they beat the defence, they could not beat Tarus. The bearded wonder providing a great signing/friend of young Sam. One weapon we could not get to grips with was their long throw, a rocket launcher, Delap like in its trajectory and delivered, every time to the near post. It was indeed this move that saw the equaliser, a scrappy finish but a good ploy nevertheless.

With a few tweaks, Geoff coming on to replace Taiye and a shuffle of the pack positionally it was the foxes that grabbed the lead again. A throw from Chris, into Joel who spun, deep in the Chelsham box and played the ball back for Mario to clip in. Missing Sam who attracted his marker with him, this left space for Geoff to compose himself and hit a shot back across goal and low into the corner, 1st touch Geoffrey!

As the first half played out it felt like the game could have easily been a draw at half-time but in we went a goal up. A tweak again, Mario having a breather (and a ciggy) and off we went with Ron on the right. In. recent weeks we've fell into the trap of dropping too deep and over playing, perhaps its a phycological thing, not wanting to lose but when you invite pressure this carries a risk. On reflection and in reality we think it was a combo of fatigue and Chelsham bringing on a few more of their combinative CM's in a quest to over run us in the middle. With Dirren now in there this provided the legs and a press from the middle. Brilliant game in there showcasing he can play anywhere across the midfield.

With chances scarce it was our opponents that looked the more dangerous. Going close with a freekick pushed over by Tarus and then seeing an effort clip the bar. Tarus then decided he'd turn provider and launched a hopeful, albeit log kick which Sam chased down. A cute little shoulder/nudge caused havoc in the backline and with the keeper advancing/panicking Sam lofted the ball up and over him and high into the net with the ball bouncing just under the bar. Brilliant and just the sort of luck he deserved. 3-1 should have been 4-1. Cute passes from Joel, firstly a lovely faint and reverse into Sam and then Ron saw the keeper make decent saves. Perhaps the better option on the Ron pass was to go it alone as the angle narrowed. Mr hindsight huh.

With the game fizzling out and a win in sight a late scare. A corner, brilliantly met by this weeks MVP, Dave was returned with purpose, on the volley by a Chelsham sub and into the net. An unreal finish, a real peach of an effort.

A few more pop shots later and Gary finally blew his whistle for the Sutton win. A good game played in good spirits.

Notable highlights;
Dave claiming he'd never been given a freekick from Gary the ref in all his career (lol)
Ben sporting a wonderful pair of orange boots that had the opponents reaching for the suncream
The sniper was back this week, hiding in the trees and taking out the Rocket
Talk in the changing room of Taiye's new business venture - turns out he's turned his ample back on a lucrative career in Finance and gone into the personalised water bottle market!