AFC Sudbury were comprehensively beaten by a team who were quicker, more determined and slicker in front of goal and, had it not been for goalkeeper Marcus Garnham, would have conceded more.
The Sudbury management, for their part, will have to look at their players, and endeavour to regain that killer instinct, especially in front of goal, their team now just three points off the bottom four.
With Aidan Austin absent, Rob Eagle played left-back, while James Baker and recent signing Danny Crow played in attack and there was hope that they would form an understanding in attack. Unfortunately it didn’t work.
Early opportunities from Craig Parker went begging before the visitors got into the game and Garnham pulled off a fine one-handed save to deny Michael Abnett.
A few minutes later, the goalkeeper tipped away a shot from Tom Kavanagh and then did the same to deny Dan Bennett and Shane Cojocarel.
AFC’s Dylan Williams made several good runs with the ball but there was no end-product from the Cambridge United loanee. It was
Baker had a deflected shot that Josh Smith saved in the Merstham goal and then Williams fed Sam Clarke and the Sudbury skipper crossed to the far post where Crow failed to connect.
Goalless at the break, the visitors went ahead within a minute of the restart, former Ipswich Town man Dean McDonald firing home after defender Adam Tann deflected a shot onto the post.
McDonald then forced Garnham into another save, pushing the ball onto the post, before the in-form AFC man stood tall to deny Dan Hector.
With just over 15 minutes the lead was doubled as, from a free-kick at the far post, Marc Okoye prodded the ball home.
Bennett was then allowed time and space to add a third, before he rubbed salt into the hosts’ wounds in stoppage time, grabbing his second and the Surrey side’s fourth.
A bad day at the office. The only ray of hope was that young defender Tyler French performed well enough and came through unscathed to continue his trial this week at Crystal Palace.
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