Lichfield are by far and away the division's highest scorers, and so the last thing that was wanted was for the 8s' season long tendency to gift their opponents a soft goal to continue. That's precisely what happened, however, as a Sutton player unnecessarily diverted a weak shot into our net, following the equally unnecessary conceding of a short corner. That proved to be the catalyst for the 8ths ' awakening, and within minutes Steve Elliott smashed the ball home with an angled drive. Sutton were now pouring forward at every opportunity, including guest centre back, Ian Nicholls, who hobbled all over the pitch to great effect, including slotting home smartly from a short corner. Elliott then rounded off a commanding first half team display, with his second and Sutton's 3rd.
The talk at half time was that we must not let our free scoring opponents back into the game, and somebody must have been listening, because within minutes of the restart, smart work down the right by Sam Allcock and Mark Bannister created the opportunity for Torin Bird to sweep the ball home with great aplomb. Incessant waves of Sutton attacking followed, and it was no surprise when Elliott grabbed his second hat trick in 3 appearances.
So, the new regime inherits a very healthy situation, with 8ths lying in second place, only 3 points behind the leaders, and unbeaten in all of the 8 games played so far this season.