Young Bulls beaten, teenager Sutcliffe praised following fan’s collapse

Young Bulls beaten, teenager Sutcliffe praised following fan’s collapse

The Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup tie was in the balance at two apiece with 30 minutes to play, Sol Solomon scoring a sublime effort directly from a corner to level proceedings, after Robert Martins-Figueira had given the visitors an early lead.

But, after substitute Olly Rivers was booked twice in ten minutes to reduce the Bulls to ten men, it was always going to be a tough ask against a streetwise, experienced Colliers side.

The second half had barely got going before players from both sides frantically waved to both benches, after the collapse of a supporter behind the Bulls goal.

Jersey centre-half Sam Sutcliffe immediately grasped the potential gravity of the situation, racing over to the clubhouse to ask if there was anyone in the crowd with medical experience, and to get hold of a defibrillator.

With the help of a Bulls supporter and staff from both teams, the prone spectator was ably supported until professional help arrived and there was relief all round the ground when he walked into the back of the ambulance of his own accord.

‘The break played no part in how we performed in the latter part of the game,’ said Bulls U23s coach Paul Renton. ‘We just hope that the supporter is OK and that he makes a full recovery.’

The Bulls were hampered more by the sending off of Rivers, for two clumsy errors.

However, as he so often has this year, Solomon delivered a moment of genius, curling in a terrific strike to get his side level and set up what should have been a grandstand finale.

Sadly for Renton and his charges, there wasn’t quite enough left in the tank and an increasingly confident Colliers Wood took control.

‘The biggest takeaway for me was that we probably tried to play in the wrong areas at times, and when you are playing a team with know-how at this level, they will make you pay,’ said Renton.

Full report in Friday’s JEP.

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