Sutton manager John Rains wasnt entirely pleased with his sides performance against Purfleet on the

weekend despite Eddie Akuamoahs goal earning United a hard-fought point.

We were OK, he said, It wasnt one of our better

performances and wasnt one of our worst.

We took the lead and had a good first half but after the break we stopped passing the ball and resorted to playing it long.

Im not sure why they did it, it certainly wasnt an instruction from the bench but then the ball was coming back at us quicker and we were under pressure.

Their equaliser had a slight deflection but in the last ten minutes we began passing again and had a few good chances that we failed to convert.

Former Kingstonian striker Eddie Akuamoah kept up his good run in front of goal as Sutton United continued their improved form which has lifted them away from the bottom of the table.

But a second half goal meant John Rains men were pegged back to a 1-1 draw by a Purfleet side who have lost only three games this season.

Opportunity

Purfleet had the first opportunity after five minutes when Jimmy McFarlane shot wide of the United goal.

Sutton had another let off when Pashley hit the post.

But after 27 minutes the persistence of Suttons big striker Rob Haworth led to the opening goal.

He charged down a clearance by Purfleet goalkeeper Alex OReilly and the ball rolled across the penalty area for Akuamoah to tap into an empty net.

Denied

Sutton nearly made it 2-0 early in the second half when Sam Keebill was denied by an excellent save from home goalkeeper OReilly.

But Purfleet earned a point in the 68th minute when Craig Etherington fired a 25-yarder past keeper Chuck Martini and into the Sutton net.

By.Tony Dolbear