Non-League Sutton United proved that all that is needed to beat a Championship side is a synthetic pitch as they progressed with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United.
Their opponents play in the top tier of non-league football. But the Yellows, who are currently floating in mid-table, play on a 3G surface at their Gander Green home.
United’s highest home attendance, coincidentally, came 47 years ago when they hosted Leeds in the Fourth Round back in 1970 – where 14,000 supporters packed the small stadium to see their side beaten 6-0 by a team that would eventually go on to finish second in the First Division and finish runners-up in the national competition.
Since that meeting, however, Gander Green has undergone a number of changes – including the installation of an artificial 3G surface.
Non-League teams are often forced to postpone fixtures due to not being able to afford equipment that so-called “bigger” teams can afford to keep ties on, therefore they opted to invest in an artificial pitch that would allow them to play throughout the winter conditions.
Sutton had only lost three times at home before the draw was made and that form proved it was always going to be a tough task for their Championship opposition.
The likes of Charlie Taylor and Ronaldo Vieira – who progressed through the Leeds youth system – you would hope would be used to the synthetic surface, however it has been a number of years since they played on the turf inside the Whites’ The Barn training centre.
And the difference in playing surface proved to be a large playing factor, as the non-league side triumphed over a team 84 places above them in the football pyramid.
Sutton skipper Jamie Collins, who returned to the game following a two-game suspension for ten yellow cards – netted the winning goal from the spot after Lewis Coyle impeded a Yellows striker.
Things became even worse for the Championship side, as they were reduced to ten-men, when Liam Cooper was shown a second yellow and given his marching orders with just under ten minutes left.
