Matt Gray ‘delighted’ with Sutton’s EFL progress after win at Tranmere

Matt Gray said he is “delighted” with Sutton’s progress in the English Football League after a 1-0 win away at Tranmere boosted their promotion ambitions.

United grew into the fixture, with Will Randall striking a post at the end of the first half, and their momentum was not halted by the interval as Coby Rowe nearly broke the deadlock if not for Peter Clarke’s vital goal-line intervention.

However, veteran defender Clarke went from hero to zero for Tranmere when the hounding Isaac Olaofe punished his indecision before converting what proved to be the winner in the 71st minute.

Sutton remained resolute despite a late onslaught to secure a victory which lifts them to eighth in League Two and three points beneath the automatic promotion spots.

An elated Gray said: “We’ve shown what we’re like going forward with our pace, energy and quality, but we also showed how well-organised we are. We were fit, strong and put our bodies on the line to defend in the latter stages.

“When you come to a place like this with a great set of supporters, a very experienced manager and a very good side and you find yourself 1-0 up, you’ve got to manage the game right and we certainly did that today.

“I’m really enjoying the EFL so far, we’ve equipped ourselves really well and I’m absolutely delighted with where we’re at.

“We’ve got to keep improving; I’m improving, my staff are improving, the club and everything is improving.

“We’re trying to catch up to being a League Two club as quick as we can but the biggest thing that’s certainly in place is what’s going on on the pitch at the moment.”

Despite the best efforts of Callum McManaman, Paul Glatzel and Elliott Nevitt, the hosts were resigned to a fourth league game without a win as they slipped down to 12th.

Tranmere boss Micky Mellon said: “The type of game it was in terms of throw-ins, free-kicks and time-wasting, is something that you’ve got to be competitive with and deal with that.

“We needed to show more quality and we gave away a horror goal which at the time we were probably in the ascendancy.

“You can’t really legislate for that type of goal. Peter’s absolutely gutted and he’s helped us out many times before, but if we’re speaking about this game in isolation, then you can stand here now and say that was the defining moment.

“I’m as disappointed as every fan but I’ve got to be resilient and go again, as will the players.

“It’s my job to come in on Monday and work forward from the lessons learned from today.

“There’s nothing I can do now about the last result and the last performance other than take it back onto the training pitch.”