Player/boss Matt Cawthorn dubbed Long Sutton Athletic’s 3-0 ChromaSport PDFL Division One defeat at King’s Cliffe a “horror show”.
A treble from Gary Hayes shot down the Magpies in their penultimate game of the season on Saturday – and to make matters worse, key man Billy Radeloff was sent off late on in the clash.
Cawthorn said: “We were terrible from the warm-up to the final whistle. Sadly, it was a typical lacklustre end-of-season performance.
“It’s hard to criticise at this stage, but only four players can say they gave their all.
“Our final ball let us down in the first half, something I hold my own hands up for.
“The pitch was rock hard, but I’m not sure we can blame that. We looked tired and it seems the long season has taken its toll on the players both mentally and physically.
“We lacked ideas and didn’t match King’s Cliffe, who are a strong and physical side.
“On another sour note, we now lose Billy Radeloff for the first three games of next season. His tackle looked to be a booking at worst.
“Overall it was a bit of a horror show for us.”
Sutton: Scase, Ramm, Brandon, R Ward, Bennett, Narducci, Oliver, M Ward, Cawthorn, Moses, Radeloff. Subs used: Rumsey, Punter.
