After the euphoria of the previous week’s destruction of Wealdstone, Sutton’s week of being brought back down to earth continued on Saturday when a spectacular goal from Wayne Gray consigned them to defeat.

After a dour first 45 minutes, the second half proved a much livelier affair and swung from end to end, and U’s will feel that they were worth a point with Darren Behcet forced in to action more than Kevin Scriven, but Gray’s splendid solo strike, despite the hint of a handball in the build up, was worthy of winning far better games than this.

After an early scare when a shot from Billy Coyne flashed across the face of goal, U’s were relatively untroubled in a first half that provided little of note at either end.

U’s best moment came when James Norwood produced a fine cross from the right but Sonny Cobbs couldn’t match the timing of his run with the accuracy of his header, glancing the ball wide.

Just before the break Steve Perkins was booked for hauling back Duane Jackman after a poor pass from Alan Pouton had left him in trouble, Cobbs having been booked earlier for a foul, but the second half saw more in the way of goalmouth activity with not a great deal to choose between the sides.

Hornchurch had the ball in the net following a corner, but referee Ryan Atkin ruled that Scriven had been fouled, and moments later Gray, at full stretch, failed to keep down a header from Jackman’s cross.

U’s made a double change, bringing on James Hawes and Jerson Dos Santos, and the move almost paid dividends immediately as Hawes and Norwood combined well in a left wing attack that saw Norwood’s cross scrambled away for a corner, which Perkins then met with a looping header which was destined for the corner of the net until the intervention of Coyne by the post, and Cobbs’ follow up shot was blocked.

Moments later Sam Gargan drilled in a free kick which came back quite a long way off Behcet’s chest but Hornchurch cleared the danger. Billy Hawes was then booked for a foul on Michael Spencer, before the decisive moment in the 66th minute.

Spencer controlled a headed clearance from his defence amid claims for handball, and then played the ball forward to Gray, who attacked from just inside the Sutton half, cut in from the left and let fly from thirty yards to send the ball crashing in to the net off the underside of the bar with Scriven groping at thin air. Gray might have scored a second six minutes later, meeting a low cross from the right at the near post but this time unable to beat U’s keeper.

U’s threw Steve Watts on in an effort to rescue a draw, and could not be faulted for their efforts in the last ten minutes as the home side were forced in to at times desperate defence. Alan Bray had a shot deflected just wide after one goalmouth scramble, and then after an incisive run from Norwood had been ended illegally 25 yards out, Watts curled in a superb free kick which was clawed away by Behcet diving to his left.

From the resulting corner the ball fell to Cobbs, whose shot was goalbound until blocked by Andy Tomlinson, who knew little about it, and falling harmlessly in to Behcet’s hands, summing up Sutton’s afternoon.

Sutton: K Scriven, B Hawes, A Bray, S McKimm (sub S Watts 68), J Goodliffe, S Perkins, C Taylor (sub J Dos Santos 56), A Pouton (sub J Hawes 56), S Gargan, J Norwood, S Cobbs. Subs n/u D Phillips, K El-Salahi. Booked: Cobbs(27-foul), Perkins(44-foul), B Hawes(63-foul).

AFC Hornchurch: D Behcet, B Coyne, A Tomlinson, M Goodfellow, E Styles, J Dormer, J Hunt, M Janney(sub R Fletcher 84), D Jackman, W Gray(sub B Boyce 82), M Spencer. Subs n/u P Shave, K Lee, M Stuart-Evans. Goal: Gray(66).