Ely City 3 Sudbury 1

City suffered their first defeat of the season last week, going down 4-3 at Cambridge City, but enjoyed a welcome return to winning ways on Saturday as they eased to victory over mid-table Sudbury.

The three points sees them remain in second place in Division 2N, ahead of their trip to strugglers Cambirdge Nomads this weekend.

The first half saw two well matched sides pushing for the opening goal, with chances at both ends of the pitch. A fine display of goalkeeping from Neil Dodsworth kept Ely in the game on more that one occasion, with a number of Sudbury shots being parried away by the charismatic keeper.

Ely won a number of short corners in the opening stages, but the Sudbury defence were quick off the mark and denied Ely the chance to convert, the first half eventually finishing goalless.

Shortly after the restart, Chris Purlant broke the deadlock with a deftly struck ball fired from within the melee in the Sudbury D. The visitors were not about to roll over though, and responded by scoring on the break.

The Sudbury goal gave them confidence, but it also marked the turning point in the game as a galvanised Ely side responded by taking control of the game.

The midfield trio of Clarke, Wells and Rutledge worked tirelessly to distribute the ball around the pitch, creating ample opportunities for the forwards to take advantage. Jack Upton was the first to benefit, latching on to the ball as it came across the Sudbury D to guide the ball home. Palmer, Abbas and Radcliffe remained solid in defence and confidently dealt with the attacking moves from the sharp Sudbury forwards. Passing the ball confidently around the pitch, the Ely side kept possession until their chance came, with Chris Vincett finishing sublimely making it 3-1 to Ely.

The home side held their nerve for the remainder of the game despite being reduced to ten men after Rob Radcliffe was unfortunate to be given a yellow card for attempting to take down an aerial ball with only minutes to go.