With Charlie Turner also acting as captain in the first half, Regent lined up with Smith-Walter, Bennett, Marvell and Fraser-Robinson in front of him at the back; Gilbert, Durling and McDonald in midfield and Booth, Byrne-Hewitt and Blackwell up front.

Sudbury kicked off and immediately showed that they were going to be a much tougher opposition. They dominated the first ten minutes and Kyelan Marvell had to “take one for the team” when he got a yellow card for bringing down a Sudbury player who was about to break through the Regent defence.

When Regent did get forward Sudbury were determined to keep their goal secure and prevented attempts by Smith-Walter and Blackwell getting near the ‘keeper. Then, after 20 minutes, when Tom Blackwell did get a good cross in it went across the face of the goal with nobody on hand to get a head on it.

The rest of the half was very even with a good Sudbury chance being palmed over the bar by Turner and a curling attempt by Tom Blackwell which was heading for the top corner being athletically tuned round by the Sudbury ‘keeper.

In the final five minutes Regent pressed on and Byrne-Hunt got one opportunity before Blackwell saw a good attempt saved as the first half drew to a close.

Khris Oti and Pip Boyland came on at the start of the second half to replace Byrne-Hunt and Marvell.

Sudbury started the second half as brightly as they had the first and soon won a corner on the ir right hand side. A good deep corner kick was headed firmly down and past Turner for Sudbury to take a lead they had been threatening from the start.

Regent pressed for an equaliser and brought on another four substitutes welcoming back Finn O’Reilly who came on at right back as well as Joe Heron, Jordan Barnett and James Crisell.

Sudbury were more determined to protect their lead and Regent were limited to a series of half chances. The best of these saw Joe Heron put in a good ball to Tom Blackwell in the penalty area but for once he was unable to control the ball and the opening disappeared.

As the game went on Regent increasingly took chances at the back and, at one point, Turner left his goal area to clear a ball near the corner flag. Rather than booting the ball out of the ground he elected to play it forward, only to play it straight to a Sudbury player who had a clear chance at an undefended goal, but failed to hit the target.

With five minutes to go someone tried a long shot from distance and the ball skidded through on the wet surface. The ‘keeper spilled the ball and James Crisell pounced on the loose ball to even things up.

Home spectators breathed a sigh of relief and assumed that all that would be necessary was for Regent to hold out for a final few minutes to end up with what would be a fair result for both sides.

But it was not to be. Regent had been playing the ball out from the back all game, and a routine clearance fell short of its intended recipient so that a Sudbury player could put away the easiest of opportunities to seal the win.

Match Verdict

In spite of a slightly undeserved result Regent continued their recent approach of playing the ball along the ground and relying on pace and passing to create opportunities. There were several good performances with Kyelan Marvell getting plenty of forward passes in to Cadell Fraser-Robinson and Tom Blackwell in the first half and James Crisell continuing his habit of scoring vital goals in the second.

Unfortunately rising Covid rates in Kent and parts of Essex closer to London make it unlikely that League football is likely to resume anytime soon so Regent will be limited to developing their approach in further friendly matches for the foreseeable future.

By Paul Ketchley