Sutton shaded the game with goals from veteran Neil Grayson and a trademark free kick from Nathan "Reg" Hollingsworth. Mark Carter had made the scores level at half time with a far post header on the end of a Phil Buxton cross.
'The Bulls' without centre halves Chris Timmons, Matt Draper and Steve McGurk were always going to be susceptible to crosses into the box. A quick throw on 30 minutes saw a backwards header from Grayson fool Sheppard to open the scoring. Although Grayson had the benevolent nature of Referee Wayne Gray to thank for the goal as 5 minutes earlier he had raised his arms and thrown a punch at Joe Meehan and managed to stay on the pitch.
'The Bulls' rode their luck and were rewarded when Mark Carter struck before half-time to send the teams in level.
AFC Mansfield dominated the second half but paid the penalty for some sloppy defending from a set piece when Hollingsworth calmly placed his dead ball kick around the wall and past a stranded Dale Sheppard.
All in all a great workout for both sides with just the right amount of competition. 'TheBulls' move on to Wednesday night with a trip to Retford United who play in the Northern Counties East Premier Division. Another stern test for Micky Taylor's men. Kick-Off is 7.45pm.
