A huge day in the history of Rusthall FC was crowned with comprehensive victory in the SCEFL Challenge Cup Final- a 4-0 win over Bearsted bringing silverware to Jockey Farm for the first time in 17 years.

Jimmy Anderson, who earlier this season celebrated seven years at the helm, guided his team to glory with a display which demonstrated the best of how he wants his team to play- the Rustics dominated the game with attacking prowess, calm heads under pressure, and devastating finishing to which Bearsted had no answer.

The Rusthall fans flooded Flamingo Park with two coach loads adding to the numbers, and the noise. Vocal throughout the game, the fans bedecked in green and white scarves, hats, flags and shirts tell a story of success off the pitch as well as on it, and they were eager to see what would play out in the final of a competition which had brought some incredible moments already.

The quarter-final tie against Tunbridge Wells will live long in the memory for anyone who was there on that cold, windy evening where the Rustics fought back from 0-2 down to win 4-3. Trailing to Larkfield and New Hythe at half time in the semi-final, it seemed unlikely Rusthall would even get to play in the final at all, but goals from Jack Kirby and Louie Clarke sealed their place and the first question was who would play in goal. With Daniel Moronfolu and Reece Hobbs having shared duties for the first four games of the competition, it was Serine Sanneh who took the gloves for this one and while he performed well- one first-half save was undoubtedly a game-changer, the efforts of Moronfolu and especially Hobbs who has been excellent while Sanneh was out injured, should not be forgotten.

With Thompson Adeyemi, Louis Anderson and Yassin Fares not quite ready for starting places, it was Jeffrey Njuguna who lined up alongside Frank Griffin in the middle with the rest of the side almost picking itself. Josh Reid lined up on the left, with Jack Kirby, Louie Clarke and Charlie Clover mixing it up ahead of him. Jesse Hammond started the game at left-back and began well- unfortunately, a player who has not had much luck with injuries was struck down again and had to be replaced by Louis Anderson who slotted in brilliantly, belying the fact he too has missed much of the season through injury. Bearsted began the game well and could well have taken the lead were it not for Serine Sanneh who was called into action to make a crucial save. A long throw from the right fell to Sam Stace in front of goal- he seemingly had the simple task of stroking the ball home but Sanneh was somehow able to get across and block his shot. Had that gone in, the game may well have been different, but Rusthall were in the mood for winning a trophy and were causing all sorts of problems for the Bearsted backline with Josh Reid tormentor in chief down the left-hand side. The opening goal came from him with Robbie Bissett, imperious at the back all game, playing a defence-splitting pass onto which Reid ran before cutting in and curling a glorious shot past the despairing Fanshawe in goal.

Charlie Clover, Louie Clarke and Reid again all went close to adding to the lead and Rusthall were well on top so, when the teams went in at the break, a 1-0 lead felt the minimum the Rustics deserved, and there was perhaps a slight worry that they may end up rueing missed chances against a side who were more than capable of playing better than they had in the opening 45 minutes.

The first 15 minutes of the second half belonged to Bearsted but while they were able to get on the ball more regularly, they were up against a midfield duo of Frank Griffin and Jeffrey Njuguna who put in a dominant performance of strength, positioning and tackling which allowed them to tidyup when needed and set Rusthall away. On the odd occasion the Bearsted attackers approached the Rusthall box, they found Bissett and Daniel Blunn at their very best- not many get past Blunn and his dominance of Jake Embery proved to be a stumbling block the Bears failed to navigate. Jack Kirby, at his gliding best, went close to finding the second goal having been played through by Charlie Clover- he dodged around Fanshawe and skipped through to add the finish but Jack Palmby was able to rush back and clear the ball away.

On 70 minutes, Rusthall did get the second goal they deserved and once again, it was Reid who scored. Rahman Kareem had demonstrated his defensive ability throughout the game but here, he showed how dangerous he can be when venturing forward. He picked the ball up in his right-back position and travelled diagonally to the left wing before slipping a clever ball through which saw Reid advance beyond Sam Flisher. With work to do, Reid cut in and finished brilliantly- the celebrations with the buoyant Rustic crowd behind the goal were joyous and while it felt like a huge step had been taken towards the trophy, Rusthall knew they would have to remain wary of a comeback.

Within ten minutes, Charlie Clover had rendered any worries worthless as he scored the third- Dan Blunn had seen his centre-back partner assist Reid for the first and didn’t want tolose ground in the G/A statistics so he played a superb ball over the top for Clover to latch on to. Some strikers may have focused on a previous one-on-one opportunity which had been saved in the first half, but not Mr Rusthall, Charlie Clover. There was no way he was going to miss and as the ball was rifled home, he was already on his way to his adoring fans with whom he celebrated as happily as any of them. Bearsted made changes but knew the game was up, especially when they saw Ayodeji Owoeye and Yassin Fares enter the fray. Fares immediately took over from Josh Reid in causing carnage down the left, but it was from the right the fourth goal came. Frank Griffin stole the ball with yet another brilliantly timed intercepting tackle and played Jack Kirby in- there are few better sights than watching Kirby in full flow and it speaks volumes of him as a team player that he chose to roll the ball across rather than to shoot. The ball ended up on the left foot of Louie Clarke- a left foot which had scored in all the previous rounds, a left foot which has terrorised defences all season, and a left foot which drilled the ball home despite the best efforts of the keeper. As the ball rolled in, Rusthall were in dreamland- the final whistle followed shortly and the celebrations continued.

This was a superb win- a day to be treasured by all associated with the club. Richard Smith, Club President, watched on with pride as the trophy was lifted, with Chairman Dean Jacquin quite rightly, if a little hesitantly, taking his place amongst the team for photographs to commemorate a fantastic achievement. The work that has gone in both on and off the pitch is to be applauded- rising from Step 6 to become an established Step 5 side, growing an incredible fanbase who travel in numbers and support in great voice, nurturing a culture where players and fans are in it together- there is much to be proud of for a club very much on the rise and now, with a trophy in the cabinet once again.

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