New signings Luke Adams, Callum Flynn, James White and Rory Salter started the game alongside the returning Charlie Clover, Danny Lear and Ryan Styles, all of whom missed last week’s game against Lingfield.

Early on, Lewisham showed they were up for the contest with some sharp movement and committed tackles. However, they were restricted to long range efforts which were either well-dealt with by Matt Bailey, or flew harmlessly wide of the goal. Callum Flynn was lively from the off - winning headers, cutting inside from the right flank, and offering a constant threat going forward. Charlie Clover was back showing glimpses of his attacking talent - one of the best moves of the first half began with Styles running back to cover, sliding to win the ball before moving it into midfield where it was threaded through to Clover. Bearing down on goal, he perhaps tried to take it past one too many defenders and the chance was gone.

The deadlock was broken when Danny Lear controlled a through ball from Flynn expertly on his chest before being taken down in the box. A penalty was awarded and Luke Adams dispatched it straight down the middle. Callum Flynn continued to impress - some excellent skill and a flick enabled him to cross but Lear’s header was saved. It was soon 2-0 to the Rustics when the Lewisham keeper threw the ball out, only to see it intercepted by the head of Flynn. Danny Lear turned and ran towards goal but again was taken down, this time by the goalkeeper, for another penalty. Luke Adams stepped up again, and scored again, this time right in the corner leaving the keeper with no chance.

Steven Ikpeme, excelling in a midfield role alongside Tommy Lawrence, showed all afternoon that he can control a game with calm authority, receiving the ball and advancing it without fuss or error. Following one smooth turn and pass, the ball fell to Danny Lear again - this time, he was able to get his shot away but it rolled wide. Soon after, Lear made the defender regret keeping the ball in play as he pinched it away and drove inside. Despite being brought down again, this time the referee decided it was not a penalty. The first half ended with a tackle on the edge of the area from Jake Hampson who had impressed throughout with a strong performance.
The second half saw Jimmy Anderson make several changes and players moving to different positions - all good pre-season experience, but it perhaps led to a slightly more disjointed performance from the men in green and white.

Danny Lear made it 3-0 with a calm finish from a ball played through following good work from Tommy Lawrence - so well-placed was his shot, the keeper didn’t even bother to attempt a save. The main threat now came from crowd favourite, Reuel Powell-Downey who demonstrated his usual desire to run at defenders and went close from range on a number of occasions. Twice he hit the woodwork- the first after showing good strength to shove off the attentions of a covering defender, and the second a dipping, swerving shot from distance which the crowd thought was in.

James White showed he's not just a quality defender with a run down the left, linking with Daniel Kommu and nutmegging the right-back in front of the delighted home crowd!

Within 5 minutes, the game changed as Lewisham found themselves back in the game at 3-2 following goals from uncharacteristic mistakes at the back - one short back-pass and a slightly misjudged tackle in the box offered Lewisham hope but ultimately, Rusthall were able to see the game out. It was great to see the new signings already gelling so well and how, despite conceding two quick goals, Rusthall heads never dropped.

Another good workout for the Rustics - on to the next one, on Tuesday evening against Faversham Town.

UP NEXT: FAVERSHAM TOWN (H) 7.45PM

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