If Tunbridge Wells fans still insist on referring to Rusthall as ‘Little Sister’, then surely Wells are the slightly weird, single aunty who persists in wearing clothes too young for her, harping on about the time she was ALMOST chosen for X-Factor in 2013, showing off about how popular she is even though everyone knows just how lonely she really is. Tonight’s comeback victory was proof once more, if it were needed, that Rusthall as a club, as a team, in any way you want to view it, are streets ahead of the town team from down the road. In a game the Wells fans, and indeed players, thought they had won after 45 minutes, Rusthall showed their class, and the gulf between the two sides, with a scintillating second half performance which propelled them to the semi-finals of the SCEFL Challenge Cup.

Jimmy Anderson went with a strong line up which included the returning Robbie Bissett, and new signing Finlay Lovatt, as well as the usual attacking foursome of Yassin Fares, Jack Kirby, Louie Clarke and Charlie Clover. Tunbridge Wells mixed thing up a bit from the previous derby which took place only just over three weeks ago-with Trevor McCreadie missing, they were forced to field the ineffective Rhys Bartlett up front, but were able to welcome back captain Rory Ward alongside the impressive Chris Lawal in midfield. Rusthall began fairly brightly but found themselves a goal down against the run of play when D’Armando Lawrence was played through before finishing well past Reece Hobbs in goal. The opener seemed to rock the home side and they fell further behind not long after- a typical long ball hoofed forward was misjudged by Hobbs as the wind took effect and a corner was the result- the in-swinging delivery which followed was nodded home to make it 2-0 and Rusthall were really up against it.

The Tunbridge Wells players had clearly been given instruction to stop Rusthall’s, and the league’s, best player, Yassin Fares by any means possible, which included stamping on him on more than one occasion- the first offence entirely ignored by the referee. Fares was forced to withdraw with Josh Reid, injured by a Wells player last time around, replacing him. Chances were hard to come by in the face of the wind blowing the wrong way and some slightly sloppy passing and spirits were seemingly low as the halftime whistle blew. For the away side, the job seemed to have been done with Wells fans berating Rahman Kareem who seems to have a knack for bothering them- other SCEFL clubs may feel similar which only endears Rusthall’s Number 13 to the passionate home crowd. Kareem, and his teammates, may have felt their time would come as the obvious benefit of playing downhill and the wind behind them would be theirs in the second half, a fact all in red had seemingly failed to grasp as backs were patted and victory speeches were planned.

As it turned out, Tunbridge Wells played more to their usual standard as the second half got underway with the away side completely incapable of dealing with Rusthall’s attacking intent. With Frank Griffin holding station and dictating the game as usual, Finlay Lovatt and Jack Kirby were able to enjoy themselves with intricate passing, close control, and vision which left the Wells players floundering. It was Kirby who halved the deficit just before the hour with a lobbed finish after George Bentley had made a hash of a simple clearance- this was a difficult finish made to look easy by a player of exquisite quality. The game changed immediately and it was nearly 2-2 when Josh Reid hit the bar with another long-distance effort with Bentley once more missing in action.

The Rustic faithful did not have long to wait for an equaliser however, as Finlay Lovatt began to find his passing range with a sumptuous through-ball to Charlie Clover who finished expertly into the far corner first time past a stranded George Bentley. All the momentum was with Rusthall at this stage and two minutes later they were ahead- Charlie Clover wasonce again played through, this time one-on-one with Bentley with the Wells defence nowhere near. Clover waltzed around Bentley, controlled the ball and rolled it home into an empty net. Memories of the comeback last season against Punjab United who were 3-0 up before Rusthall powered back within ten minutes to win 4-3 were stirred and it felt like only one team was going to win.

And so it proved- Louie Clarke made it 4-2 with another superb finish after a perfectly timed run and another ball threaded through the eye of a needle from Finlay Lovatt. Wells looked broken, the dawning realisation that they have nothing to play for except avoiding the drop beginning to take hold. They did manage to score a third late on but even then,they showed little conviction to get an equaliser- this was a team who knew the game was up.

As the final whistle blew, Rusthall were able to celebrate a huge win which takes them to the semi-final while the Tunbridge Wells players could only slink over to their fans to reflect on what could have been had the game ended an hour earlier. No doubt the Rusthall players, particularly those whohad had to listen to the joyous Wells fans at half time, will enjoy their victory this evening- next up, another cup tie against Sutton Athletic on Saturday afternoon, while Tunbridge Wells will be glad of the opportunity to play a game with another away fixture at Stansfeld.

For Little Sister, a joyous night and bragging rights confirmed, while the sad lonely aunty troops back to town to try to think of the good old days of defeat at Wembley and forget what happened this evening.

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