Despite going a goal down, the result never seemed in doubt as Rusthall simply overwhelmed a Punjab side who had no answer to the quality football on display from the men in green and white.

The game began in cagey fashion resulting in the opening goal of the game falling for the away side- William Johnson-Cole was given too much time to pick out the far corner and Punjab led. As in the two previous home games this season when Rusthall have found themselves a goal down, the response was immediate and there was no sense of panic. It was Tommy Lawrence alongside Jack Smith in midfield for this one and, once again, the middle of the park was patrolled and controlled by the two Rusthall stalwarts. You will struggle to find players with a better first touch and awareness than Conor Johnson and Dwan Archer at this level and they both offered a continual threat going forward, supported on the flanks by Reuel Powell-Downey and Luke Miller. It was Miller who grabbed the equaliser- Powell-Downey crossed from the left and picked out Miller on the penalty spot- his header looped into the far corner and parity was restored.

Rusthall tails were up and they were soon in front. A freekick on the right-hand side appeared not to favour the right-footed Louis Anderson but up he stepped to fire the ball home. Within five minutes, Rusthall were 3-1 in front- again it was Anderson who stood over a freekick on the edge of the box. When he looked up to see the diminutive keeper stood on one side of his goal, he curled the ball into the other corner to the delight of the crowd. Anderson has shown his quality at the start of the season- three goals- all from freekicks- and some fantastic performances on the right-hand side have played a key role in the fantastic start to Rusthall’s season.
Punjab lost a member of the coaching staff to a red card at halftime and if their players had any hope of getting back into the game, they were to be disappointed. Chandler Kasai, back at Punjab following a disappointing spell at bottom-of-the-table Tunbridge Wells, struggled to get into the game and Paul Vines, leading the line for the away side, could only watch on and moan at his teammates as the Rustics dominated proceedings.

Louie Clarke, facing three games out due to suspension, replaced Johnson at half time and was a threat- Lawrence tried to find him with a through-ball but he couldn’t quite reach it and when the ball broke moments later, Rusthall’s goal machine was unlucky to see his shot tipped over the bar. The fourth goal soon arrived however- a corner delivered by Anderson was not dealt with by the Punjab defence and commanding centre back James White was there to prod it home. The fifth goal was scored by Clarke- a poacher’s goal following more superb build-up play. Smith sprayed the ball wide to Dwan Archer who crossed low and accurately. Liam Northwood in goal failed to deal with it and Clarke pounced, making it four goals in four games for him.

As against Erith Town in the previous game, it really could have been more for Rusthall. Daniel Blunn and Yassin Fares both came on to good effect- Blunn, clearly a different proposition in terms of size and strength, showed enough to suggest he will be an important option for the team moving forward. Fares is a special player indeed- his driving runs once again excited the crowd, terrified opposing defenders, and could easily have led to more goals. Rusthall were denied a stonewall penalty when Blunn was brought down, one of a number of strange decisions from the referee who seemed intent on asking players to get up when they had been brought down by cynical, tired tackles. Rusthall defended well when needed- Tommy Taylor commanded his area with authority and when chances did come to Punjab, bodies were thrown on the line to stop the danger. Punjab did add a second goal late on- when a freekick was floated in and headed up, Noah Hamelberg found himself alone to hammer the ball home.

Another top-quality performance from this exciting Rusthall team sees them top of the table with three wins from three and twelve goals scored.

It is a great start to the season but with three big games coming up against Ramsgate in the FA Cup, Glebe and then Tunbridge Wells away on Bank Holiday Monday, Jimmy Anderson will know his players need to maintain the levels shown in the first four games of the season. There is a buzz around The Jockey Farm Stadium right now and rightly so!

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