Simon Howe gives his account from the action at The Jockey Farm Stadium on Saturday!

Rusthall remain unbeaten following a battling 1-1 draw against a well-fancied Glebe side on Saturday afternoon and while this wasn’t the best performance from this exciting young side, a point each was about right in the end. This was a good test for the Rustics - Glebe are well organised, have some good players in the squad, and are widely considered favourites to be right up there come the end of the season.

The game began in cagey fashion - Rusthall have gone a goal down in all their home games so far this season but while that didn’t seem likely this time around, it also didn’t feel like a goal was coming for the home side either. In possession, the control and assuredness that has been a hallmark of their play in previous games was missing - nervy passes crept in and it always felt like Glebe could find a way towards goal. On one such occasion, Calvin Gitiba was forced into chopping down an onrushing attacker - he was rightly booked and a free kick was awarded. The ball was swung in and all in green and white were relieved to see the ball hit the post and bounce clear. Rusthall had chances to score - Reuel Powell-Downey was lively down the left once more and saw an effort fly wide of the target before Dwan Archer somehow escaped the attention of three Glebe defenders before blasting over the bar. Jack Smith was on typically robust form - one tackle which left a Glebe player in a heap on the floor was perhaps fortunate not to warrant a yellow card but led to another chance for Powell-Downey but once again, the deadlock was not broken.

Glebe started the second half brightly and had a good chance almost straight away - Tommy Taylor made the first of several impressive stops in what turned out to be his busiest, and most impressive, half of football in a Rusthall shirt to date. Conor Johnson, who worked tirelessly throughout, was played in but the ball got stuck underneath him and shortly after, Powell-Downey was unfortunate to see a goal-bound effort blocked by the defender. Jimmy Anderson rang the changes - Johnson was replaced by the imposing Daniel Blunn, and Tommy Lawrence came off for the combative Jamie Miller. Blunn was straight into the action - his clever run was picked out but he was well-tackled before he could get a shot away. From this, Glebe broke quickly and it took a save of the highest order to keep them out- Taylor dived to tip the ball over the bar when it seemed for all the world the ball was past him.

Following two more quality saves from Tommy Taylor, Glebe took the lead on 76 minutes. The goal came from a poor decision by the referee who chose not to award Rusthall a free kick when Yassin Fares, who had earlier replaced the lively Addo Amankwah, was brought down on the edge of the box. Glebe went straight up the other end and were given a free kick of their own which was deflected for a corner which was delivered, cleared, returned to the danger area and finished well. It was a real blow and it felt like the game was won. Last season, perhaps it would have been- in fact, it probably would have ended up with more goals for Glebe. Not this season though. This team have fight and once again, they showed it.

Daniel Blunn went close again, Fares nearly squeezed the ball past the keeper at the near post, and when the home side got a corner in the 94th minute, Tommy Taylor ventured forward to try to help rescue an unlikely point. The ball was swung in, half-cleared and when the ball fell, Yassin Fares was there to poke the ball home. The celebrations were joyous for a point that was fully deserved - if anything, there was a slight feeling of disappointment in that if Rusthall had played as well as they have shown they are able to, they could have taken all three points.

The Rustics go into Monday’s Rocks Derby against Tunbridge Wells in good shape but they will know a return to their best form will be needed to win a game where the form book can go out of the window.

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