FOUR GOALS, THREE POINTS & A BABY!

Rusthall cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win over lowly K Sports with a dominant performance which would have added to the celebrations in the away dugout with Assistant Manager Ollie Saunders celebrating his birthday, and coach Joe Charlesworth celebrating the birth of his son on Wednesday.

Manager Jimmy Anderson will no doubt be relieved that having gone 2-0 up, the game didn’t end 2-2 as the previous three games have- this was an important away win against a side where you never know what you will be facing.

As it was, Rusthall’s defenders in particular didn’t face much in the way of pressure in the first half- K Sports deployed a striker who looked like he might be more comfortable in a scrum at Twickenham rather than bustling around a soulless 3G in Aylesford and he struggled to stop Jeffery N’Juguna, James White, Abdullah Khalil and the returning Cameron Smart knocking the ball about confidently and with purpose.

Jamie Miller and Tommy Lawrence were in full control in midfield and it seemed K Sports were unable to get out or indeed string more than three passes together. When Rusthall won a corner and played it short, Tarik Ibrahim found himself in space but saw his shot blocked- Tommy Lawrence decided a different approach was required for the next one and swung in a dangerous cross. James White watched it all the way, leapt higher than his marker, and powered a header goalward which the keeper, Liam Northwood, could only flap at, unable to stop it crossing the line.

It wasn’t long before the lead was doubled and what a fine goal it was from Luke Miller. The other Miller, Jamie, crashed into a firm tackle, winning the ball, and Luke picked it up 25 yards from goal. He ventured forward with Louie Clarke making a run to draw defenders away- the space which arose was exploited and just when it looked like Miller would drive home with his right foot, he pushed it onto his left and struck a rising shot into the top left corner.

Rusthall looked to build on the score line, aware of the times points have been lost due to draws, and the lack of threat from the home side. Yassin Fares carried the ball with his usual pace and trickery and the K Sports right back simply couldn’t contain him- he was booked for one poor tackle too many and did not return for the second half. By this point, the K Sports management were losing their cool a little- when they asked the referee why he had booked their player, a simple answer was given which probably did little to improve their mood. Further chances were at a premium and although Louie Clarke did well to pull the ball back across goal having been released by a pinpoint ball from Tommy Lawrence, no one was there to finish it off and the first half drew to a close.

K Sports had clearly been given a rocket at the break and came out with more urgency throughout the team. With the big number 9 a little more mobile in the press, it was less comfortable for the Rusthall back line and for perhaps twenty minutes, Rusthall were under pressure from the rejuvenated home side. K Sports huffed and puffed but were unable to make the break through and when Rusthall did get out, they were dangerous. On 70 minutes, Luke Miller picked up the ball on the right-hand edge of the box and with no defenders to help him, Northwood was forced to close down the attack with Miller looking to shoot on goal. Just as it looked like the chance might fizzle out, he rolled the ball to Louie Clarke who controlled and finished past flailing defenders into the abandoned goal. An otherwise fairly quiet game for Clarke still resulted in a goal for Rusthall’s dangerman and when he departed shortly after, another goal had been added to add to his impressive tally.
K Sports did manage to strike the bar and then force a good save from Tommy Taylor who had enjoyed a relaxed afternoon to that point but never really looked anything approaching a threat.

Jimmy Anderson decided to use all five of his substitutes, including two debutants who both made good contributions. Former Rustic, Josh Biddlecombe, came off the bench for K Sports and made a difference but finding themselves three goals down, most of his teammates rather gave up hope. Reuel Powell-Downey was the pick of the Rusthall replacements- his sparkling run from inside his own half past several defenders led to him laying the ball inside to Addo Amankwah who calmly stroked the ball home to seal the win.

This was a well-managed performance and an important three points for a Rusthall side who have ten games to go in their best ever season. In a league where there are no easy games, this win against K Sports will be one of the more straight forward but there will be challenges in the weeks ahead for this exciting group of players to rise to, starting next weekend against Punjab United.

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