THE POINTS ARE SHARED AWAY AT SUTTON ATHLETIC

Simon Howe reports…

Rusthall gained a valuable point on the road at Sutton Athletic on a sunny yet chilly Saturday afternoon. The crowd of 115 was overwhelmingly made up of Rusthall supporters who had travelled en masse for what was undoubtedly a crucial game. New signing, Danny Powell took his place up top, supported by Eboda and Hammond on the wings, with Youngah taking Tarik Ibrahim’s number 10 role. While the teams at The London Hire Stadium lined up, Tarik took his place on the bench at Foxbury Avenue as his new side, Snodland Town lost 2-0 to Glebe.

This was a game neither side wanted to lose and, as a result, the quality was not always high. Sutton Athletic had the best of the chances in the first half but seemed determined to squander them in style - Tommy Taylor spent most of his time avoiding brambles in the bushes behind his goal as he went to retrieve the ball  following shooting which can only be described as ’wayward’.

The Rustics threatened in short bursts - Sutton couldn't cope with Dan Blunn’s running from right-back but above and beyond that, the two tall centre-halves dealt with most of what came their way. Sutton did have the ball in the back of the net from a corner but, after a delay of about ten seconds during which the Sutton Athletic players understandably celebrated wildly, the referee decided Taylor had been impeded and gave a free-kick.

Sutton took the lead from the one bit of quality they managed to string together - a good ball forward was well-controlled and well-finished by Marcel Brown. The Sutton players, without any fans of their own,   celebrated in front of the travelling support but were swiftly sent on their way. Sutton’s number nine then endured a torrid two minutes when he was presented with two one-on-one opportunities, both of which were skewed horribly wide - he was promptly substituted to save himself from himself. Rusthall came back into the game and made effective substitutions with Jack Lyons, Addo Amnakwah, Kalani Barton and Myro all adding attacking flair. Rusthall never stopped pushing for the equaliser and it came following good work down the left - a cross came in and when it wasn’t cleared properly, Myro shot on goal. The keeper saved his effort but couldn’t react quickly enough when it fell to Dan Blunn who tapped in from close range. In the eight minutes of added time it was all Rusthall who were now pushing for a winner. Ben Branch, once again frustrated by the inability of the referee to award a clear freekick, was given his marching orders but if he did say something out of line to the official, he was only saying what everyone in the ground was thinking. The winner never came but a point was fair in the end.

Up next is a visit from Fisher FC on Tuesday night, under The Jockey Farm Stadium lights!

For regular updates including news, photos & lots more from around the club, follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram & X (formerly Twitter)