Rusthall made it an incredible 9 wins in a row with a hard-fought 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Lordswood through more goals from Jack Lyons and Yassin Fares who only 24 hours before the match, had been playing Kings League football over in Italy. So determined is he, and everyone associated with the club, to keep this impressive run going, Fares was never going to miss a match at this critical stage of the season. Originally scheduled for November but postponed due to the weather, the vocal Rusthall faithful were glad to have a match under the lights, with the feel-good factor firmly in place once again.

Also in place once again was the same team that has been so successful of late, with Jack Lyons at left back but always looking for a chance to threaten in support of Yassin further up the pitch. Such is Lordswood’s style, the foreheads of Robbie Bissett and Dan Blunn were busy throughout whileSerine Sanneh enjoyed a comfortable evening. In truth, it was an evening where several players who have performed brilliantly in recent games were perhaps not quite at the level they would have wanted- the heavy pitch and perhaps some heavy legs playing their part. Despite this, Rusthall posed the greater threat throughout the first half, Charlie Clover going close having wriggled through several attempts to stop himand Kalani Barton being denied the clearest penalty you will see this season. With the ball at his feet on the edge of the box and seemingly no one willing or able to tackle him, Barton strode on into the box where he was confronted by the goalkeeper who simply wiped out Rusthall’s number 10 once the ball had been clipped over him. It seemed the referee was pausing to see if the ball would end up in the net but, no, he had clearly been watching something else and play-on was the call.

The second half was all Rusthall who were now kicking downhill to the goal where the vast majority of goals have been scored in recent games. While Lordswood seemed to have given up trying to threaten up the other end, there were times where it felt a goal would not arrive for Rusthall and that Lordswood might be successful in their ugly attempts to stop them. Step forward Jack Lyons who picked up the ball outside the area on 80 minutes and took the direct route towards goal. Seeing the threat, a Lordswood defender decided the best course of action would be to bring him down with a dangerous tackle- only a yellow card and a freekick was the result. With three dead ball specialists on the scene in the shape of Lyons, Fares and Louis Anderson, Rusthall were spoilt for choice, but once he had picked himself up, it was only going to be Lyons to take, and so he did, striking a firm, rising, left footed drive into the roof of the net, past a feeble hand of the goalkeeper. A late goal once again, and, once again, Rusthall were in no mood to make the fans wait for more- Lordswood hoofed the ball forward again, lost it again, and Thompson Adeyemi rolled the ball wide to Fares. Yassin, head down, driving past hapless defenders, bearing down on goal- there is surely no better sight for a Rustic- except perhaps seeing his shot fly into the near corner for 2-0.

There were joyous scenes on halfway for all in green and white and another three points to take Rusthall to the edge of the playoffs. This was a key win against a team who, despite their slightly industrial approach to the beautiful game, were not easy to break down.

Persistence and sheer talent won out on the night though, and next up on Saturday, Whitstable Town are the visitors- in fine form themselves. Having secured a 3-1 win at Whitstable earlier in the season, and with this win under their belts, the Rustics will go into another tricky game with great confidence.

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