Sporting their new gold and black away kit, Rusthall dug deep to claim the three points on a night where the improvements Sam Groombridge has brought to Erith and Belvedere were clear to see- a fairly abject performance from the Deres a few weeks ago at Jockey Farm Stadium was a distant memory as the home side began brightly and looked the more threatening.

While the Jacks- Kirby and Low- perhaps found it difficult to stamp their quality on the game due to intense pressure from the home side, this was a night on which the power of the Rustic defence shone. Robbie Bissett and Daniel Blunn in central defence were resolute, and despite Danny Lear showing great tenacity to give Blunn one of his more challenging games for some time, it was the men in gold who came out on top. In front of them, Frank Griffin once again orchestrated the game, a consistently calm presence on the ball, a cajoling, snarling presence off it when needed. They say goals change games and the fact that Erith and Belvedere were unable to find one was largely down to Serine Sanneh in goal who flung himself to his left to keep out a rasping drive which seemed destined for the goal. His calm claiming of crosses helped to settle any nerves, and his typically high-quality distribution set the team up for forays into the attacking half- chances were few and far between however- Jack Kirby with perhaps the pick of a poor bunch but his touch let him down at the crucial moment.

Getting to half time at 0-0 felt important and so it proved to be. A slight shift in shape was the perfect tonic to a first half performance in which Rusthall managed the game well without really threatening. Within two minutes, the change of approach paid dividends and Rusthall were in the lead- a fine cross was swept home by Charlie Clover who moves on to 9 goals for the season. Erith and Belvedere had little in response to going behind- the withdrawal of Danny Lear was surprising, especially as his replacement failed to provide the threat Lear had offered for most of the match. Determination to hold onto their lead was etched on all the Rusthall players’ faces- they knew how important this game was. Rusthall began to create chances at will and perhaps should have extended the lead on more than one occasion. With ten minutes to go, Rusthall dropped a bit deeper and pressure began to mount- Erith and Belvedere went very close to punishing a few missed chances when a hopeful ball forward,which seemed to be drifting out of play, suddenly veered towards Sanneh’s goal- he could only watch, relieved, as it bounced back off the crossbar and was eventually cleared.

Frank Griffin led the march to the corner flag as the final minutes were seen out and the vital victory was secured. Having steamrollered a few sides at home in recent weeks, the challenge tonight was to go away to one of the stronger sides in the division and grind out a win- a challenge the Rustics took on and showed they were up for. Rusthall find themselves in third place- with games in hand on those above them- and in good form going into two home cup ties against Sheppey Sports on Saturday, before the big one in the FA Vase against near neighbours- geographically at least- Tunbridge Wells. Jimmy Anderson and his team will be delighted with three points from a tough game and determined to press on and build on the hugely positive start to the season.

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