The crowd, boosted immeasurably by the travelling green and white army, were witness to a clear gulf in class between the two sides, with Stansfeld simply unable to cope with the quality of the away side. The Rusthall faithful were delighted to see captain and defensive stalwart Robbie Bissett back in the ranks- fears he may be out for some time allayed by the sight of him leading the team out into the Autumn sunshine. Another welcome return was made by Jesse Hammond who took a place on the bench with only James Miles and Louis Anderson missing from the usual matchday squad.

Kicking down the considerable slope in the first half, Rusthall initially found it a little difficult to find their feet with dangerman Yassin Fares rather remote on the left-hand side, and with a few worrying moments caused by gaps at the back when Stansfeld did get hold of the ball. Fortunately, they were unable to capitalise when they did venture forward- a lack of composure would be a polite way to excuse the wayward shooting on display. Rusthall put together a few decent moments but the overall feel of the first half could be accurately described as slightly disjointed. Despite this, the lead was taken moments before the break as Jack Kirby sliced through midfield and played a great ball through to Charlie Clover whose shot was saved- Louie Clarke, as he often is, was in the right place at the right time and he finished a bouncing ball in typically clinical style.

The fear may have been that Stansfeld would be able to make more of the advantageous downhill slope but if anything, playing uphill helped the Rustics and the home side failed to get into the game at all. Their only answer was to scythe down the Rusthall players as they glided past them- the referee quite rightly booked one player, but then failed to do so minutes later when the same thing happened again. Having moved to a slightly different shape for the second half, Josh Reid found himself at right-back and he absolutely excelled- strong in defence ensuring nothing came down his side, and adventurous in attack, Rusthall’s number 7 put in a shift demonstrating his talent, but also his game management and maturity too. Robbie Bissett masterminded everything from the back and was not averse to a foray forward, carrying the ball with strength and composure- he, alongside everyone else in green and white were concerned however when the excellent Jack Kirby went down under yet another clumsy, heavy challenge from the despairing Stansfeld midfield. Rusthall’s playmaker was soon on his feet however and back to terrorising a tiring backline.

Charlie Clover grabbed Rusthall’s second late on and it was just reward for his endeavour all afternoon. Jack Low had entered the fray and made an immediate impact with his strength, directness and ability to pick a pass- it was his goal bound shot that was cleared off the line but only to Clover who finished easily. Those calling for offside had clearly failed to notice the Stansfeld defender clear the ball on the line but given the lack of intelligence on display amongst some of the whiny home crowd, this was not a surprise.
Stansfeld pulled a goal back via a fortunate deflection but there was time for Ayodeji Owoeye to grab a third following excellent play from Fares down the left. Having been kicked all afternoon, Rusthall’s Italian winger will have been delighted to skip past yet more failed tackles before cutting the ball back to the impressive Owoeye who had time to control the ball, beat his man, and finish beyond the flailing grasp of the goalkeeper.

Frustrations amongst the Stansfeld players boiled over towards the end of the game as one of their defenders decided to try and end a jinking run down the left-hand side by putting in a two-footed challenge which was knee high at least. What looked like a straightforward decision for the referee, even one who had long since lost any sort of grip on the game, turned out to be a yellow card and not the red everyone else in the ground thought it would be, and somehow, inexplicably, a free kick for Stansfeld. This rather summed up a somewhat haphazard display from the official who will not look back fondly on his display. As if he knew the injustice that had been done, the Stansfeld goalkeeper booted the ball out of play when attempting to find his front man, and soon after, the final whistle blew. Rahman Kareem was booked for enjoying the celebrations a little too much- the disgruntled home support found it hard to remain civil in the face of the Rustics’ celebrations but the victory was fully deserved.

Three points means Rusthall move up to 4th, and Stansfeld remain rooted to the foot of the table- one hopes the angry Stansfeld fans are able to reflect on the fact that they had been beaten by a much better team and that they can always try again next week.

Up next for Rusthall, a home game against Punjab United, a game which finished 4-3 with Rusthall having been 3-0 down on 80 minutes- Jimmy Anderson will be hoping for the same outcome but perhaps a slightly more straightforward route towards it. An important three points here today will send them into the next game in good spirits.

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