A gloriously sunny afternoon saw Rusthall stretch their impressive unbeaten run with a 4-1 win over a Holmesdale side featuring several former Rustics who, along with their teammates, ultimately struggled to match the current crop of Jimmy Anderson’s high-flying team. With Yassin Fares facing a spell on the side lines following his red card against Glebe earlier in the week, the Italian superstar took to the pitch eager to make the most of the chance to continue to lead Rusthall’s march, and it was evident from the start that the Holmesdale backline, deprived of the excellent Cameron Smart through injury, did not know how to deal with him. There were changes in midfield due to Robbie Bissett’s absence- Frank Griffin dropped into defence alongside Dan Blunn and it was a case of the old and the new in the middle for the away side with crafty veteran, Tommy Lawrence, alongside the new man, Thompson Adeyemi.

In an otherwise fairly sparsely populated RTL Group Stadium, the large contingent of Rusthall fans perhaps found it a little difficult to be at full voice while the players on the pitch had issues of their own getting going as Holmesdale began the brighter of the two teams. Callum Taylor, who for several seasons was able to enjoy playing proper football in green and white, was forced to employ rather different tactics by lumping the ball forward at every opportunity but Rusthall struggled to maintain possession and became frustrated by their lack of thrust which has been so prevalent in recent weeks. Holmesdale grabbed the opener from a high punt into the box which was somehow missed by the Rusthall defence before it ended up in the net. Holmesdale’s number 9 will claim the goal and ultimately, whether there was a touch or not was irrelevant- Holmesdale were 1-0 up and fairly good value for it.

Chances came and went for Rusthall and while they went close on a few occasions, it looked like Holmesdale would cling onto their lead at the break. The game changed on 40 minutes however, when Jack Lyons looked up and saw Yassin Fares moving forward with intent- his raking cross-field ball was inch perfect and Fares was able to control the ball as only he can and bear down on goal. Anthony Musoke, the latest in a long line of full backs to perish at the hands, and feet, of Rusthall’s 99, had lost him entirely and was forced into a clumsy challenge which resulted in a penalty and, perhaps a tad harshly, a red card. Harsh or not, Fares was never going to allow the distraction of Holmesdale’s complaints to deter him- his chipped penalty sailed past Tommy Taylor who had dived out of the way and Rusthall were level. From there on in, it was all Rusthall- Tommy Lawrence ended up in the back of the net attempting to reach a Jack Lyons cross but the ball didn’t, some in the crowd thought Barton had scored but his effort hit the side netting, and Louis Anderson found himself able to come inside to good effect with the extra space the missing man had afforded the Rustics.

The second half was something of a procession for the away side as Holmesdale were unable to offer anything in resistance a man light. Jack Lyons and Yassin Fares caused absolute havoc down the left-hand side, the Holmesdale defence utterly incapable of tracking their clever runs or cutting out their incisive passes. Rusthall could have scored six or seven but in the end settled for another three goals- two of which came from Charlie Clover who made it 25 for the season with two very different, but equally impressive goals. The first came from clever work on the edge of the box from Louis Anderson and Jack Kirby who exchanged passes before the ball broke for Clover on his left foot.

Callum Taylor failed to press effectively and Clover had time to pick his spot, curling the ball past the other Taylor who was not impressed by what he had seen in front of him. A barrage of Rusthall chances followed, all of which could have added to the tally. Barton went close to reaching a cross just in front of goal, Charlie Clover shot over the bar reaching for another ball across the box, Thompson Adeyemi thought he’d scored only to see his goal-bound shot blocked inadvertently by Dan Blunn, Yassin Fares went close from distance and then finally a third goal when Jack Kirby pulled the ball back finding Fares on the opposite side. His curled cross found Charlie Clover who had work to do- his stooped header flashed across goal and, as indicated by the well-positioned assistant referee, across the line before Tommy Taylor could claw it out.

The icing was added to the cake when Thompson Adeyemi opened his account for the club to make it 4-1 to the visitors- Clover turned provider this time as he cut the ball back having received a clever pass from Kalani Barton. Adeyemi’s finish bobbled into the corner to fairly muted celebrations on the pitch- the dominance of the victory and the ease with which Rusthall had scored again perhaps making overly-zealous celebrations unnecessary.

Despite the ease of victory in the end, this was an important three points in a game which might have panned out differently had the referee chosen a different course of action in the first half. Rusthall were ruthless however, and the win was fully deserved. Jimmy Anderson now has to solve the conundrum of who stands in for Yassin Fares in the coming games but with quality players who can come into the team such as Steadman Callender, and Theo Hayford who once again impressed from the bench today, alongside the excellent attacking options at his disposal, he will no doubt be confident. With three home games coming up, and the fans ready to raise the roof at the Farm, an important two weeks lies ahead with Kennington up first on Saturday 8th March.

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