Sheerwater v Rusthall
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
So after a long pre-season, the first day of 24/25 arrived with a trip to Eastwood Leisure Centre for the season opener for both teams and a chance to progress in the FA Cup. A friend of mine contacted me to let me know he would be going to the Abbey Rangers game just down the road and asked if I’d fancy a lift. Obviously a lift versus a three train journey where all you need is one problem to scupper your trip was a no brainer! Cheers Mr. Calvert!
So game 9 of 24/25, new ground number 42 since I started this project two years ago, and no public transport issues to spoil the day, what’s not to like!
I arrived at the club around 2pm and headed to their clubhouse, a large area upstairs with a view of the pitch, a bar and hot food on sale. On a warm day and not feeling like a beer, I was pleased to see they stocked Yazoo, always love a banana milkshake! In the bar I bought a printed programme for £2 which was also nice to see with so many clubs just providing an online one these days.
After that I made my way into the ground to find a covered area down the nearside with seating available and plenty of room to stand on the opposite side and behind the two goals. After taking a picture of the board showing the teams I sat reading the programme until the game started.
After a frenetic start which you’d expect for a cup tie, the game started to settle down with the visitors having most of the possession but with the hosts looking dangerous on the break. The first of these came in the 5th minute when George Sellick made a good run from the halfway line and firing a left foot shot which was tipped over by Serine Sanneh in the Rusthall goal.
Sanneh was again called into action five minutes later, smartly saving when George Mackie cut in from the left. Rusthall replied two minutes later when Jack Kirby picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area but his shot went straight into the arms of Fabio Suarez.
The visitors should have taken the lead in the 22nd minute, a nice move involving Kirby and Steadman Callendar made a clear opening for Charlie Clover only for him to blaze over the bar. Back came the Sheers, Sellick was played in just outside the box but he delayed getting a shot away which gave Frankie Griffin a chance to clear.
Sheerwater’s pace up front was causing the Rusthall defence a few problems, Elliot York latched onto a through ball and managed to get a first time shot away which Sanneh managed to get down well to his right to save. At the other end, Kirby drifted inside from the left flank to create a shooting chance but his shot sailed over the bar.
In added time the hosts took the lead. Harvey Valter slipped the ball through to York whose deft first touch took the ball away from the defender before firing in at the near post. Sanneh got a hand to the shot so will probably be disappointed not to have kept it out. 1-0
H-T: Sheerwater 1 Rusthall 0
The game followed a similar path in the second half with Rusthall having most of the possession, pinning the home side back and pushing and probing for an opening. Unfortunately for them the Sheerwater defence was solid and they struggled to make any clear cut chances in the first 20 minutes of the half.
On 70 minutes Clover had a half chance but his first time effort could only find the midriff of keeper Suarez. Two minutes later and Rusthall should have been level, a great cross from Kalani Barton found Callendar all alone in the area only for him to head over.
A long ball forward from Griffin found the run of Dan Blunn who put in a cross which was deflected by the defender and looped up, coming down on the top of the crossbar and the shot from the rebound again only managing to find the arms of Suarez.
Kirby again made a nice turn on the edge of the area and his shot this time forced a smart save from Suarez low to his right. The pressure was beginning to tell with the Sheers finding it difficult to get out of their half but holding firm in defence.
More pressure from the away side resulted in a corner as time was running out. A decent delivery into the box wasn’t cleared by the home side with the ball falling to captain Robbie Bissett in the area and he smashed the ball in from close range to the delight of the travelling supporters. 1-1
This spurred Sheerwater into action and just a minute later they could have retaken the lead, Brooklyn Hyseni pounced on a loose clearance and hit a great effort from the edge of the box only to see Sanneh get down well to his left to tip it away.
One last chance for the visitors in the dying moments, Jack Lyons broke clear and fired across the goalmouth but his effort went just the wrong side of the post.
F-T: Sheerwater 1 Rusthall 1 (att 190)
A cracking cup tie and one the referee must have enjoyed as he didn’t seem to want the game to end. Still playing at 5pm it felt like he was playing next goal wins! A great game which neither team deserved to lose so probably the right result on the day and they get the chance to do it all again on Tuesday in the replay.
I really enjoyed my day at Sheerwater, a friendly club who are heading in the right direction. They are working hard to make this a community hub and judging by the number of families in a decent crowd at the game, it looks like it’s working well.
Enjoyed chatting with some of the Rusthall faithful yesterday too so now looking to add their name to my list of new clubs visited at some point this season!
Good luck to both in the replay on Tuesday and for the rest of the season.
Click the button below to see Dan’s excellent photos from this game.