A superb victory for Canterbury City today sees them safely through to the second round of the Kent Senior Trophy after beating Premier League Rusthall by the only goal of the game at Hartsdown Park.
We hoped it would be ‘third time lucky’ as City’s previous two cup ties this season had both been against higher league opposition and both had seen them suffer narrow defeats. Corinthian scraped through on penalties in one and in the other, Snodland Town – but for a late missed golden opportunity that should also have sent that game to the lottery of a shootout, were also somewhat fortunate to win that night too!
Looking back today though, there wasn’t really any luck about it. City created the better chances and their debutant keeper Kane Charles was mainly left with a couple of routine saves and to display some impressive handling as Rusthall were kept largely at arm’s length by a determined and purposeful City performance.
A cheeky effort from very long range opened the proceedings, when in the second minute Luke Illsley spotted Rusthall keeper Serine Sannah momentarily out of his goal, but he managed just to get enough of a stretched out single hand on the ball to prevent a disaster for the visitors. It was the crossbar that then prevented City conceding early again when Tarok Ibrahim feinted to his right to create a minimum of space and then crashed in an effort that had Charles beaten but, fortunately for City, only shook the woodwork before being hastily cleared.
The game had started quite openly with Rusthall always looking to play out from the back but found City hustling and hassling them, chasing them down and gaining possession on quite a few occasions but without really making the opportunities that were then afforded count. Jeff Njuguna tried his luck from far out for the visitors but sent the ball flying over the stand and down towards the sea-front, while City couldn’t capitalise on a couple of handily placed Rob Lawrence free-kicks but went closer after a good build up, when Monty Saunders saw his effort blocked.
A short period of pressure saw a brace of corners and a free-kick for Rusthall try to break the deadlock but Charles pawed away a cross from danger and the returned ball was headed out from under his own bar by a City defender.
Soon after, Jesse Hammond saw a shot blocked for the visitors, but after that the rest of the first half by and large belonged to City.
On twenty-three minutes, they had their own cross bar moment as well when a bullet header from Illsley crashed against the woodwork before bouncing down and out as Harry Bradford desperately tried to force it home and when Lawrence sent the ball back in, Bradford could only loop a header wide.
Leo Dodds then tried to curl a shot into the top corner for City but it straightened far too soon sending it well past the angle, while a home corner saw an unsure touch away by Sannah eventually volleyed back in and over by Lawrence.
The visitors responded well to City’s period of pressure but some very safe handling by Charles on at least three occasions left them with nothing to feed off and as the game clicked into added time it was City that almost opened the scoring. Saunders was put through down the left but chose to go wide instead of cutting infield and under pressure from Sannah and with the angle narrowing, he could only fire low across the face of the Rusthall goal and wide of the far post.
Thereafter the break soon arrived, but with the game still goalless.
The second-half started with chances at both ends as Saunders broke down the right this time and did cut inside but fired well over the bar, while after a burst forward by Hammond, Tommy Lawrence diverted his low whipped in cross wide of the City goal. Jack Lyons then saw a tame effort drift away for Rusthall before a series of crosses from various situations were all well dealt with by the City defence, with Charles excelling with some great handling to deal with some of them.
At the other end, Bradford headed over an Illsley cross for City, before Charles was quickly out off his line to thwart Reece Deakin with a fine spreading save.
It was becoming an intriguing and somewhat nervy encounter and looking increasingly likely that just one goal might settle it.
City then almost struck it when a thirty yard free kick was fired in by Saunders only to see Sannah arch his back and tip the ball just over his bar to safety. Rusthall weren’t safe for long though as just minutes later City finally broke the deadlock and got their noses in front when Bradford was sent through down the inside left channel, bustled his way past a couple of challenges and coolly, kept his composure to fire the ball past Sannah for 1-0 to City – and you can’t say that at that stage it wasn’t deserved.
With just thirteen minutes left, the tie was now City’s to lose and Rusthall – fairly ineffective up to now, had to find something from somewhere. They very nearly did as well – much to the City faithful’s alarm, when Deakin forced his way through on the left but with Charles closing him down, he whipped in a low, fierce shot that whizzed right across the face of the goal and with City hearts in mouths, it thankfully flew an inch or two wide of the far post!
That was far too close for comfort coming so soon after City had just gained the advantage and with the clock ticking down, some good old fashioned game management was required and after some ‘solid’ words of advice from skipper Danny Keyte at the back, it was found.
City didn’t sit back, they kept moving the ball forward and for the remaining time – including the five added minutes, they looked more likely to score again then to concede. When they weren’t frustrating their opponents by keeping the ball down by the corner flag, they just stood and waited while Rusthall wasted their own time by contesting every decision and questioning everything else!
In between times, Daniel Haastrup shot wide for City, while Saunders and Harry O’Donnell both saw their efforts saved by Sannah. After the Deakin close shave previously though, Rusthall couldn’t find any other response worthy of the name despite having plenty of time to find one. A free-kick in was commandingly headed away by Joe Nelder while Callum Taylor’s dug out effort late on, rolled meekly away from goal and wide, finally leaving City to deservedly take their place in the next round of the competition.
With the winning goal, in form striker Harry Bradford was named Man-of-the-Match for City, but frankly it could have been any one of many candidates from any area of the pitch such was the level of performance from City. They stifled Rusthall who couldn’t conjure up any answers when asked and finally, at the third attempt – and it had been coming – City had a Premier League scalp!
Final Score: Canterbury City 1 Rusthall FC 0
City: Kane Charles, Luka Radojevic, Liam Cormack, Danny Keyte, Joe Nelder, Dan Watson (Harry Maher), Rob Lawrence, Luke Illsley, Harry Bradford (Harry O’Donnell), Leo Dodds (Daniel Haastrup), Monty Saunders
Unused Subs: Jake McCarthy, Ben Binder.