Needham Market 1 Rushall Olympic 2 - Report

It was the home side who started in a lively fashion and The Pics had skipper, Richard Batchelor to thank for an important early block to thwart Fowkes.

We got our noses in front on 17 minutes when Tyler Lyttle’s free-kick caught the ‘keeper out at the near post.

The home side almost responded straight away when a back-pass to Tom Palmer saw the ‘keeper’s clearance picked up by Mpongo who fired just wide.

A free-kick almost caught us out as half-time approached as the ball was deflected onto the crossbar and the loose ball scrambled clear.

The home side levelled matters right on the stroke of half-time as Byron Lawrence found the net from distance with a powerful strike.

After seeing an effort cleared off the line by Ingram, we regained the lead when another free-kick from Lyttle found its way into the net in the 50th minute.

With our tails up, Danny Glover linked up well with Alex Moore who went close and then Moore’s free-kick was headed onto the roof of the net.

We continued to cause problems with Glover firing into the side-netting and Lyttle going close from distance but our hosts were always a threat going forward and we had Palmer to thank for an important save on 86 minutes to deny Ingram.

The home side were reduced to ten men late on with a second yellow card for Collard as we secured a good three points on the road.