The Cadogan pitch stood up to the wintry weather, meaning that Prime hosted old rivals Rusthall IV. The reverse fixture ended in a draw and another tight match was anticipated.

For Prime, keeper Balcombe was fit again and he took over from Sykes. With Walker unavailable, Williams stepped in alongside Cary and in midfield Fleming's absence meant Westcott was called on, with Henshall switched to right-wing.

With Prime missing strikers Barker and Betts, player/boss Goldsmith started up front with Ferguson. Buckland returned to the squad on the bench, together with Taylor who had not featured since the fixture at Rusthall in mid-September.

The game started evenly, with Rusthall looking to get the ball forward early to their tall strikers, but Cary and Williams were making life difficult for them.

There was an intriguing midfield battle with Rusthall skipper Sands and his experienced Scottish colleague matching up against Abu and the impressive Westcott.

The tricky Rusthall striker Saunders forced Balcombe into a smart save on 15 minutes, and Prime were soon in front.

Ferguson held the ball up expertly on the edge of the box and his lay-off was perfect for the on-rushing Westcott to curl the ball into the net for his first goal for the club.

Prime should have doubled their lead soon after when Mazurkiewicz did brilliantly down the right and his ball into Ferguson left Prime 2-on-1. Ferguson rolled the ball across to Goldsmith on the edge of the box, but his shot was tame and straight at the keeper.

Suddenly Prime were dominant and with Goldsmith's long throws causing panic, the Rusthall goal led a charmed life - especially when Abu also fired tamely at the keeper following a goal-mouth scramble.

Prime's defence still needed to be on their mettle though and they got a warning when a right-wing delivery was headed against the bar by their striker.

But the home side extended their lead with 10 minutes to go until the break. Mazurkiewicz's throw on half way was flicked on by Goldsmith for Henshall. The winger got to the dead-ball line before squeezing a ball in towards the near post where Nowak kept the ball in play and scooped the ball back for Ferguson to drift in a curler beyond the young Rusthall keeper and into the net.

It could have got even better when Westcott had another shot from the edge of the box well saved.

Cruciually, Rusthall pulled one back a couple of minutes before the break after a flowing move down their right. Their striker cut inside both centre-backs before rolling the ball into the corner of Balcombe's net.

Prime were still happy with their deserved 2-1 lead at the break, but they knew that the Rustics would pile forward after the break.

The visitors forced a series of corners, but some committed defending especially from Williams, Cary and Sander kept Prime's lead intact.

At the other end, Prime's forays forwards were rare, but Goldsmith and Ferguson were still holding the ball up well and providing some much needed respite for the back four.

With an hour gone, fresh legs were needed and Taylor replaced Nowak down the left wing. It was still very much one-way traffic, but Balcombe made some smart saves and a near-post header from a long throw struck the post as Prime clung to their lead.

Prime were starting to cause problems going forward and Goldsmith's raking cross-field ball sent Abu through, but his effort cleared the crossbar.

There was a glorious opportunity to seal the win a few minutes later when Rusthall's attempt to play the ball out from the back ended with Goldsmith's sliding tackle which sent Taylor clear, but he shanked his left-footed effort wide from the edge of the box.

Goldsmith replaced himself with Buckland for the last 15 minutes and Buckers made light of playing in an unaccustomed role by closing down everything and working hard to hold the ball up.

As time ticked away, Prime looked set to hang on for a famous victory, but deep into stoppage time, a long diagonal ball was won in the air by Rusthall's right-winger - benefiting from his height advantage over Sander. The knock-down left their striker in the clear and he found the corner of the net, despite the excellent Balcombe getting a hand to his effort.

Prime had one more attack with Henshall linking up well with Buckland, but the sub was challenged just as he shot and as the ball dribbled out of play, the final whistle sounded.

Overall a fair result, but hard to take for Prime who put in a commited, spirited performance.

One more game before Christmas, with title-challengers Leigh coming to town - and the absentees from Prime's squad today will struggle to dislodge any of today's 11.