Following last week's fine point at Tonbridge, Prime returned to Cadogan for the final time this season to face old foes Rusthall.

Prime were down to the bare bones with Sykes, Nowak, Henshall, Davis, Buckland and Goulding all absent and Fitzgerald taking the referee's whistle with no league referees available.

It meant that Mazurkiewicz returned to the defence and captain Abu was back in midfield with Westcott and Flamank playing out wide. Goldsmith was the sole sub.

Prime made a dream start when a couple of slick passes found Ferguson in the box and the defender's clumsy lunge felled the striker and Fitzgerald awarded a nailed-on penalty.

Excell stepped up and scored well to the keeper's left.

The goal seemed to stir the visitors into life and they bombarded the Prime goal with a sequence of corners and long throws and Sander again headed one off the line and Kerton had to make some catches under strong pressure as Prime struggled to get going.

They had a real let-off when Rusthall beat the offside trap and after Kerton did well to block his first effort, Rusthall's tall striker fired the rebound wide from inside the box.

Cary and Turvey were again excellent but even they were stretched to the limit to keep Prime ahead. Going forward Prime did look dangerous and after Abu's fine pass, Ferguson was denied by a fine finger-tip save onto the post by the keeper and Flamank was crowded out as he tried to force the rebound home.

Westcott saw little of the ball but he showed his class with a fine left-footed volley from the edge of the box which the keeper did brilliantly to tip over the bar.

It was 1-0 at the break and Prime knew that they were fortunate to have their noses in front, but they started the second-half looking like a side who could push for a top 2 finish.

Rusthall were pinned back from the kick-off and Fitzgerald awarded another penalty when their defender decided to use his arm in the box. Excell grabbed the ball again and this time he netted emphatically to the keeper's left.

It looked like game over 5 minutes later when Flamank was up-ended on the edge of the box. He picked himself up to curl a fairly tame free-kick over the wall, but the keeper dropped the ball and Ferguson was first on the scene to bundle home the rebound.

Rusthall had a golden chance to pull one back when Turvey was judged to have handled in the box although it looked like the ball just landed on his arm as he laid prone on the floor. Luckily for The Numbers, the tall striker hit the bar and Prime cleared.

Prime went in search of more goals but Westcott was denied in the Rusthall box by a strong but fair tackle which left him limping. Soon after Turvey pulled a groin and Goldsmith decided to replace the defender himself, with Ellis moved to centre-back and Excell dropping back into midfield.

Prime conceded a goal with 20 minutes left as Rusthall took a quick throw and their midfielder caught Kerton slightly off his line.

With Westcott barely able to run with his knee problem, Goldsmith dropped back into midfield as Prime sought to defend their lead under wave after wave of green-shirted attacks.

Cary and Ellis continued to get under high balls forward but Prime were stunned with 10 minutes left when the Rustics midfielder beat Sander in the air to guide a header in beyond Kerton. Game on.

Goldsmith and Ferguson were doing their best to hold the ball up front and take the sting out of the game, but Prime were sitting very deep and there were a few hairy moments with Rusthall shots going wide and over the bar.

In the final minute, Rusthall claimed a penalty when a shot may have glanced Ellis' arm, but this time the ref gave nothing and Prime hung on for a vital 3 points.

Just 2 league games left now against Hawkenbury III and Paddock Wood Reserves - 6 points out of those may be enough for The Numbers to finish 2nd.