Westfield reached the preliminary round of the FA Cup with an emphatic 5-2 win at Southern Counties East League Premier Division outfit Rusthall on Saturday.

The game didn’t take too long to come alive as Kiye Martin burst into the box in the fourth minute before being brought down by Rusthall keeper Serine Sanneh, with the loose ball falling to Lui Edwards, who smashed home the opener for Westfield.

However, the hosts were in no mood to be turned over, and they replied in style netting the equaliser just two minutes later – that one from Charlie Clover – as well as a second in the 13th minute, in a good move finished cooly by Jack Kirby.

After a slightly chaotic start, the game began to feel like it had slowed down slightly, with possession changing hands frequently as the Field attempted to get back into the game. Suddenly, with just under ten minutes to go in the first half, the game sprang back to life. After a scramble in the box, the ball fell to Billy Nutbeam, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net to level the scoring once again.

Westfield then went 3-2 up two minutes later. John Adebiyi let fly from distance and Sanneh parried the ball to Finn Evans, who dispatched his finish into the bottom corner.

The second half saw the Field fully take hold of the game. Nathan Rogers was bundled over in the box, with the referee awarding a penalty, and Manolis Gogonas confidently slammed the resulting spot kick home.

The visitors then scored their fifth goal of the afternoon on 88 minutes when Adebiyi beat a number of defenders before neatly tucking the ball into the bottom corner to start the season off in style.

By Harrison Powell