Last Minute Drama Sees Farnham Town Hold On To Secure Another Three Points.
So, own up. Did you leave early to go and watch the rugby?
If you did, poor you.
You missed an unbelievable end to a pulsating encounter between two evenly matched sides.
For the first twenty five minutes, there was very little between the two teams.
Knaphill were well organised, while Farnham looked to get the ball wide to exploit the pace of Max Meaton and Kainen Oragbade.
Then came the goal.
Latching onto a Tom Smith pass down the left, Lamar Koroma strode into the Knaphill area, turned his man inside and out, and coolly despatched his shot past the Knaphill ‘keeper, off the inside of the far post, and into the net.
Looking to get level before the break, Knaphill fashioned chances for Farnham old boys George Pilbeam and Will May, but neither really troubled Town ‘keeper Liam Harris, who, in truth, had little to do in a first half where Farnham defended well.
That would change three minutes into the second half, when Harris was forced to make a superb reaction save with his feet.
And that chance set the tone for the second forty five minutes.
As Knaphill pressed hard for an equaliser, Farnham dug deep in defence and looked to catch their opponents on the break through the hard working Connor Young and the mercurial Owen Dean, returning from injury as a second half substitute.
By now, both sides were working hard to create, and deny, clearcut chances.
On 68 minutes, Owen Dean latched on to a route one clearance, only to see his shot well saved.
Then, just two minutes later, the Town ‘keeper Harris would make an even better save to deny Will May.
As the clock ticked down, it was the visitors who seemed the stronger and the Farnham fans were living on their nerves.
All of which made the last minute drama all the sweeter.
Awarded yet another free kick, Knaphill sent their ‘keeper up to spread confusion in the Town penalty area.
All too often this leads to nothing, but here a well worked routine saw the ball headed back across the Farnham six yard at a perfect height for the Knaphill ‘keeper to rise and direct a fine header into the bottom left corner of the net.
At least that’s what would have happened if Tom Smith hadn’t been alert to the danger, positioning himself perfectly to scoop the ball off the line and off the post, before getting up to block a follow up shot that was literally the last kick of the game.
A second win in a week will see the Town in good spirits before they face promotion chasing Raynes Park Vale next Saturday.
Wright’s Lion Brewery MOTM : Tom Smith
Huge thanks to our matchday sponsor Covers.
We hope you enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to seeing you again soon.
The Town’s next home match is the Combined Counties Premier Division South league game against Raynes Park Vale on Saturday 11 February. Kick off 3:00pm
