There are few more crushing feelings in football than watching your side lose to an injury time goal. Seeing your side do so in the purgatory that is Farnborough, having played and defended so well for 90 minutes is doubly depressing. This was another sucker punch in a season that has seen us on the receiving end of a fair few, but it did show a marked improvement on previous performances in such games and gives hope we’ll be able to get the points we need to secure survival in this god forsaken division. One that we’ll ideally one day depart on an upwards trajectory, rather than falling through the trapdoor.
As away trips from London go, this was a pretty simple one for me to make. Working within striking distance of Waterloo, I was able to curry a favour from a colleague and head to the station to get the 1812 from there to Farnborough, arriving in plenty of time to take in the sights and scenes of the local area. I jest, I got a taxi straight to the ground. Farnborough is a curious place and seems to have been locked in a timeless battle with Aldershot for the coveted title of ‘the shittest town in Hampshire’, but their football team are flying high in the league and look like a good bet for the title. They have been something of a boom and bust club over the past few seasons with smatterings of financial problems interspersed with success and investment. This is one of those more successful periods with our hosts assembling a good squad with a lot of football league experience, and this game doubled up as the game in hand for both of us and them after the original fixture was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. With our odds drifting out as far as 12/1 in a three horse race, it was fair to say the bookies didn’t really fancy us.
A point here would be huge for our survival hopes as It would take us three points clear of Kings Langley with us both having played the same number of games, and also give us a slightly better goal difference than our nearest rivals. Buoyed by the 2-1 success having been behind at the aforementioned Kings Langley on Saturday, a result that had lifted us out of the relegation places, we headed to Hampshire’s armpit with some added confidence. I was pleased to find my taxi was cheap but not as cheap as the concession rate I was charged on the gate to get in as I was admitted for free with my Blue Light Card. In the current financial climate, every little helps. A quick stop in the gents revealed what is possibly the world’s highest urinal, one so high that El Generale may have to use the cubical and treat himself to a sit down wee as I don’t even think standing on tiptoes would have helped. Once in the bar, which is in need of some care and attention as it felt a bit like a ‘Cold War Steve’ setting, I decided to invest some of the money I had saved in a golden goal ticket and by luck if the draw ended up with the 90th minute. Feeling that was likely a quid wasted I afforded myself a giggle at my own misfortune and was soon joined by The General as we ran the rule over the team sheet.
There was only the one change to the starting XI as Charlie Gunson came in for Tom Purrington, who was named amongst the substitutes. We were unsure if this was tactical or not but the game did seem to suit Charlie’s more combative approach, even if changing a winning side is somewhat of a bugbear at times. The bench was Yemi-less as we were told his partner had just given birth, so he joined Tom Soares on paternity leave as he had also become a father in recent days. Congrats to the new pair of Dad’s, looking forward to seeing them both break out the ‘rock the baby’ or a thumb sucking celebration on Saturday. The four man bench was competed by Ben Symes, Josh Baxter and Louis Slough as our numbers seemed somewhat depleted. El Gen and I made our way out the terraces to see which way we’d be kicking and after a cup of a tea and a cheeseburger had been acquired, we took up residence on the terrace in the corner as we kicked towards a largely vacant oversized stand at one end. There were a dozen or so of us assembled there which sadly didn’t include Keith Kellaway who was unable to make it. Nothing to do with his wedding anniversary but the matter of a rather vital game of bowls had come up. So as Keith aimed for the jack, we looked to play out from the back. Or something like that.
It was a pretty even start, both sides enjoying a fair bit of possession without any real end product. Frankie Sutherland slicing a shot wide from distance for the home side, Alfie Stanley flashing an effort past the far post for us. A few promising positions came to nothing for Farnborough and both sides were wasteful when in good crossing positions, form open play and set pieces. We seemed to gain more control as the half went on, Olaf causing problems and winning several fouls before he mistimed lob landed a few rows back. But he would have the games first meaningful shot on target as he forced the home keeper, Jack Turner, into a good save up to his right as his rising effort from the edge of the box was heading goal bound. We’d continue to press, better delivery from set pieces seeing Callum Buckley head over and an excellent delivery from an Oakley set piece not being attacked as it probably should have been. A mark of how much possession we were having was the amount of time that Callum Buckley spent on the ball in the Farnborough half as we matched the home side for the majority of the half. A couple of half chances and efforts from range being dealt with comfortably by Jack Bycroft, but there were signs of what was to come as Paul Hodges would come much closer as he bundled an effort well clear of the bar. John Oyengua’s well struck shot was closer but not close enough as the hosts found some more consistency going forward. But 0-0 it was at half time, a fair reflection on what had been entertaining if not uneventful 45 minutes in which we had certainly been equal to our high-flying hosts.
We got the impression there was probably a lot more to come from Farnborough, but we once again started steadily with no chances of note or one team dominating possession in the second half’s opening exchanges. Farnborough would start to show more attacking intent and as the half wore on, they went through the gears a bit. Elliott Buchanan, who had scored twice in the reverse fixture, wasn’t in such lethal form as he missed the target with two good chances, but his teammates would soon find their range as we were put under more concerted pressure. Their improved accuracy would soon properly test Jack Bycroft who responded by producing an outrageous looking save to keep out a close range header. We didn’t have the best view from the far end of the ground, but this looked a save from the very top drawer to keep the game at 0-0. Harry McGrath would make way for Tom Purrington just after the hour mark as we looked to gain a bit more control and we’d still look threatening when we did get into more advanced positions. A couple of corners came to nothing but there would be controversy with 20 minutes to go as Oakley appeared to be wiped out in the penalty area, the referee gave it a big cut the grass and awarded nothing. Much like the Bycroft save, I’d need to see it back to be sure, but judging by the reactions of both sets of players and seeing it from our angle, it looked a penalty. That said, we were managing the game, which seems to be the polite modern way of saying timewasting and general shithousing, well as Olaf and Alfie closed down defenders and made life awkward, Lowes and Gunson (who had his best game in a Dorch shirt) were the right combination of combative and clever, and the defensive line was much like they had been on Saturday in that they were committed and playing bloody well.
As the game wore on into the final ten minutes, those of us assembled behind the goal got increasingly nervous. Steve looking like a man who had just realised he’d booked tickets for Barnsley away on the same day as his girlfriend’s birthday, me looking like a man who has just had just remembered the fact he has an hour wait post-match for his train home. “I genuinely don’t like football. I can only enjoy it when it’s over”, said Steve. Nerves weren’t improved as Farnborough edged closer to a goal as they created more chances and applied more pressure. Bycroft, who was by general consensus our MOTM, once more coming to the rescue with another fine save, this time low to his right, as we came under more pressure and dropped slightly deeper. But we were still defending well with bodies being flung in front of shots, crosses, and opponents as we worked hard for what would have been a deserved point. As the 90 minute mark passed and we entered into injury time, Glenn elected to bring on Ben Symes for Olaf in a move that raised a few eyebrows and questions from those of us behind the goal, but before any sentences could be finished we were rendered speechless by a hammer blow as Farnborough went ahead.
What looked like a bloody good cross was headed in by home sub, David Pratt, which sparked a small pitch invasion by what looked like the JD Sports winter sale catalogue models. It was a heart-breaking goal to concede for both players and fans. Heads in hands, people lying flat in a state of distress, head bowed, and this was on both the pitch and the terrace. Steve swatted his water bottle halfway down the terrace in anger, before then going to pick it up and bin it as he cares about the environment. He did slam the bin lid in a frustrated manner though so we knew he was still hurting. There was still two minutes on the clock once the remainder of B-wing had been removed from the playing area, but we were unable to mount a meaningful attack and as the final whistle blew and second waive of borderline grief came over us. Had we lost 1-0 with a goal coming after about an hour, it would have felt frustrating but not as bad as this did. This one was soul destroying. We’ve had some pretty morale sapping defeats over the past few seasons and a handful this season alone. But this one was really hard take. Having matched them first half and defended brilliantly for so long, we didn’t deserve to lose like that. Even my £40 win on the golden goal ticket felt hollow. I’d have gladly won nothing in exchange for a point. Selfless, I know. But as that well known prophet, Vince McMahon, once said; “life sucks, and then you die.”
The players had put everything into the 90 minutes and got a well-deserved round of applause from those of us behind the goal. It was a horrible result to take but the group can take great encouragement from the way they played. Hopefully these last two games have helped raise the standard, even in defeat we can take positives from this one, and will help us pick up the necessary points to survive. We looked a far more cohesive unit defensively and even if opportunity was scarce going forward at times, we still carry a considerable threat. With Met Police at home on Saturday, the games don’t get any easier, but we’ve upped our game in the past few days and with the squad hopefully being bolstered with potentially Sa, Soares and Yemi all returning to the fray, maybe the XI and certainly the bench should look much stronger. Having seen the top three sides in the league this season, the Met are comfortably the best all around side for my money, but if we put it together then we’re more than capable of getting a result. As I waited on the platform at Farnborough for 35 long minutes for my train. I contemplated a few things, quite how a Twirl could cost a £1 was one of the more distressing things, but I hold much more hope of staying up now than I did post Merthyr. Hopefully my optimism isn’t misplaced.
Glenn has a few days to try and add to the squad and pick the players up after that morale sapping blow. He does seem to have found a favoured formation now which with tweaks can hopefully become a successful one. As said in previous blogs, we need to stay up by any means necessary and allow Glenn to have a full pre-season get rid of what he sees are deadwood and bring in what he thinks he needs on pitch and in the dugout rather than operating with a lot of hand-me-downs from previous incumbents of the managers office. But for the time being, we have six rather big games to worry about, three at home and three on the road. Met Police and Yate both have promotion aspirations, the other four are either in the delightful surrounds of midtable mediocrity, or staring relegation in the face (Wimborne). 18 points to play for, the same as Kings Langley who are directly below us, and Hartley Wintney who are directly above. I’m not sure what I think the ‘magic number’ would be from those 18 available but I suspect 10 would probably suffice but that would need a big upturn in results. But if we play like we did second half v Kings Langley and for the 90 minutes at Farnborough, I don’t think we’ll be too far off that. Here’s hoping…
This is potentially my final game and therefore final blog of the season, with the season finale away at Walton Casuals being the only one I can possibly make. Up The Magpies , If this is the final game and blog combo of the season, I hope my next matchday review will be from one of the many grounds I hate in the god awful league as I’ve no idea how the hell I’d get to Slimbridge from Peckham if were to go down. SV.
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