Match Report

Saturday saw the second game of the season between Welling Park and the 4th team. In their previous encounter only two weeks previously, Farnborough were unlucky to lose with a last minute goal from Welling. It was also a heated affair with a player sent off from both teams. Welling approached this rematch as if they were going to walk all over us and this was confirmed when there Captain stated that we were “the worst team in the league”.

The first half was a battle of wills, both teams pressing forward looking for a break through but coming up against solid defences. A back 5 of Jon Douglass in goal, Steve Blanchard and Dave Koutikoff in the centre with Stuart Milner and Michael Whiffin in the full back position were resolute in their performance, tackling hard and ensuring that Welling were unable to break through. Our centre midfield was in energetic form with Nick Hardway and Sam Fryer tracking back and attacking at every available opportunity whilst Laurence Smith and Chris Duffin held the wings. Up front the every present Jimmy Bane & Jamie Stanton worked tirelessly to pressure the Welling defence. The game in general took on this familiar format for the full 90 minutes as Farnborough battled against a team second in the league. It is difficult to point out many real action points from the game as this was a true battle of fitness and strength. Key performances in particular were from Sam Fryer who tracked, chased and committed to every tackle and also Michael Whiffin who put in a fantastic Man of the Match performance, in one instance picked his pray off like a great white, shadowing, shadowing and then launching in with a stern tackle.

The second half saw Jel Raven, Tony Townsend and Paul Edwards take to the field and continue the good form of their colleagues. There were few goal opportunities through the game, Welling probably having the most opportunities however with 30 seconds left in the game, Stanton broke free and was taken down in the box with a harsh tackle, penalty surely, Koutikoff was licking his lips however the referee didn’t see it this way and waved for play on. The game finished 0 – 0 and was a well fought battle by each and every one of the Farnborough players who should be proud of their performance. The team is really starting to take shape now and its cant be long before we are reporting on win after win.