Match Report

A cold November afternoon saw Charlton Athletic Deaf come up against a resilient Farnborough team who over recent weeks have shown great improvement and the development of a real team spirit. The game started off at a frantic pace with both teams challenging their opposing defences with the Charlton team finding the back four of Dave Koutikoff, Dan Warwick, Stuart Milner and Michael Whiffin in determined form. It was evident early on that this was going to be a physical encounter as Farnborough got in their challenges early and hard which ensured that they had won the early battle of the minds as the Charlton forward threw out kicks and punches. After 15 minutes Farnborough started to take control of the game, strong work in the middle of the park from Nick Hardway & Sam Fryer ensured we took control of the game. Excellent work down the channels from Tony Townsend and Laurence Smith ensured that Jimmy Bane and Jamie Stanton were getting plenty of service up front. After 30 minutes the Farnborough pressure paid off, an excellent cross from Laurence Smith was cleared by the Charlton defence and found Stuart Milner hovering outside the box, he unleashed a fantastic shot which deflected up into the air to find Jamie Stanton in composed form as he tucked the ball into the back of the net. The 1st half continued in much of the same form as Farnborough pushed for a second. Jon Douglass in the Farnborough sticks was rarely troubled but rose to the occasion when required. Tempers started to flair as the Charlton players became increasingly frustrated as the first half came to an end.

The second half started in much of the same way, Nick Hardway orchestrated the midfield as we continued to push for a second goal, slick passing down the left from Stuart Milner & Sam Fryer sent Bane through the middle who was taken out by the advancing keeper. Penalty to Farnborough and the every ready Dave Koutikoff stepped up to make it 2 – 0 from the spot. At this point Farnborough for some reason started to sit very deep, possibly due to the unusual fact that we were leading 2-0 and invited the Charlton players to attack and very quickly we found the score back at level terms with two quick goals. This seemed to be the catalyst that Farnborough needed to wake up from their slumber, every player battled and fought for the ball, Danny Anderson in particular working hard along the right. We pushed and pushed to get a break through and when Nick Hardway found the ball at his feet on the edge he smashed the ball into the net, 3 – 2 Farnborough with 5 minutes left on the clock. Not wanting to make the previous mistakes everyone worked hard to ensure we saw the clock run down for the Fourths to take their second win of the season.

Again another fantastic team performance, there was a real edge with the team this week and we are definitely taking shape as a team. Every player on the pitch fighting to not only keep their place in the team but to also ensure we start to climb the table. Man of the match this week went to Nick Hardway who fought continuously in the middle of the park and capped things off with the winning goal. Well done Nick!!