Match Report

Illness, player unavailability and a monster hangover meant the squad went from 16 on Thursday to 12 at 10.15 Sunday morning...with the 12 including the management duo of Darren in goal and Vince as sole substitute.

Today's opponents were a Lombard Phoenix side who had made a stuttering start to the season winning just one of their opening 5 league games. To everyone's surprise, and to some people's disappointment the game was played despite the downpour in the previous 24 hours, which to be fair the Lombard pitch had stood up to pretty well.

The game kicked off and Farnborough didn't start very brightly, seeming to struggle to take any foothold on the game. Lombard were to have what would prove to be the only 15 minutes of the 90 where they would look the stronger side. It was during those 15 minutes that they took the lead. On 10 minutes the ball was played through from the back splitting the FOBG defence. The centre forward beat the offside trap and rounded Burkett in goal before coolly slotting into an empty net from an acute angle.

5 minutes later FOBG came to life and scored a good equaliser through the makeshift centre forward Fullone, who reacted quickly when the goalkeeper saved his first effort. From there on in Farnborough were the dominant outfit winning first and second challenges everywhere, playing some neat football despite the challenges brought by a pitch that was turning more and more bog like with every minute that passed.

The half came with the score locked at 2-2. Lombard took the lead again following an uncharacteristic mistake by Beesley, allowing the Lombard centre forward through for a 1 on 1 in which he would claim his 2nd goal of the game. The 2nd FOBG equaliser was the pick of all the goals following a move that started in their own half, involving 5 players before being finished confidently by Fullone who also notched his 2nd of the game.

As the two sides broke for the half time team talk all in FOBG colours agreed that the game was there for the taking. Starting the 2nd half as we had played the last 30 minutes of the 1st were the orders.

FOBG continued to dominate, creating chance after chance after chance. Combinations of the woodwork, good goalkeeping and wayward finishing were to prove decisive. Despite being by far the stronger side, Lombard's centre forward scored his and their 3rd following a lapse in concentration at the back and bagged what was to prove the winner.

3-2 it finished. A decent performance but FOBG were to leave with nothing to show for it.

I don't think MOM votes were actually collected, and so unofficially this weeks MOM went to Pete Butler. Pete was head and shoulders above everyone else in the opening 45 minutes and had the accolade wrapped up by then. He continued to be the pick of the 22 on display in the second half. Mention also goes to Fullone who scored two good goals and led the line well linking with his fellow centre forward and the midfield effectively.

This Sunday is another away league game against a side we have beaten already this season...Cudham United. Despite their league position, a tough encounter will be had. When we played them before we shaded the contest by the odd goal which came very very late.

Today's team: GK - D. Burkett, RB - J. Adams, CB - B. Beesley, CB - A. Benningfield, LB - T. Skrine (V. Wray), RM - J. Miller, CM - P. Butler, CM - D. Clark, LM - S. Small, CF - G. Fullone, CF - A. Wray

A REMINDER - £45 REGISTRATION MUST BE PAID THIS SUNDAY. PLENTY OF NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN...AND IGNORED.