Match Report

With the disappointment of last week's postponed game against the Met. Police (bottlers) a distant memory, we made the journey into New Eltham to face Eltham Town Vets. After careful consideration by the away team’s management during the course of the week the decision was made to play the game at the STC ground as the usual pitch was deemed unfit. Well if today’s was anything to go by I would have loved to have seen what the original one in Starbuck Lane looked like – I’m sure there is a coffee joke in there somewhere, oh well It’ll come to me later!

Again Farnborough were first to take the field and were left to cut the pitch up / warm up in the glorious sunshine for what seemed an eternity before the home team eventually graced us with their presence and when Eltham Town finally took to the pitch they did not have enough players to start the match. So what with Farnborough having the luxury of more subs than the Royal Navy we allowed them to have Jason Miller on an emergency loan deal for the first 45 minutes.

Farnborough lined up (first half) as follows

Gary Rosslee – GK
Neil Connelly – LB
Matt Wright – CB
Tony Simpson – CB
Mark Friend – RB
George Kleanthous – LM
Grant Gable – CM
Daragh Not – CM
Rich Davies – RM
Peter Harvey – CF
Paul Tanton – CF

Sub
Paul Brett
Sub Sub
Jim St John
Sub Sub Sub
Paul Bailey
Sub Sub Sub Sub
Danny Saines
Sub Sub Sub Sub Sub / oppo
Jason Miller

Both teams started equally but it was the home team who had the first decent chance of the game when Jason Miller (Eltham Town) floated in an excellent cross to his new found team mate unmarked at the far post which Rosslee hesitated to collect; thankfully Matt Wright was on hand to sensationally hook the ball off of the line to keep the scores level. Rosslee then made amends for his indecisiveness when he was on hand to prevent Eltham taking the lead smartly saving a one on one effort from the centre forward who had come agonisingly close moments before.

From that attack Farnborough went straight up the other end and took the lead from one of the goals of the season courtesy of Pete Harvey - shooting first time with the outside of his boot from at least 35 yards out over the goalkeeper and into the net. 0-1 OBG’s.

Eltham continued to press forward and this time it was the emergency loan sensation Jason Miller who jinked inside the box beating two defenders with ease but his effort was saved by Rosslee from close range. Sandwiched in between another Eltham effort courtesy of a header over the bar the immense Matt Wright was on hand yet again to clear another effort to safety however this time over his own bar by a matter of inches which saved his blushes. Farnborough then hit Eltham on the break once again using the big pitch to play to their strengths and Pete Harvey bagged his second of the match and his 15th of the season 0-2 Farnborough. Grant Gable was unlucky not to put even further daylight between the two teams just before the break when his effort crashed off of the upright. So half time 0-2 Farnborough.

Half time and barring the few chances that Eltham had carved out Farnborough were in control……and then cue the “Ranieri effect” Farnborough decided to make more changes than David Bowie and those on the sideline ALL got a run out and there would be even further team rotation during the next 45 minutes.

With Farnborough kicking into the sun Eltham came at them like a caged animal and it wasn’t long before their burly centre forward had another opportunity to open his account however Rosslee saved bravely with his feet which resulted in a bruised foot for Rosslee and an early bath for the centre forward's boots! (I hope he still has the receipt for them). Now from what happened there on some people out may claim it was the change of footwear that went on to affect the rest of the match and change the whole space and time continuum???

Returning from the home changing rooms and now sporting new foot attire the Eltham centre forward was able to pounce onto a ball over the top of the defence and finish first time to make the scores 1-2, a sloppy goal to concede by Farnborough’s standards in fact a sloppy goal to concede by any standards! Farnborough became tense from this and then lightning struck twice in the same place when again the ball was played over the top of the back 4 and the same forward finished for his second of the game 2-2, Farnborough again caught sleeping.

Pete Harvey was unlucky not to restore Farnborough’s lead and bag his hat-trick after he neatly rounded the goalkeeper only to see his effort sail over the bar after the angle was against him and then with 5 minutes to go Eltham grabbed their third of the game with yet another ball over the top of the defence and their centre forward who could not hit a particular lower part of a farmyard animal with a stringed instrument in the first half netted his third of the game. 3-2 Eltham, Farnborough in disarray.

There was still some time for controversy when Paul Tanton thought he had equalised but he was adjudged to have been offside and the goal therefore was disallowed. Farnborough’s 7 game unbeaten run had gone up in smoke; they had been undone by 3 sucker punch goals.

Next week we are scheduled to be at home to Santos Vets however based on some of the comments about the state of the FOBG I am not so sure. Some spectators claimed it ended up looking like the trenches of WWI after Saturday’s match – one thing I do know is ‘not even the army went over the top as many times as the oppo today’!!

MOM Jason Miller (probably for his first half performance).