Undoubtedly our biggest game of the season saw us drawn against Guildford Saints in the Surrey Cup semi-final. On the back of some good performances in the league and two great results in this competition vs Epsom Eagles and Leatherhead, this match was eagerly anticipated by all.
The first 10 minutes started well for Farnborough, with the game played in the opposition's half and a couple of half chances created. Guildford were well organised and a hard working team. Defending from the front, they closed us down well and attempted to pressure us into a mistake which is exactly happened to open the scoring, when a pass-back led to a scuffed clearance that landed at the feet of the Guildford forward, who used his pace to get down the line and cross the ball into the far post for their winger to score unopposed.
Guildford soon doubled the scoring when they got a free kick just outside the penalty area on the left and swung a great ball in, only for the Farnborough defence to watch as the ball drifted into the goal.
After this blow, heads went down and it was always going to be difficult to come back. The boys didn't stop working and started to slowly get back into the game, only to concede another goal when a shot managed to find its way into the net after Karl failed to hold it.
Ryan had the best chance of the half when a through ball from Tom B beat the off side trap and round the keeper. His shot was stopped on the line by the defender, the rebound came back to him only for the keeper to save the second shot, as the ball landed back at Ryan's feet for the third time, his shot went narrowly wide.
Half time and 3-0 to Guildford FC.
Half time subs saw Adam come on for Karl, Okey for Harry Small, Josh Evans for James and Joe Monk for Ed. Within minutes of the second half starting we found ourselves 4-0 down when a clearance fell at the feet of the Guildford forward who clipped it over the defence and into the top of the net. Four became five when a shot bounced in front of Adam and he could only parry it into his own net.
Now it was all about just keep battling and see if we could make the score more respectable. This is what the boys did. Working hard they managed to get a free kick in the centre of the pitch about 30 yards from goal. Tom B took the free kick which was parried, as the ball came out Ryan was on hand to score a well deserved goal.
Tom B then scored another for us with a great free kick from fully 30 yards that he drilled into the top of the net. A great goal and a moment to savour from an unlucky match.
At the final whistle the boys, although dejected, realised that they are as good as Guildford and on another day could have won the match.
In the end Scott's suspension, three players with heavy colds, Callum's injury and fatigue proved too much against a Guildford team who chased harder, pressed from the front and ultimately deserved to win. Unfortunately for us we had a season's worth of mistakes in one game, which was just unlucky and this Farnborough FC team deserved better.
Still, we learn more from these defeats than if we had won and use that to our advantage. Back for a league game next week , with our aim now to finish the season unbeaten in in SYL Premier and Champions.
No comments:
Post a Comment