Away to Farnborough

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To come away from Farnborough with a point is obviously a special result for us. It was made even more satisfying that two of our players, namely Lee Chaffey and Neil Midgley passed late fitness tests.

To be fair, ‘Chaffs’ still hadn’t recovered properly from Swine Flu, but wanted to play and he along with everyone else, put in a massive effort.

In addition, we had an issue with Zac Barrett as he arrived at the ground just 20 minutes before kick off as he had to make his own way to Farnborough due to work commitments, and as such didn’t get adequate preparation for the game, and it took him a while to adjust when the match got underway.

The pitch wasn’t particularly great in certain areas due to the heavy rain, but it was the same for both sides. The referee declared it fit, and you just have to get on with it.

It was good to take the lead, and again John Frendo showed great awareness to get the final touch after a goalmouth scramble. Once we were in front, I knew that it would just spur Farnborough on, they are too good a side not to hit back, and their front two of MacDonald and Bubb are a real threat.

Clearly I’m very proud of the players that we matched them stride for stride, but I did feel at times that with some of their set plays and with the goals that we let in, it showed up a slight lack of height at the back. This was due to the fact that we were missing Dave Theobald through injury.

Even when Farnborough attempted to get a stranglehold on the game at 2-1, I thought we responded well, and our second goal was really well worked. The ball in from James Krause was great and he had a fantastic game last night. Neil put the chance away well too, and at 2-2 the game was back in the pot.

At this point, it was proving to be an end-to-end contest. With their 3rd goal, I thought leading up to it, it was actually meant to be a corner, but the referee awarded a free kick, and I thought we were a little bit hesitant defensively in clearing the opportunity that let them in.

But once again, our never say die attitude shone through, and we were level almost immediately through Ash Fuller. He took his chance well, and has started the season in fine form too. I’ve told him that when he keeps possession, and is on his game, he is a great player for us.

Clearly we had to hold on for what appeared to be a mountain of injury time, and Zac was called on to make a couple of saves, but not many teams will come away from there with something this season.

It’s good to hear positive reports from the Farnborough fans about the quality in our side. As I’ve said before, we are a stronger unit this year, and with a point against the likes of Truro, Brackley, Nuneaton who I all expect to be contenders, and also to be unbeaten at the start of October is a fantastic achievement.

The fact that we are unbeaten, and on the back of the performance last night it means that confidence is sky high in the camp going into Saturday, and everyone is looking forward to it, plus we will have the added bonus of having Dave Theobald back from injury. That said, we are under no illusions as to how difficult the game will be. We are at home, but Hinckley themselves are coming off an unbeaten run, and with them being a league higher, they are going to be a tough nut to crack. Therefore, I want to appeal to the City fans to really get behind the team on Saturday, and create a great atmosphere inside Milton Road that can drive and spur the team on.

On the subject of the fans, well done to all those who travelled on such a filthy night. Your support always counts, and I hope you, like the players and staff, went home happy.