Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson was pleased with his side’s efforts after they claimed a crucial 1-0 win against promotion rivals Jersey Bulls in the Combined Counties Premier Division South last Tuesday night.

The three points against third-placed Jersey moved Farnham another big step closer towards securing the league title, and extended Town’s winning start in the league to 24 matches.

Farnham pushed hard for a winner against a well-organised Jersey side, and ramped up the pressure in the second half.

Town received a blow in the 82nd minute when they were reduced to ten men when Kai Tanner received a straight red card for an off the ball shove.

Farnham’s ten men kept pushing for a winner, though, and Owen Dean won the home side a penalty on 86 minutes when he burst into the box and was fouled by Jersey’s Fergus Boyle. Boyle received a second yellow card for the foul and was sent off.

Harry Cooksley kept his composure from the spot and found the bottom corner to give Farnham the points.

“It was a good way to win the game,” said Johnson. 

“It looked like it was going to be one goal in the game. I always felt it would be us.

“I don’t think they really offered too much going forward but I think they would say the same. We didn’t create too much but we just kept pushing and pushing and we got our rewards.

“They’re a well-organised side. They’ve been together since they’ve been in the Combined Counties, so they know each other really well.

“It makes a difference when you’ve been together so long and that showed with them, but I felt we were comfortable. They took us to the wire, credit to them, but we got over the line.

“The boys want to play football and get on the ball but sometimes that’s not always the way.

“We wanted to target their left-back – we thought that was an area we could target.

“That’s what we asked for – try to put it on the left-back as much as we can, but it seemed to open up the other way down the right-hand side.

“Fortunately for us it was the left-back in the end that won us the game in terms of the penalty and the red card, so it panned out.”

Johnson praised Dean for winning the penalty and Cooksley for keeping his composure from the spot.

“He just goes and goes Owen,” said Johnson.

“He gets a little bit frustrated at times but one thing he does is he never shirks away and he got his rewards because he worked hard.

“Harry likes those moments, he enjoys them, and we’re lucky we’ve got him.”

Johnson was frustrated with the referee’s decision to send Tanner off, but was pleased with his side’s reaction to that blow.

“It’s a poor decision but it is what it is,” said Johnson.

“We stayed in exactly the same shape in what we were doing and I thought the boys were brave when we went down to ten.

“We kept pushing and they looked like the team with ten and it paid off.”