FARNHAM were effectively pushed through the relegation trapdoor by this heavy defeat to promotion-hunting Guildford at the Park on Saturday.

When the sides had met back in June, it was Farnham who had triumphed, by 179 runs – one of only two victories in a miserable season which sees them bottom of the Surrey Championship Division One with three games remaining, 56 points adrift of eighth-placed Valley End.

Farnham’s hopes of a repeat success against the city club were dashed as they went down by 85 runs, chasing a rain-adjusted 204 from 47 overs.

Home skipper Tom Grimes gambled on inserting his opponents on a pitch soaked by the previous day’s storms, but instead gave them an advantage as batting generally gets tougher at Farnham as the pitch dries.

Rob Goldsworthy struck an important blow when he bowled Nathan Tilley off an inside edge, but Guildford were indebted to the studious Alex Sweet, whose placement and judgement of which ball to hit in making 71 put some of his colleagues to shame.

A 54-run partnership with Jack Cunningham (30) gave the innings substance, the main threat to Sweet being his own running. It was only the unselfish action of his captain, Tom Collins, in allowing himself to be run out when Sweet pushed firmly to Grimes at mid-on and set off for a suicidal single, that prevented Farnham from removing him earlier.

There were two wickets each for Goldsworthy and off-spinners Nathan Thorpe and Ciaran Rooney, Guildford’s last pair having to bat through much of the final 10 overs for them to reach 207 all out.

Farnham were boosted by a five-run penalty for a fielding infraction in the first over of their reply, but their rapid start faded in the third when Thorpe wandered out of his ground and wicketkeeper and former team-mate Joel Walker threw down the stumps. Walker also pouched Toby Davies off Duncan Selmes in the fourth, the hosts paying the penalty for those two early losses when a rain-break saw their target readjusted to 204 from 47.

That left Farnham’s fate in the hands of Guy Hicks and the prolific James Berry, but the latter was soon trapped leg-before by left-arm spinner Joe Pipkin for six.

Hicks had scored a century in the match at Woodbridge Road and reached 50 this time, the highlight being a pulled six into the Castle moat off George Barlow. When he edged Pipkin to Collins at slip, though, it was 91-6. Grimes resisted for 14, but his side were bowled out for 118 in 35 overs as Guildford went top.

Farnham travel to third-placed Esher this Saturday.