Walton & Hersham 0, Farnham Town 1

IF Farnham Town are to achieve their goal of a top four finish and promotion back into the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League next season, then brave hearts will be required.

And if last Saturday’s win at Walton & Hersham is anything to go by, then Town boss Luke Turkington has very little to worry about.

A solitary penalty from Jack May was enough to see off the live threat of a decent Walton side and make it four wins out of four on the road for Town.

But the win was arguably down to the bravery of Town striker Charlie Oakley, who eagerly chased down a through ball only to be poleaxed by onrushing Walton goalkeeper Logan Cullen, who was shown a straight red card as well as conceding May’s winning second-half penalty.

“You put your body on the line sometimes in football,” said Turkington. “There was no malice in the challenge from the goalkeeper, he had to commit. The good news is that Charlie’s on the mend. He’s still a bit groggy but he’s put his head where it hurts and it’s won us the game.”

May’s convincing penalty against Cullen’s outfield stand in not only kept his goalscoring run going but earned his skipper some praise from Turkington.

“I feel now that the group is gelling really well and I say that because our captain (Jacob McDonald) normally steps up to take penalties, but he’s had a quick word with Jack and let him take the penalty and given him the chance to keep the goals flowing,” he explained.

“That’s a superb thing that Jacob has done.”

The end result was a gritty win on Walton’s unfamiliar 3G pitch, at the ground they share with Southern League Walton Casuals, and a fourth consecutive clean sheet away from home after another outstanding display from the back four, led by the imperious Harry Oakley, and goalkeeper Dease Kerrison, who was called on to make a couple of smart saves, not least when he palmed away a fizzing effort in the 88th minute as the ten men of Walton looked for an equaliser.

“Saturday was about the result and we got it, and that was a fantastic feeling,” enthused Turkington, who saw his side go five games unbeaten in all competitions as they consolidated third place in Division One with two games in hand on the top two.

“Last week (against Epsom & Ewell) was the best performance I’ve seen us play, but Saturday was the best result we’ve had. Walton & Hersham are the best team we have faced so far and we were up for the challenge. I know we’ve had a 7-0 win, and that was good, and last week was an excellent performance, but in terms of a result that was the best so far.

“It was a steely sort of performance and I can’t fault the backline this week or last week. That’s three games on the trot where we haven’t conceded a goal, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

Saturday’s win was Farnham’s sixth in eight games, and what makes the run all the more impressive is that virtually all of Town’s opponents have been in the top half of the table – as are Dorking Wanderers Reserves, who lie fourth and who visit the Memorial Ground this Saturday.

“We’re getting the results that we require, and all against the teams in the top half of the league, I just hope we can carrying on doing that against the teams in the bottom half of the table,” said Turkington.

“It’s easy to talk about it now but I’m not counting my chickens just yet because we’re only about a quarter of the way through the season.

“Dorking are a fantastic development squad and if you let them into the game they are going to punish you, you have to try to kill them off early. So we know it’s going to be a very tough task on Saturday but we will be trying to pick up the three points.”

Farnham Town: Kerrison, Mitchell, Smith, Sowden, Forster, H Oakley, Nash (Page 65), McDonald, C Oakley (Meaton 50), Karma (Peel 74), May. Subs (not used): Harburn.