PROMOTION contenders Farnham Town are fast becoming specialists in the art of winning by the odd goal – and Town boss Luke Turkington doesn’t mind one bit.
Goals from in-form striker Charlie Oakley and a penalty from Matt Glass were enough for a 2-1 win at Godalming’s Bill Kyte Stadium on Saturday – the fourth such scoreline in a row following wins against Tooting Bec, Bagshot and Ash United.
The end result is a perfect January as Town continue their determined quest to dine at the Combined Counties League’s top table again next season.
“I’m just glad we got a win,” said Turkington, whose in-form side have a four-point cushion over third-placed Bedfont & Feltham with a game in hand in the race for the top four with 16 games of an already compelling season to go.
“It was all we needed to do and I will happily take 2-1 wins for the rest of the season because that would be enough to get us promoted.”
In truth, the scoreline really flattered Godalming, who had no answer to Farnham’s quick passing, good movement and constant wave of attacks.
And but for Godalming goalkeeper Adrian Giles, who had a brief spell with Farnham Town, the margin would almost certainly have been much higher.
“Gilesy was with us for a bit and we knew that he had an excellent game in him and he proved that last Saturday, he kept his side in the game,” admitted Turkington after watching the busy shotstopper frustrate Farnham with a string of fine saves, notably when getting a vital fingertip to a Rowan Sharratt free kick which cannoned back off the crossbar.
But he was powerless to stop Oakley making it four goals in as many matches after a delightful through ball from Joe Sowden or the Glass penalty which arrowed into the bottom left corner after Connor Gales had handled Jack Mitchell’s long throw into the penalty area under pressure from Mo Sabo.
Godalming were given a lifeline when Farnham allowed a booming clearance from Giles to bounce and Daniel Chapman capitalised on a breakdown in communication to round Farnham keeper Dease Kerrison and slot into an empty net a minute from time.
Thankfully for Farnham it was nothing more than a scant consolation for a Godalming side who were well beaten having been dominated by an impressive Farnham midfield headed by the impressive Kye Nash, who had one of his best games in a Town shirt – a fact not lost on Turkington.
“What’s really exciting is that last week my man of the match was Rowan (Sharratt) and he’s only 18 years old. This week, my man of the match was Kye Nash, and he’s only 18 years old. These boys have got a really bright future ahead of them,” he said.
“We have got the balance absolutely spot on. They have got the players around them that are looking after them. I’m so pleased that these two boys have come into an adult side with a lot of experience around them and they are not fazed. It’s so pleasing for me as a manager to see these young players come through. It’s a real pleasure to see them both flourish.”
As for the result itself, Turkington added: “The boys are happy because they won. It doesn’t matter too much now about getting the comfortable result it’s just getting the three points that we need.
“All the time we keep winning it puts pressure on the teams below us, so that’s all we can do, just try to keep on winning.”
Farnham now have two home games, playing Eversley & California on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) before welcoming Fleet Spurs to the Memorial Ground on Tuesday (kick-off 7.45pm).