Guildford City (5) 7, Farnham (1) 3
by Jack Underwood
Much like the September weather Guildford City were on fire in the latest installment of the Hog’s back derby and it only took 20 seconds for City to create the first golden chance as Shawn Clement-Peter was put through on goal from the left hand side but the Farnham goalkeeper Richard Ossai got down and saved well. City continued to play excellent football in the opening minutes as both Ibby Akanbi and Perry Coles had powerful shots well saved by Ossai. Despite endless City pressure the opponents looked dangerous on the wings and in the 8th minute they had a great chance to make it 1-0 but the Farnham striker shot wide from an excellent position. It was clear early on that it would take something special to beat the Farnham keeper and that something special came from unlikely source Tom Booth, who on the 12 minute, intercepted the ball from deep and made a blistering run forward and shot from 20 yards out, firing straight past the keeper into the back of the net making it 1-0. The Sweeney didn’t have to wait long for the next goal to come as two minutes later Dan Harding found Shawn Clement-Peter just in the Farnham box, he swiftly cut inside and his low drive beat the diving Ossai. City kept moving up the gears with Jason Thompson, Jack Battie and Curtis Shaw controlling the tempo of the game and it wasn’t long before City’s leading goal scorer Perry Coles got on the score sheet with another fine shot from the edge of the box, which was smartly placed into the corner of the net in the 18th minute to make it 3-0. More great link up play followed only 2 minutes after as striker Dan Harding fed Perry Coles through on goal but Ossai raced out and dived at the City strikers feet but with excellent ball control Coles managed to keep the ball although now he was pushed out wide. With two defenders and the goalkeeper blocking his path it looked like the chance had gone but with great composure and improvisation Perry Coles chipped the ball over the heads of the keeper and defenders and the ball fell perfectly into the net making it 4-0. Although City were piling constant pressure on the opposition goal, the Farnham attack was still causing the Guildford defense problems and on the 24th minute a Farnham corner looped into the box and although Jordan Clement came out to try and claim it, Jack Dillon got his head to it and the ball flicked into the net to make it 4-1. The Sweeney may have had a frightful image of an incredible come back taking place but that image was soon washed away as Harding again put through the speedy Perry Coles whose low drive beat the diving Richard Ossai on the 26th minute to complete his hat-trick. City could have added many more goals to their name with chances falling to Dan Harding, Jack Battie, Perry Coles and Jason Thompson but the former Godalming goalkeeper Richard Ossai kept the scoreline at 5-1 at half time.
It didn’t take long for City to get going again and on the 48th minute Coles passed the ball to the overlapping Thompson who delivered an excellent cross into the area where Dan Harding was waiting to place the ball into the back of the net for his first Guildford City goal. Credit to Farnham who, despite being 6-1 down, didn’t give up and continued to look dangerous going forward and in the 61st minute a cross come shot from Matt Graham looped high into the air beating Jordan Clement and going straight into the top corner of the City goal. Once again City replied straight away with substitute Tom Bingham running to the byline and crossing to Perry Coles who made no mistake in getting his fourth goal of the match making the score 7-2. With Dean Thomas making all three substitutions by the 70th minute, the last 20 minutes saw City lose their attacking power and Farnham continued to strive for more goals and in the 76th minute they added another goal through a header by Eliot Cardona to make the final score 7-3. City looked excellent for 70 minutes, despite missing key players such as Matt Glass and Bobby Dormer, and if it wasn’t for the outstanding Farnham keeper Richard Ossai, City could have had many more goals.
Team: Jordan Clement, Tom Booth, Nathan Gordon, Jason Thompson, Alex Penfold, Jack Battie (Tom Bingham 56), Ibby Akanbi (Rob Wickenden 61), Curtis Shaw, Perry Coles (Marcel Henry-Francis 70), Dan Harding, Shawn Clement-Peter. Unused subs: Harry Mills
Referee: Peter Georgiou
Attendance – 92
Match Photos: Coming Soon
