Ash United 1, Farnham Town 2

THIS time last year Farnham Town were in the middle of a horrible run that would ultimately cost them the chance of promotion to the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League.

As the weather turned and the pitches became heavy, all the promise from a flying start which saw Town top the table in October slowly sank into the Memorial Ground mud.

That they battled back to finish in the top four after a desperate run in January and February was of scant consolation to Town boss Luke Turkington.

Twelve months on, and after a similarly strong start and a little blip in December, Town seem to have turned the corner with lessons learned.

Charlie Oakley’s goal just after the hour mark at Ash United last Saturday, his third in as many games after being put through by impressive full back Jack Mitchell, earned gritty Town a third straight win to start the new year and saw them remain in second spot in their continuing quest to return to the top table next season.

On the face of it, while being a decent enough result in its own right, a 2-1 win at in-form Ash on a soft surface may seem nothing out of the ordinary for promotion hopefuls. But it was the manner of the win that was key.

Town led at half-time through a Tom Smith howitzer from wide on the left which sparked a cross or shot debate among his amused colleagues. Ash equalised 12 minutes into the second half. Charlie Oakley found a winner.

A week earlier in the rain at home to Bagshot, Town led, Bagshot equalised, Charlie Oakley found a winner.

The week before that, Town led 2-0 at Tooting Bec, had Mo Sabo sent off, immediately conceded a goal and then spent the remaining 30 minutes fending off a wave of Tooting attacks. Town held firm.

With the new year seems to have come new resolve, a deep desire to dig in and get the job done no matter what.

“All we need to do is keep grinding out results. It’s not comfortable, it’s not always good to watch, but it’s the results that matter,” said Town boss Luke Turkington, who saw talented teenager Rowan Sharratt boss the midfield and the back four stand firm against a useful side Ash side who have themselves hit something of a purple patch in recent weeks.

“It’s all about points on the board now,” he said.

“People were expecting us to go up at the start of the season, so the pressure was on us. We can only put pressure on the chasing pack by winning ourselves and we’ve done that. We’ve just got to keep going and knock teams off one by one.

“We are in a good position, we have beaten the top teams around us at their place bar Jersey and that’s another psychological barrier that they have to overcome, but we’re not there yet.

“Last year it was a tough league, this year it’s even harder, but we’ve improved, we’re looking good. I just hope the mentality of the players is that they stay switched on and make sure they respect every other team below them in order to compete because there are no free games in this league. We won’t be taking our foot off the gas.”

Farnham go in search of a fourth consecutive league win when they travel to Godalming Town on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

“You can never underestimate Godalming, on their day they can beat anyone,” added Turkington. “It doesn’t matter how it comes, the important thing is that we pick up the three points.”