Tuesday 29th September 2026
Surrey Senior Cup, First Round – Farnham Town (H) 1-2
I have a soft spot for Farnham – I studied and lived there in the late Nineties. It’s a nice place to live – so nice in fact, it’s hard to leave, doubtless explaining the low number of fans that travelled to see their side begin their defence of the Surrey Cup. Just three hundred and twenty-four people turned out for this one, making it our lowest attendance of the season to date, and by some distance.
With holidays, bans and injuries a factor, although the Tanners’ line-up still featured a number of familiar faces, many were in unfamiliar positions. The only recognised midfielder was Mark, with only Matty (and Ian!) on the bench, and there were starts for Deondre and Nathan. Anas, Kofi and Marcel were all out there too, so with so many attack-minded players on the pitch, it perhaps wasn’t a surprise to see us start so brightly. After Marcel’s fifth-minute header from a great Bobby cross had drawn a save from James Shaw, we took the lead five minutes later. Anas clipped a smart first-time finish into the net after good work from Charlie and Nathan on the left to tee him up.
Tanners were competitive throughout, but as might have been expected, Farnham began to take over. Tanners’ defence had to be on constant alert, doing well to limit the visitors’ crossing and shooting opportunities with some meaty blocks and well-timed tackles. Even so, Farnham did register a couple of notable chances. Sonny tipped Ryan Kinnane’s twenty-fifth minute header onto the bar, and he was at full stretch in the fortieth minute, diving to his right and pushing the ball firmly away to safety.
With the half winding down, Tanners got a second wind, and Nathan tested the keeper with a trademark ‘cut in from the left and shoot with the right’ effort. Kemall then launched a cross-come-shot in from the right that dipped ever goalwards, eventually only clearing the bar by a few inches.
Halftime – Tanners 1, Farnham Town 0.
Deondre had sight of goal on fifty-two minutes, turning in a tight space in the box before getting a shot away that took a nick for a corner. Anas had been instrumental in getting us up the pitch in the build-up.
Owen Dean had replaced Erion Zabeli at halftime, and as Farnham once again began to take over, he nicked the ball off Niran and served up a great cross that Sanders stuck just past the post. Kemall then showed his worth again moments later with a well-timed block on a goal bound shot.
For all the pressure on our goal, Tanners might have extended their increasingly fragile lead on fifty-nine minutes when Nathan’s cute little left footed ‘dink’ beat the keeper, only to hit the bar. Ian then swapped out Marcel for Matty – he’s shown some nice stuff in his increasingly lengthy cameos as he continues his comeback from injury, and tonight was no different. He burst down the right shortly after his introduction before making a chance for Kofi, the shot going narrowly wide.
Farnham brought on Trae Cook-Appiah on sixty-seven minutes, and he didn’t take long to get up to speed (‘speed’ being the operative word – he’s rapid). He got in down the left and centred it for a teammate to shoot, but Niran and Sonny combined to keep it out. That set the tone for the rest of the game, Farnham relentless in trying to break us down. There was more stout defending, more near misses, and one particularly good save by Sonny from a Bobby-Joe Taylor strike on seventy-four minutes, but eventually we cracked…
Cook-Appiah again used his pace and power down the left before squaring to Sanders to finish in the eighty-fourth minute. Just a minute later, a similar bit of play on the right saw Dean supply Taylor, and suddenly it was two-one. A late Nathan free kick presented a chance to get back on terms, but it was off target, and quite frankly after Saturday, it was probably just as well that it didn’t go to penalties…
Fulltime – Tanners 1, Farnham Town 2.
We can’t have too many complaints about that one (apart from maybe not seeing Ian come on from the bench). Competitive throughout despite the growing number of absentees, Tanners were essentially undone by a side that has that little bit of extra quality, and there’s no shame in that.
We’re back in FA Cup action on Saturday. Hanworth Villa are the visitors as once again, the draw has decreed that Leatherhead must not under any circumstances leave The Grove for cup matches. We’ve played them plenty of times in recent years, and it’s always a tight game – let’s hope we can edge this one. COYT!
