Farnham slip to basement side

Farnham travelled to Reading looking to build off last week’s win against Witney. They faced the bottom side Reading who have had good results coming into this game. Farnham were under no illusion that they had to perform to win. Marco Azevedo led the side out in his 100th game and Farnham also welcomed back Reece Stennett from long term injury.
Farnham kicked off into the breeze and up the slope, but immediately put themselves under pressure with silly penalties that cost them field position. A quick tap from the Reading scrum half got them in behind and then an offload to the number 7 resulted in the first try of the game. The conversion was missed but Reading had the ideal start 5-0.
Farnham responded well and put a series of attacking phases together. Young Ted Bailey brought his usual energy at scrum half with Ollie Brown controlling things at 10. The backs linked up well with Toby Salmon putting Ben Jones into a hole who then drew the last man to put Reece Stennett into the corner for Farnham’s first try. Conversion successful 5-7.
Farnham failed to clear their lines at the restart and gave Reading an opportunity to reply immediately. A penalty in front of the posts was readily converted. 8-7.
Farnham continued to look dangerous in attack. A kick to the corner got their rolling maul going. It was well controlled and moved close to the Reading line before Matt Kouris peeled away and powered over for Farnham’s second try. Conversion missed 8-12.
Reading came back and ill-discipline in front of the Farnham posts allowed the Reading fly half a kick for goal. Success - 11-12.
Successive penalties gave the referee no option but to put Farnham were on a warning. Therefore a relatively innocuous high tackle from Oscar Henderson reduced Farnham to 14 men for the rest of the half. Reading opted for the posts again and took the lead 14-12. Farnham looked to finish the half well and Toby Simmons broke down the left-hand side before kicking in behind but unfortunately the Reading player got their first and ran into touch to conclude the first half.

Reading kicked off the 2nd half with Farnham bringing on Jack Scullion to use his boot and the wind to pin Reading back. The first 10 minutes was a battle for territory with no chances for either team. Finally, Farnham managed to put some phases together with good interplay allowing Matt Kouris to break the line. However a high tackle stopped him and the guilty Reading was given 10 minutes in the bin.
Farnham opted to take a shot at goal however the kick hit the post. Luckily Marcus Lambert-Parsons chased up and was first to react to the loose ball to score under the posts for a massive swing in Farnham’s favour. The conversion was successful, and Farnham led. 14-19.
The basement side continued to show their character and desire. The Reading scrum was very powerful with several penalties allowing them to kick to the corners and gain territory. After several phases, the Reading 13 broke through the line and offloaded to the flanker however he was stopped short by Josh Watson. However, the referee adjusted this tackle to be high and with the attacked close to the try line awarded a penalty try and the accompanying a yellow card. A huge blow for Farnham with Reading now ahead 21-19.
Down to 14 for the rest of the game and with the whistle consistently going against them, Farnham continued to be frustrated and could not create the opportunity to score the winning points. The final nail in the coffin came as Jack Scullion’s counter attack with halted by the Reading defence who were quick to flop off their feet and kill the ball. Remarkably, Reading were awarded the penalty enabling the their fly half to dissect the posts with the final score at 24-19.
A frustrating afternoon for Farnham but credit to Reading in securing an important win. Farnham welcome Wimborne to Monkton Lane next week in a mid-table encounter. K0 2.30.
President’s Podium voted for by the players: 3- Ben Jones, 2- Ollie Brown, 1- Marcus Lambert-Parsons