Farnham 2s 36 v 6 Aldershot and Fleet 1s/2s

Old Paulines were unable to field a team to play the re-arranged league game but fortunately local rivals Aldershot and Fleet were able to step in.

Early exchanges saw Aldershot establish themselves in Farnham territory. The Hornets tried to clear their lines but the visitors used their strong forward play to win a penalty, which they converted to take a 0-3 lead. Farnham quickly responded with strong lineout work from Seb Murray securring possession, which was then mauled into the opposition half. The backs got their chance to move the ball wide where Tom Cousins found himself one-on-one with very limited space to work in. He deftly chipped the ball ahead, ran through, collected the ball and dived over the white wash. Mark Crowther converted to put Farnham 7-3 ahead.

The Hornets immediately re-applied the pressure, entrenching themselves in the Aldershot half. The challengers repeatedly attempted to kick the ball out of their 22, but the Farnham back three returned it with interest. Strong scrummaging from Graeme Black began to wear the opposition down and from another scrum deep in the opposition half, Vince Wiltshire was able to crash over. Crowther slotted the following kick to put Farnham firmly ahead.

Sensing that they had an advantage, the Hornets attacked again, moving the ball to outside centre Rob Brown, who penetrated the defence on a 50 yard run, but was bravely stopped by the fullback. Still in possession though, the attack changed direction and Kieran Marshall ran through to score his first of the season. A lull in the Farnham pace allowed Aldershot back into the Farnham 22m, where they came away with another penalty, taking the score to 21-6 at the break.

The second half started with a number of substitutes in the pack for Farnham. It took a while for the replacements to pick up the pace and a lack of discipline allowed Aldershot to pin the home team in their 22m. Farnham defended well and forced a turn-over with strong counter-rucking. Olli Van Dongen did an admirable job chasing Crowther’s kicks all afternoon, robustly tackling any opponents who chose to run in his direction.

Further strong work in the set-piece gave an opportunity to replacement Ben Boss, who picked up from the back of the scrum and barrelled through numerous would-be tacklers before finishing under the posts. This was quickly followed by another when the back line used pace and handling to set winger Mark Baines through on a well angled run. With the clock almost up, Mark Crowther broke deep from his own half before kicking ahead and scoring when a cruel bounce left the Aldershot full back stranded.

Credit to Aldershot and Fleet who never gave up and played until the final whistle but Farnham were clinical mood today and can be pleased with this performance. Next week Farnham face Old Georgians at home in their latest league fixture, 2.30pm ko at the Wrecclesham cauldron.

By Oli Richford