Farnborough FC

Spencer Day
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Day hails resolute Farnborough

By Jon Couch
March 05, 2012

SPENCER DAY hailed the togetherness of his battling Farnborough squad as they smashed the best home record in Blue Square South with a fifth straight victory.

Big spending Eastleigh had won their last 10 home league games and were unbeaten at the Silverlake Stadium since September.

But Day budget Boro battled back from the disappointment of their five-point deduction to gun down the Spitfires with a resolute display.

Phillip Page was the goalscoring hero with a 57th-minute penalty, but Day hailed the efforts of his whole squad in rallying to their "best result of the season".

"It's a massive statement of intent from the dressing room after news of the points deduction," boss Day said.

"To come here and beat a side with the best home record in the league, unbeaten here since September, is a massive statement by everybody involved at the club that we are not going to let something that happened before we arrived bring us down.

"We are going to show every bit of guts and determination to make sure we are not dragged back into this relegation battle.

"It was our best result no doubt. We were very disciplined, very organised, the gameplan worked well and we got about them. "I'm just delighted for everyone in the dressing room because it has been a tough week and my players have every reason to enjoy their weekend."

With key trio Daryl McMahon, Phillip Appiah and Bradley Bubb all looking to prove a point against their former employers it was Eastleigh who started the brighter with Danny Smith and Andy Forbes both firing early efforts over the bar and Gary Elphick forcing an acrobatic save from keeper Craig Bradshaw.

But Farnborough slowly managed to work their way into the match just before the break when Page’s cross found the lively Daniel Bennett, whose turn on the shot flew over from ten yards.

As in the first half, Eastleigh looked the brighter after the re-start but it was Boro who broke the deadlock.

Eleven minutes in, home defender Mitchell Nelson was adjudged to have pulled down Bennett in the box and Page stepped up to smash the ball beyond keeper Jack Dovey.

Indeed, Page almost doubled Boro's lead on 70 minutes but lost his balance and blasted his shot over the bar when in a good position.

This prompted an avalanche of Eastleigh pressure in the final ten minutes but Boro stayed resolute.

McMahon stung the palms of Bradshaw with a rasping volley from just inside the box before substitute Jamie Slabber somehow headed wide from just six yards out.

Bennett's intervention in blocking Michael Green's effort typified Boro's determination to keep their goal in tact and it was job done in stoppage time when Tom Jordan's header was scrambled clear to the relief of the travelling Boro faithful.

It was no more than they deserved.

FARNBOROUGH: Bradshaw, Smith, Treacher, Jeffrey, Bergqvist, Bygrave, Bennett, Winn (Moody 36), Charles, Ciardini, Page. Subs: Orlu, Webb, Ferguson, Tokarczyk.

Att: 652.

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