BGB Southern Premier

Brackley Town 1 Farnborough 1

A draw snatched from the jaws of defeat so often feels more like a victory than just a single point.

But as Farnborough left St James’ Park on Tuesday night it was more a case of two points dropped, despite Adam Doyle bagging a late equaliser against Brackley Town.

Francis Vines’ men missed a host of chances before they fell behind in the 20th minute, and then they continued to mis-fire  before Doyle eventually grabbed them a share of the spoils.

In truth, Boro battered one of the most fancied sides in the league for much of the game in all but the final score, but some woeful finishing let them down.

They flashed efforts wide, were denied by some decent goalkeeping, hit the bar twice and saw the ball appear to cross the line from Michael Charles’ header, but to no avail.

On a more positive note, if Brackley are representative of  what the BGB Southern Premier favourites have to offer, then Boro will have little to fear in the weeks ahead.

But that was of no comfort to Vines, who cut a frustrated  figure at the end of the game.

“We should have won today by five or six goals, and that’s being kind,” he said. “We had chance after chance after chance.

“We had chances to be three or four up before they scored, then we had chances after they scored, and even when we equalised so late on, I still felt we could have nicked it.

“If you don’t put your chances away then they come back to bite you, and that happened today with their player scoring a screamer. Other than that they didn’t cause us any problems."

Vines resisted the urge to change the side that struggled past Rugby Town at the weekend, meaning Rob Saunders and Nic Ciardini, who both impressed as substitutes, had to be content with a place on the bench.

That decision seemed a good one as Boro overan their hosts for the first 20 minutes, with Charles’ tame shot when well placed setting the ball rolling after eight minutes.

Seconds later it was his partner Mark Gamble’s turn, the young striker volleying over the bar after a good sight of goal had opened up.

Leigh Rumbold then played in Charles but he didn’t do enough to trouble Richard Knight in the Brackley goal, and Rumbold turned provider again for Gamble, who shot across the goal and wide.

Rumbold then burst clear down the right and whipped in a great cross, only for Gamble to get a slight touch and Charles couldn’t turn the ball home.

Brackley for their part had offered nothing at all, looking nervous at the back, but they scored the almost inevitable goal after 21 minutes to punish Boro’s wayward finishing. Tom Winters picked up a hopeful clearance on the right, cut in onto his favoured left foot and unleashed a swerving, dipping shot from 25 yards that left Lyall Beazley, who was slightly off his line, completely beaten.

That took the wind out of Boro’s sails, but the home side hardly pushed on and attacked, as Vines’ side still dominated possession.

In stoppage time Brackley escaped once again, as Rumbold showed superb pace to break through the creaking backline. He dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper and Knight crudely brought him down on the edge of the box. The Boro faithful were baying for a red card but the referee rightly issued a yellow, as there were two Brackley defenders covering the goal.

After such a dominant first half, more of the same was required after the break but, in fact, Boro disappointed for much of the second period.

Brackley showed little intent to add to their lead, but Boro lost their way and began to bypass the midfield with too many long balls that Charles and Gamble were unlikely to do much with.

Gamble in particular became more isolated as he pushed higher up the field, and as against Rugby on Saturday, it was left to players from the bench to inspire a comeback.
Saunders, Ciardini and Paul Harkness all entered the fray, and while last year’s topscorers gave Boro more edge, it was the veteran frontman who got them playing again.

Harkness did not even make the bench on the opening day but the striker showed all his experience as he gave his side a platform to play their football again. He allowed others to start playing around him, and Boro at last threatened when he rolled Wheeler in down the left, who crossed for Rumbold to flash a header just wide.

With ten minutes to go Boro thought they had their equaliser, as Saunders picked out Charles who headed onto the post. The ball certainly appeared to cross the line, but Knight hooked the ball away while there was still some doubt, and with the officials poorly placed, the goal was unsurprisingly not given.

With time running out they came closer still, when Charles curled another cross into the box. Ciardini headed towards goal, only to be denied by the bar, and as the ball popped back out Harkness repeated the trick, hitting the woodwork with a second header and the ball was cleared.

But, as it began to look like Boro could play all night and still not score, from the resulting Saunders corner, Doyle rose highest in the box and crashed a header into the corner of the net.

There was still time for Ciardini to thump a volley goalwards, but Knight fielded it with ease and Boro were forced to settle for a point that no doubt should have been all three.
With a more clinical streak, of course, it would have been, and if they play like that against Tiverton Town tomorrow (Saturday) they may well serve up a thrashing for their Devon hosts.

If last season’s trips to the West County are anything to go by, however, victory may be hard to come by, as Boro lost twice, to Bridgwater Town and Taunton Town, and won just once at Paulton Rovers.

Martyn Rogers’ side will certainly be a tough prospect, and they provided the shock win of the opening day last weekend, beating title favourites Halesowen Town on their own patch.

On Tuesday night Tiverton were held at home by Gloucester City, needing an 80th minute goal from captain Nathan Rudge to grab a 2-2 draw after they conceded two penalties against the Tigers.

Kick off at Ladysmead is at 3pm.

Boro: Beazley, Ray, Oliver (Ciardini), Woozley, Doyle, Laidler, Scott (Saunders 58), Rumbold, Wheeler, Gamble (Harkness 70), Charles.
Brackley: Knight, Farley, Paterson (Perpetuini 83), Blossom, Green, Hadland, Staff, Savage, Mackey (Spencer 70), Marsden (Stone 79), Winters.

For a full match report, player ratings and more from Vines on Tuesday's game and the trip to Tiverton, pick up a copy of Friday's News.