Farnborough Town 4-2 Kingstonian
FARNBOROUGH 4 - 2 GAVIN HOLLIGAN

K's travelled to Farnborough looking to get back on track following Saturday's defeat by Cheltenham. The central defensive threesome was split up once again - Simon Stewart the absentee with a groin strain. Jerome John continued in goal, as Scott Barrett will now be out for three weeks with his dislocated fingers. The home side had three ex-Kingstonian players, namely Stuart MacKenzie, Lloyd Wye and Phil Wingfield.

The start of the game was a good indication of how the evening would progress. A ball was played into the feet of Farnborough's Mark West. With his back to Matt Crossley, he attempted to turn, but fell to the ground. The referee, Mr D.Spicer from Totten, thought that the contact was worthy of a foul, so a spot-kick was given. West confidently stepped up to place the ball past Jerome John, and K's were one down, within two minutes of the start.

The visitors tried to respond, with a Colin Luckett shot just clearing the bar, and a Crossley header from a corner being headed over by a packed 'Boro defence. However, K's never looked on form, and on a day when they would have found it hard to pass water, the players were rarely able to pass a football. The defence was troubled on many occasions by a Farnborough team who had only previously beaten lowly Leek this season. Matt Crossley had one of his least effective games, and the midfield was certainly not up to its usual standard. Up front, Eddie Akuamoah was again working hard, and gave the 'Boro right back a hard time, but there never seemed to be anybody in the right place to get on the end of any chances that he created.

Just before the break, things started to fall apart. Mark Harris passed back to Jerome, who had plenty of time to control the ball. He was put under a slight amount of pressure by Dennis Bailey, but still managed to get the ball away. However, his kick went straight to West, who was standing unmarked just inside the K's half. Whether or not Jerome thought it possible to score from there, a more energetic attempt would have been appreciated, rather than his slow walk back towards his goal. When West looked up, he saw an empty net and simply lobbed the ball in the right direction. By the time the goalkeeper realised that the shot was goal-bound, it was too late to prevent it, and the net bulged for the second occasion.

Another long range shot, this time from Dennis Bailey worried Jerome, who could only dive despairingly as the ball shook the bar. The half time whistle sounded just after this, and K's were almost certainly glad to hear it, as this was without a doubt the worst performance of the season so far. Most people expected changes to be made during the interval, but when the teams emerged, the same eleven were on the pitch.

There seemed to be a more determined attitude amongst the players, possibly because of a half-time roasting from Geoff Chapple, but Farnborough were ready for this, and were able to soak up the pressure. Indeed, they managed to mount their own spell, and forced three corners in quick succession. On more than one occasion, it seemed to be possible for the ball to have been cleared, but nobody wanted to put their foot on the ball, or take a risk, which just kept the initiative with Farnborough.

Eddie was showing his value to the K's team once again, with some good running. He was able to receive the ball and hold it up, to allow other player's the time that they seemed to need to join in attacks. The Farnborough right-back, Stuart Harte, was having a torrid time, and seemed to snap after about ten minutes of the second half. He had just seen Akuamoah sneak past him again, and chopped him down just outside the area. A yellow card was rightly shown.

58 minutes were on the clock when another spell of Farnborough pressure ended in celebrations. A deep corner from their right landed on the head of Paul Harford, who made no mistake from the edge of the six yard box. The marking had obviously gone awry, and this was again the case just two minutes later. A hole appeared in the K's defence, and a good ball was played through it by Steve Baker. With Jerome advancing from his goal, Dennis Bailey executed the perfect chip to heap embarrassment on Kingston, and to give 'Boro a four goal advantage.

It seemed that Geoff Chapple had finally decided to attempt to change the game, and all three of the substitutes were now standing on the side of the pitch, stripped and ready for action. However, for some five minutes after this, no attempt was made to get them involved in the game, although there were numerous opportunities to do so. Quite why the manager decided to wait for so long remains a mystery. But they were finally introduced, and some, but not all, of the Kingston faithful were still hopeful that something could be salvaged from this game.

There seemed to finally be some passion amongst the team who, up until now, seemed not to care if they had lost by six or seven. Both Joe Francis and Kevin Rattray are players who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and Gavin Holligan must still feel that he has something to prove. And this he did, with some ten minutes remaining.

A Luckett corner was pitched just under the bar, and MacKenzie seemed sure to collect it. A clear foul by Rattray was missed by the referee, and the goalkeeper could only push the ball onto the bar. The rebound landed at Holligan's feet, and his shot looked to have crossed the line before it was pushed away. Dave Leworthy made sure, but, after the game, the players confirmed that it was indeed the young substitute who had scored. With ten minutes remaining, there still seemed to be an outside chance that a point could be rescued. And things would have looked brighter still if a Leworthy shot, deflected by Eddie, had gone inside of the post, instead of striking the outside of it.

Clearly the best goal of the game was saved until the end. Holligan picked up the ball some thirty yards from goal, took one look, and unleashed a superb strike into the top right hand corner. MacKenzie was beaten, Holligan was on a hat-trick, but sadly there was no time remaining. After so many impressive appearances from the subs' bench, and with Patterson suspended on Saturday, it must surely be time to see Holligan on from the start. He has never had more than half an hour of any game, and to be joint top scorer is an impressive achievement.

So the final whistle sounded, and the K's players trooped off with their heads hanging low. They have every right to feel ashamed of the performance that they gave, as Farnborough are clearly not a great team, and it is entirely possible that in the cup match in three weeks time, both the result and the performances could be reversed. Akuamoah was again outstanding, and, as against Telford, is the only player who can be proud of his display. Some people may feel that two defeats in a row are an indication that K's honeymoon period is over, but with such a talented squad, there is every reason to expect things to turn around quickly.