North South Divide

The second game of the weekend saw BotP heading south for a much-awaited clash of two teams with 100% league records. Farnham Town and Denham United sit proudly atop their respective tables, Southern Region Division 1 South and North respectively. Both have played eight games and won all eight. However, this London FA Capital Cup clash was a chance for them to pit their wits against each other. Both teams have been scoring goals for fun all season and both have tight defences. All in all, this promised to be a fascinating game.
Both teams progressed through to Round Two by means of 4-1 away wins. Farnham beat Denham's league-mates, Larkspur Rovers, with Francesca Thornton notching a brace, along with goals from Ieasha Swaby and Rachael Manley. Although, top scorer Swaby was not in the squad for today's game. Denham's victory came at The Old Spotted Dog Ground, as they put out Clapton Community of the London & South East Division One North. 

---

Denham on the attack

​Leading scorer or no leading scorer, Farnham took this game by the scruff of the neck early on. Only just over two minutes were on the click when Rachael Manley was sent clear on the right. her square ball found captain Emily Foss who took a touch before firing low past Sofia Harris. 1-0
The tone of the game was firmly set in the seventh minute when Farnham centre-half Emilie Miller and Denham midfielder Liana Horwood went into a crunching 50/50 challenge. Nothing untoward about the tackles, just pure commitment. 
Miller had to limp off for a minute but was soon back int the thick of it. Just in time to see her team go two goals up. Rebecca Price, wide on the left, did the damage this time, beating her marker and driving forward before playing in Foss. Her shot was initially dealt with by Sofia Harris but the keeper could only push the ball out into the path of Rachael Manley, who slipped it back past her into the net. 2-0
Two minutes later, with Farnham smelling blood, Foss almost made it three, but her dipping drive was just off the mark, and that gave the visitors the opportunity they needed as they broke forward down the right. The ball pulled back into the path of Brogan Moore who, without breaking stride, stroked the ball perfectly into the bottom corner. 2-1
Farnham's response? Well, they just went up the other end and, within six minutes. restored their two goal advantage. Francesca Thornton with the precision pass to set up Rebecca Price, who made no mistake. 3-1
Back came Denham. Two minutes after going two down, they worked an opening for Daisy Baranowski with a  diagonal ball that found the winger alone inside the left corner of the box. However, her shot was straight at Mya Francis-Pownall and the chance was lost. The visitor's were clearly not going to just sit back though and, just on the half-hour Niamh Cashin worked herself a yard deep inside the penalty area. Just as she was about to pull the trigger on what looked like a certain goal, Francesca Thornton appeared from nowhere to make a crucial block. A proper body on the line tackle that left the Town midfielder down and needing attention. once again, much like Miller earlier, the Farnham player was soon back on the pitch.
The clear-cut chances dried up a little at this point, as both sides took a bit of a breather after a manic first half-hour. Laura Comerford did try her luck late on, but couldn't quite hit the target and pretty soon the referee drew a close to the first-half.

HT Farnham Town 3 Denham United 1. A no holds barred affair with both teams showing commitment across the park, Every ball contested, every tackle full throttle. Two very good footballing sides who were also happy to roll their sleeves up and battle it out. A fabulous watch so far. Farnham holding sway at the break but Denham far from out of it.

---

Farnham go close

If Farnham had started the first=half quickly, Denham matched that in the second, pushing their hosts back from the first whistle. With only a minute gone, Francis-Pownall was sold a little short with a back pass that had the keeper flying into a 50/50 with Denham strike Niamh Cashin. As with every other tackle, neither was going to pull out but it was the Denham player who came off worse. She tried to continue for a few minutes but was eventually forced to limp off leaving both teams without their top scorer on the pitch.
That didn't stop Denham from coming very close to pulling a goal back, Francis-Pownall forced to throw herself full-stretch to the right to tip a shot around the post. For a neutral, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Denham had pulled one back during those opening minutes because, just past the hour, they were effectively out of the game, and it was of their own doing. Following another midfield 50/50 between Francesca Thornton and Lauren Cox, the Denham captain aimed a kick at Thornton as the players got up. The referee saw it and had no option than to pull out a red card. No complaints and no excuses from Denham. 
The sending off and the loss of Cashin meant that Denham needed to re-arrange things. Sofia Harris came out from between he sticks and went up front, Jo Torr took over in goal.
Of course, there was a little more space on the pitch for Farnham now and, 78 minutes in, Rebecca Price took full advantage, turning her marked and driving into the box at before firing low and hard past Torr into the far corner. 4-1. Denham were tiring now. Two minutes after the fourth, Farnham struck again. Price the provider this time, breaking down the right before setting up Emily Foss, who finished calmly. 5-1
To their credit, Denham were still trying to push forward and, if they'd had a full complement, may well have pulled one back on 84 minutes. Francis-Pownall spilled Moore's drive but no-ne was close enough to take advantage, allowing Farnham to clear the danger.
Racheal Manley then had a chance to grab her second after being put through on goal. However, Torr stood firm, making an excellent block. Unfortunately, for the stand-in keeper, she was helpless a minute later when Rebecca Price danced around a challenge before slotting in her hat-trick. 6-1

FT Farnham Town 6 Denham United 1. What a great game of football to watch. The level of commitment form both teams was exceptional. Although Farnham were already 3-1 up, the red card had a big influence on the game, coming when Denham were looking capable of getting back into the game. 
These are two very good teams. Both can play excellent football, and both can battle it out when necessary. If you want to catch them in action, and I seriously encourage you to do so, they are both back in action next weekend.
Farnham take on AFC varsity at The Mem. The teams have already met twice this season, with Farnham winning both. A 9-1 home FA Cup win back in September and an 8-4 away league win. Meanwhile, Denham face another North versus South clash as they welcome AFC Stoneham to The Den in The Chairman's Cup.

Farnham Town: Francis-Pownall, Leys, Stuart, Miller, Comerford, Barrett, Thornton, Theocharous, Price, Foss(c), Manley. Subs: Packett, Dring, Last
Denham United: Harris, Cox(c), Barrell, Rragami, Hewitt, R.Horwood, Baranowski, Cashin, Keary, Moore, L.Horwood. Subs: Greenwood, Torr

Ground Number: Revisit
Att: 
Entrance:
Programme: 

---

Price makes it six

The Memorial Ground