Farnham will slip rapidly into the lower regions of the league table if they fail to rekindle the fighting spirit that was behind their revival in the first half of this season.

They looked to be gaining the edge in Saturday's local derby, but after conceding the lead on the hour to a needless penalty, they yielded meekly to Cove who move above their old rivals in the Combined Counties League.

Reigning champions Cove, who seem to have come through the crisis caused by the departure of their manager and most of the players, scored twice more before the finish, meeting little resistance from a crestfallen Farnham.

Yet Farnham had come within a whisker of taking a 2-1 lead in the opening minute of the second half.

Kevin Annetts met Sammy Middleton's cross with a first-time drive that looked a goal all the way, only for Lee Parkes to pull off a quite remarkable reflex save.

Had that gone in, the outcome might have been different. Instead, Cove were given a helping hand by Town defender Gareth Slessor who, in a moment of madness, scythed down Derek Harris when no danger seemed to be threatening and Matt Horder made no mistake from the spot.

Town had a couple of half-chances to draw level. Middleton shot high over the bar when well placed and an unmarked Matt Edwards, latching on to Lee Raby's floated cross, failed to control his volley in front of goal.

But the home side were looking increasingly vulnerable to Cove's fast counter-attacks. With 10 minutes left, Nigel Moore was caught out and Joe Banks ran through to expertly beat Chris Edmonds in a one-on-one.

It was a sweet goal for Banks, coming against his former club, and his third for Cove in three matches.

Shortly before the finish, with the visitors now cruising, Harris was left unchallenged to head powerfully home from a Ben Standing cross.

Farnham's late capitulation was in sharp contrast to their spirited showing in the first half.

On a bumpy, boggy pitch, they fell behind after 10 minutes. Edmonds brilliantly turned over a hot shot from Ben Standing, but Town failed to clear the resulting corner and Danny Phillips' low shot through a ruck of players was deflected into the net.

There was a positive response from Farnham. The pacy Annetts, who posed plenty of problems in this half, saw a chip shot only just touched away by Parkes.

Then Cove made a hash of clearing a long throw-in and the lurking Raby fired in an angled shot that Horder could only help into the net for the equaliser.

And Cove struggled to stay on terms leading up to half-time as Town pressed forward with growing confidence.

The visitors survived a goalmouth scramble following Dave Lloyd's deft flick-on and Edwards went close with a header from another Middleton cross.

But after their bright start to the second half, Farnham conceded that costly penalty and their confidence oozed away.

Farnham: Edmonds, Wheeler, Slessor, Moore, Decicco, Edwards (Williams 90 mins), Middleton (Middleton 71 mins), Raby, Cooper (Surtees 45 mins), Annetts, Lloyd.

Cove: Parkes, Jones, Hicks (Roberts 80 mins), J Cooper, Horder, Phillips, Harris, Larkham, T Standing (Fisher 50 mins), B Standing (Hodge 89 mins), Banks.