Frimley Green 1, Farnham Town 1

THE magic of Non-League Day was there for all to see on Saturday as these derby rivals fought out an entertaining 1-1 draw in Division One of the Combined Counties League.

With a sub-100 figure watching on and supporting their respective local teams, two good sides battled it out and were forced to settle for a draw.

And the game certainly wasn’t shy of goalmouth scrambles, tackles and controversy.

Farnham broke the deadlock around the half-hour mark when Nick Medcraft was played in on the counter attack before unselfishly laying it off to Kylo Atkinson, who drove a low shot into the bottom corner.

New signing Muctaru Conteh had an effort on goal soon after, as the first half was drawing to a close, dragging his shot harmlessly wide of the target. But back came Farnham again, this time Medcraft the supplier, finding Cardona whose shot tested the reflexes of Frimley goalkeeper Chris Harris.

Farnham went in at the interval leading 1-0, but not before Frimley’s Leo Medrado called Stuart Norman into action and forced him into making a good stop.

Early in the second half, Frimley’s Harris rose first to Tom Smith’s set piece from the near right flank as Frimley had dangerous moments in front of goal.

And Farnham were forced to make a change in the 55th minute when goalscorer Atkinson pulled up with a hamstring injury. They would go onto miss him in the final minutes, but it was a wise decision as he was moving around gingerly and went down twice before being substituted.

When play resumed, Dearioue dispossessed Max Meaton, opting to go solo in cutting inside, finding space and firing a shot that sailed high and wide of the Farnham goal.

Frimley were starting to look the more dominant of the two sides, and they found an equaliser in the 68th minute. It was a moment of controversy as the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot for handball. Zak Horkan stepped up and drilled the ball down the middle after sending Norman the wrong way.

At the other end, Chris Harris was forced to parry when a shot by Conteh was too awkward to handle, Meaton rushing onto the rebound before being flagged for offside.

It all set up a nervy last 10 minutes. But Farnham still had time to create two chances; the first when Cox found Smith but Harris was equal to his effort and then a cross-shot by Smith late on which fell to the back post and out of reach of an agonisingly late-arriving Medcraft at full stretch.

Four minutes into stoppage time at Frimley Green Recreation Ground, Farnham could have had a stroke of luck. After the first contentious penalty decision, calls from around the ground rang out when the ball looked to have hit the hand of the Frimley defender from a cross, but the officials waved away Town’s protests.

On Saturday, Farnham Town host Epsom & Ewell in Division One of the Combined Counties League (kick-off 3pm).

Farnham Town: Norman, Meaton, Smith, Phillips, K Conteh, Harper, Atkinson, N Medcraft, M Conteh, Cardona, Esprit. Subs: L Medcraft, Taylor, Falvey, Cox, Moore.

nFarnham Town crashed out of the Esoteric Division One Challenge Cup as a speculative first-half screamer from Darren Wheeler was enough to secure the win for Godalming at the Memorial Ground on Tuesday night.

nFarnham Town Girls are on the lookout for more young players. Training sessions for 4-10-year-olds will be held on the new mini-pitch at William Cobbett School every Wednesday from 6pm-7pm, starting on October 31.

For more details, call Darren Wilson on 07799 375952 or e-mail [email protected].