Chessington & Hook 0, Farnham Town 2

“WE deserved the win, deserved the three points and deserve to be second in the league now.”

That was the emphatic view of Farnham Town boss Luke Turkington after watching his side get their rollercoaster season firmly back on track with a professional display at Chessington on Saturday after a mini-wobble.

Defeats against AFC Hayes and Jersey Bulls and a draw against rock-bottom Eversley & California had threatened to stall Town’s promotion push.

But a controlled display on their travels, where Farnham picked up their sixth win from eight games, silenced any doubts and saw Town leapfrog Tooting Bec into second place as they vainly attempt to reel in the rampant Bulls.

The adventure over the road from the famous Surrey theme park began within the first 60 seconds or so when Chessington rattled the Town bar, but within two minutes Farnham were ahead courtesy of giant centre back Mo Sabo and an exquisite team goal finished with aplomb by midfield dynamo Joe Sowden.

And despite Chessington bossing possession as they played downhill in the second half, they never really laid a glove on the Town defence, with Sabo and fellow centre back Harry Oakley marshaling the troops and repelling all threats.

And the result left Turkington delighted.

“The boys were in great spirits going off that pitch on Saturday and that’s something we have been trying to work on since day one,” he said.

“It’s always been there but sometimes you need that reality check that no win is going to come for free and you have to earn the right to win every game. Losing games and dropping points against teams at the bottom of the table or in mid-table is the reality check we needed.”

The former Sandhurst Town boss continued: “They were all getting a little bit antsy with one another and I love it because it means something to them. That’s the recipe that we were missing last year. I don’t think it mattered to them as much last year as it does this year.

“They all came off knowing that they had been in a game but they also knew there was a bit of relief that the three-game winless streak is now gone.

“They’ve hit the crossbar in the first minute and we’re in trouble and I’m thinking ‘is it going to be one of those days again?’. But our reaction to that was superb. As soon as they hit the crossbar we woke up and scored a goal two minutes later. It was brilliant.”

Against struggling Eversley five days earlier, Farnham were uanble to capitalise on the myriad chances they created to make the game safe and paid the penalty when conceding a late equaliser.

This time around they did get that crucial second goal, as Sowden moved a step to his right to send an unstoppable shot into the top right corner to cap a flowing four-man team move.

“The second goal was the best team goal that we have scored this season, it was superb from start to finish,” said Turkington. “We broke the play down in our middle third, five passes later involving four different players and then Joe Sowden in the box, took a touch and from our angle you knew the keeper had absolutely no chance.”

And busy midfielder Sowden earned lavish praise from the boss after another lung-busting effort.

“Joe is deserving of being player of the season so far, he’s been superb for us,” he said.

“He shows tenacity and it’s a real pleasure to have him in the squad. The boys love him, we love him. At the moment he’s setting the bar for the other players. He’s played at higher levels but the boys around him may not have, but they have to understand that that is the next step if you want to go to the next levels and follow Joe. He’s been brilliant for me and I hope that continues.”

Farnham are without a game on Saturday, because of the vagaries of cup competitions taking precedence over league games, and will return to action with a rearranged game against Bagshot at Camberley’s Krooner Park ground next Tuesday, weather permitting, before a home clash with Godalming Town on December 21.