Farnham 24pts, Old Alleynians 20pts

WHEN second plays third something extraordinary is going to happen – and this thunderous London 2 South West encounter didn’t disappoint.

Farnham held on to beat Old Alleynians 24-20 as the referee teased the home faithful by playing almost 15 minutes of extra time.

The play-offs loom for promotion to London 1. To put this in context Farnham, if successful, would next season play at national level six. Aldershot Town currently plays football at the equivalent level in the Vanarama National League.

This game was up there with the 2017 cup semi-final win over Saltash and the Twickenham finale against Droitwich. The collisions were immense and the intensity and skills never dropped below maximum. A talented and committed Old Alleynians had come to win and the game began at a ferocious pace that was never to relent for the full 80-plus minutes.

Farnham, playing into the breeze from the Nursery End, put together a series of multi-phased attacks with, once again, the front-row battering rams Marco Azevado, Lennie Jennings and Jules Joris to the fore. However, Old Alleynians turned over the ball and gradually inched closer to the home try line and after a series of cutbacks, inspired by their mercurial fly-half Josh Winduss, flanker Tom Shanahan smashed over under the posts to leave Winduss an easy conversion.

The Old Alleynians fly half ran the show. With the breeze at his back he pushed Farnham deeper and deeper with delicately placed tactical kicking. Something had to give and a Farnham defender was deemed to have committed a high tackle. From the penalty, Winduss made it 10-0 after 15 minutes. The Black and Whites at that stage had not managed to break into the Old Alleynians half. A score was now vital for Farnham – and they duly obliged.

Michael Salmon received a clearing kick and set off at pace. Deceptively quick and elusive, he made huge inroads into the Old Alleynians defence. The ball was passed on to brother Toby who put in a superb cross kick to unmarked winger Tom Cerullo for the try which put Farnham back in the hunt with the extras from Toby Salmon.

There were a number of vital moments that shaped the course of this game. Two of these were sliced penalty attempts by the usually immaculate Winduss, with six points going abegging. Then, just on half time, a sustained Old Alleynians attack into the Farnham 22 was battered back with such ferocity that it enabled a marauding Jordan Frost to attack the breakdown and win a relieving penalty as the home side went in at the break trailing 10-7.

And the second period was to prove even more intense and competitive.

The back rows six, seven and eight on both sides and their respective second rows had slugged it out for 40 minutes. There was parity in the set scrums and breakdown areas while Farnham, through Ben Adams and Toby Comley, stole valuable lineout ball. Jennings, on song with his lineout throwing, put in a huge shift around the fringes but the match winners and ball providers were the back five of Steve Simmons, Adams, Comley, Frost and man-of-the-match Jonny Davidson, who all covered every blade of grass both in attack and defence.

With the wind at their backs, Farnham forced Old Alleynians back into their own 22 with both Salmons putting boot to ball with howitzer-scale clearances. Pressure built on the visitors and, after a sweeping move following a well-drilled line out, Eliot Rich, on for Cerullo, slid over out wide. Toby Salmon was just off with the extras but the lead belonged to Farnham for the first time, 12-10.

The momentum and the increasing breeze were with Farnham and a huge Michael Salmon clearance once again pushed Old Alleynians back. James Corlett cut through the middle and pressure from Reece Stennett created the narrowest of gaps for skipper Ollie Brown to scamper through under the posts to a huge roar from the Monkton Lane balcony. The conversion was a formality for Toby Salmon and suddenly Farnham were two scores clear at 19-10.

It suddenly began to feel like a timeless game as no-one, including the referee it seemed, had a clue how much playing time was left and Farnham’s faithful supporters were on tenterhooks.

A try for Old Alleynians’ classy centre Will Beasley meant the pressure was back on Farnham as their lead was cut to 19-15. Surely the clock was in the red? Not a bit of it! Again Farnham forced their way into the Old Alleynians 22. Flying winger Stennett put the defence under pressure, a scramble for the ball followed and full back Ben Jones slid over in the corner to ease the pressure at 24-15.

Still the clock ticked, giving Old Alleynians enough time to score again through Beasley, but the missed conversion ended a pulsating, nailbiting, first-class battle.

The play-off race continues on Saturday when Farnham visit tenth-placed London Exiles at their Barnes ground. A solid win is required before the final league game against fellow play-off contenders Old Tonbridgians at Monkton Lane on April 6.