Saints hit by Munday blues
Farnborough 3 Smith 48, 71 Pearce 81
Saints 1 Paine 17
Match photos at: https://flic.kr/s/aHskN3F8Z6
The first half loss of Jon Munday hurt Saints in the worst way as it came after a dominant Saints performance that had the high flying Boro scrambling to maintain a hold on the game.
The reorganisation that it demanded, together with a questionable red card for Ryan Wharton threw Saints into disarray and allowed Boro a foot in the door which they clinically exploited to then run out clear winners.
Against the division's leading scorers, Saints set up to defend and hope to catch the home side out at the back. They immediately looked comfortable and quickly exerted a strong grip on proceedings. With Ryan Wharton playing front of the back four, a base was built for Tyrone Pink and Josh Kelly to attack down the flanks. Pink was particularly effective with the result that Boro fullback John Oyenuga had to be withdrawn after half an hour in an effort to shore up the home defence.
Jon Munday had a strong header pushed over the bar and Alex Paine hit the post as Aaron Bufton earned man of the match plaudits for a powerful display in the Boro goal. The breakthrough came when a Paine shot was fumbled on the line and Josh Kelly couldn't get a decisive touch but got the ball back to Paine whose chipped cross to Lockhart-Adams was returned for Alex Paine to stoop and finally head the ball over the line. It was no more than Saints deserved, but, as they were to discover, it was a poor reward for all their efforts.
Pink saw a rare header pushed over as Saints continued to push forward but the game took a dramatic turn following an injury to Jon Munday who was forced to hobble off after 35 minutes. This required a reshuffle in the Saints defence and Farnborough slowly began to force themselves back into the game.
The interval came with Saints deserving of their lead but with a suspicion that it might not be enough against a side determined to cement their place in the title race.
So it proved as a reinvigorated home side hit Saints hard right from the restart. They were given plenty of assistance in the opening minutes as Lockhart-Adams gave away possession to set up a cross into the Saints area where a poor Mullan header fell to Coles and he set up Eddie Smith to equalise with a neat finish.
If Saints were struggling to contain a more muscular approach from Farnborough, things got worse on the hour mark when Ryan Wharton was shown a red card for a lunging tackle that allowed the referee to reach for his top pocket after much encouragement from players and supporters.
Now down to 10 men, the visitors were now facing an uphill struggle. The replacement of Lockhart-Adams, who had spent much of the game becalmed in the middle of the field, added some spark to Saints and the fresh legs of Luke Maguire and the hard work of Pink, Kelly and Paine in particular kept Boro at bay but the next goal, again conceded by Saints losing possession in the midfield, was almost inevitable. A deep cross into the six yard box found the head of Coles and he again set up Eddie Smith to stab Boro in front.
The last 20 minutes was largely a battle to stay in the game for Saints. Boro hit both post and bar in one attack but Saints were again undone, this time from a corner that Sam Pearce managed to hit the one firm piece of ground in the boggy goalmouth with his header and the ball bounced up and over Carl Dennison.
At the final whistle Boro celebrated a deserved win after a powerful second half performance while Saints were left to rue not having taken full advantage of an impressive first half, ultimately undone by a crucial injury and a soft red card.
Saints: Carl Dennison, Jack Mullan, Ronayne Marsh-Brown, Jon Munday (Luke Maguire 35), George Fenton, Ryan Wharton, Josh Kelly (Ismael Ehui 78), Alex Paine, Kofi Lockhart-Adams (Olu Akinsanya 64), Alan Hedley, Tyrone Pink.
Attendance. 237