Saturday was a day that will live long in the memory of Farnham Town. The sun was shining on The Memorial Ground as a record crowd of over 2,100 gathered to witness a pulsating top of the table Pitching In Southern League Premier South clash with Sholing, that ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Oh, and did we mention that a certain Peter Crouch was amongst the mascots who led out the home team?
How did this happen?
“It came as a result of him agreeing to do a forfeit for finishing bottom of his Fantasy Football League on his Podcast,” revealed Farnham Town Chairman, Harry Hugo. “An EFL club had agreed to host the forfeit but pulled out about a month ago.
“It was around this time that I got a call from Pete whilst I was minding my own business on the golf course. He asked if they could do the forfeit with us at Farnham Town. For me, it was a no-brainer and the wheels were set in motion there and then.
“Obviously I was slightly sceptical of it actually happening as there is so much that can change in Pete’s calendar at a drop of a hat - but true to his word - he made it happen and, to be honest, it couldn’t have gone much better!
“I have to say that Pete, along with Chris Stark and Steve Sidwell, threw everything into it and really embraced the occasion. Chris and Sids even spent time helping at the turnstiles as the fans flocked in”
“These sorts of day only work if everyone gives their all and gets involved and I’ve not got a single complaint about how these three conducted themselves; they were a real credit and made the day work an absolute treat.”
The rise of the Surrey club has been one of those stories that football sometimes throws up.
Just five years ago they were playing at Step 6 in front of a sub-100 crowd and now here they are amongst the front-runners at Step 3 and playing in front of 2,134, which could have been a lot more.
“Making a decision to close the gates was probably the hardest one I’ve had to make as Chairman at Farnham Town FC,” admitted Hugo. “I knew we had hundreds of people still outside the turnstiles at 3pm, but with 2,134 people inside I wasn’t comfortable letting them in and we had to draw the line somewhere for safety purposes.
“The signal went out at 2.50pm that we would shut the gates at 3pm. The ground was packed.
“I am sorry to anyone who go turned away. This is never our intention and we will do better next time. I want every interaction with the club to be a positive one and this fell below that standard. These occasions matter to clubs like ours.”
As he tucked into his mascot goodie bag, Peter Crouch said: “I had the best day as mascot of Farnham Town FC. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Meanwhile, Jack Dean, the Farnham Town player who was selected to hold hands with the shy and nervous mascot as they walked out onto the pitch to the roar of the crowd, added: “My Saturday was better than yours! It was an absolute pleasure to walk out with the big man and help settle his nerves, bless him!”
The 2-2 draw means that Farnham Town – and opponents Sholing – remain unbeaten after the opening six League games of the season. A trip to Poole Town now awaits Farnham on Tuesday evening.
IMAGE: Farnham Town FC
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