Farnham Town 1-1 Evesham United
Monday 19th January 2026
Pitching In Southern League Premier South

Match Report by Simon Purfield

Evesham United’s journey to Surrey resulted in a hard-fought draw against Farnham Town, who are in contention for a playoff spot. In front of a crowd of 669 at The Memorial Ground, Evesham captain Amer Awadh netted the crucial equaliser in the 73rd minute.

The visitors threatened early on, creating the first notable opportunity in the eighth minute. Josh Barlow lofted a ball over the top, sending Levi Steele through on goal, but Town goalkeeper Mike Eacott reacted quickly to smother Steele’s attempt.

Farnham responded soon after, winning a free kick just outside the penalty area in the tenth minute. Bobby-Joe Taylor’s curling shot was deflected narrowly over the bar. The home side pressed on, and Evesham’s Player of the Match, Alex Harris, was called into action with two excellent saves. He first parried a header from Jack Dean, then denied Taylor on the rebound. Farnham continued to create opportunities, with Harry Cooksley firing just wide at the near post, and further chances for Owen Dean and Taylor also being kept out by Harris as the hosts increased the pressure around the half-hour mark.

Farnham thought they had broken the deadlock in the 40th minute when Jack Dean found the net from a second phase following Taylor’s corner, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Evesham then carved out a golden chance of their own, as Kai Churchley set up Steele, whose powerful strike from twelve yards thundered off the Farnham crossbar.

Evesham continued to threaten after the break. On 50 minutes, Churchley surged forward and sent a curling right-footed shot just wide of the post. Farnham replied with a dangerous free-kick, which Harris cleared—only for Dan Bayliss to turn the ball back towards goal. Ioan Richards produced a brilliant goal-line clearance, with the ball hitting the bar before dropping into Harris’s grateful hands. The hosts remained on the attack, as Bayliss forced another fine save from Harris with a header from a wide free-kick, and from the subsequent corner, Jack Dean’s header fell to his brother Owen Dean, who scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick from close range to give Farnham the lead.

Evesham nearly responded immediately in the 61st minute, when Ethan Dunbar played in Churchley, but his shot drifted wide of the far post. Moments later, Farnham almost doubled their advantage when Darryl Sanders set up Taylor, whose left-footed shot flashed across the goal and out for a goal-kick. In the 73rd minute, Sanders had a shot well saved by Harris.

Shortly afterwards, Evesham produced a flowing one-touch move in midfield. Andre Wright laid the ball off for Amer Awadh, who curled a delightful right-footed finish into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box, drawing the Worcestershire side level.

Farnham had the ball in the net again in the 78th minute when Evans finished from a Sanders cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Evesham then came close to taking the lead, with Awadh setting up Dunbar, whose powerful shot was well saved by Eacott. The home side pressed for a winner, with Evans and Jack Dean both firing just wide, but failing to seriously test Harris.

In stoppage time, Farnham had a strong penalty appeal when Taylor’s shot was cleared off the line by Richards, but the referee waved play on. The match finished honours even, a valuable point for Evesham, who have now extended their unbeaten run to three matches.

They next face Chertsey Town at home on Saturday, with kick-off at 3 pm.

ROBINS STARTING X1:
1 Alex Harris (GK), 3 Owen Foye (50′ 2 Liam Hutt), 4 Josh Barlow, 6 Ioan Richards, 8 Jac Lee Poffley, 9 Levi Steele, 10 Amer Awadh (C) 73′, 15 Jyrel Bojang (66′ 12 Andre Wright), 17 Ethan Dunbar, 19 Cameron Walters, 20 Kai Churchley

ROBINS UNUSED SUBSTITUTES:
13 Brendan Beard (GK), 11 Brandon Liggett, 16 Lewis Middleton

ATTENDANCE: 669