Goals: Cauvin 32’; Acey 34’; Gauvain pen 90+4’ – O Dean 8’, pen 40’; De St Croix 50’; Cooksley 59’; Liddle 66’; Waters 73’.

Guernsey left Footes Lane with their heads held high despite a home defeat to big-spending Farnham Town, who are now 56 league games unbeaten.

The Green Lions were facing a side that will steamroller the league this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they didn’t lose a game. You could have forgiven the Sarnians for choosing to sit in for damage limitation to lose by as few as possible.

But instead, they were brave and went toe-to-toe with a juggernaut that had was full of players that should be playing at a much higher level. There won’t be many teams in the league who score three against them this season.

Tony Vance will be disappointed with a couple of the goals from a defensive point of view, but they scored some belters as well, which you can’t legislate for. GFC were excellent value for being level at the break.

But the second half saw the visitors show their quality as they motored away from their hosts. With no Jamie Dodd, Kieran Mahon or Matt Loaring, and Ross Allen, Dave Merris and Sam Murray all withdrawn in the second half to protect them for Wednesday, it was a young side that ended the game and you couldn’t begrudge them their consolation.

The Sarnians started by giving as good as they got. They earned the first decent effort of the game by winning a free-kick 35 yards out, with Allen trying to use the wind to his advantage (more on that later) but his shot curled just the wrong side of the left post.

Farnham got their noses in front inside 10 minutes as their top scorer Owen Dean stole in behind to dink the ball past Josh Addison from eight yards out.

That did shake GFC a little as Dean flicked a header wide and Josh Addison threw up an arm to push Harry Cooksley’s rising drive from the edge of the box.

The Green Lions had luck to thank for their equaliser, the wind in particular, just after the half hour. A standard, harmless looking free-kick from out wide on the halfway line looked to have too much on it from Jacques Cauvin for any team-mates to meet it. But the wind sent it on a trajectory towards goal, with Farnham keeper Patrick Nash getting himself in a right flap over it, fumbling it into his own net for what is Cauvin’s first goal for the club.

Dean was involved again as he headed straight at Addison, but within two minutes of their leveller, Guernsey had turned it around. And there was no luck involved in this lovely goal.

Simon Arnold hit the ball down the left and Gauvain brought it under control before clipping it over his shoulder to meet the run of Ben Acey. The midfielder drove into the box and remained composed to shift the ball onto his right foot to create space from the defender and steer the ball into the bottom corner.

The home side couldn’t quite hold out until the break. With five minutes left, Dave Merris was judged to have pulled down Owen Dean on the edge of the six-yard box, and the Farnham number seven sent Addison the wrong way to roll the ball into the bottom left corner.

Guernsey were good value for being on level terms, but the visitors were about to step up a gear.

They turned the game on its head again five minutes into the second period, a stunner from Sam De St Croix as he whipped a shot first time from the corner of the area, sending it over Addison’s reach into the far corner.

GFC were finding it much harder to create their own openings now, and had to defend hard, with a double block keeping out shots from De St Croix and Adam Liddle.

The visitors’ fourth was another stunner and out the blue, as captain Cooksley found himself in space 30 yards out and arrowed an absolutely beauty into the right corner, out of reach of Addison’s full-stretch dive.

The fifth was certainly one Guernsey will feel they could have avoided, as Liddle was able to run onto a through ball unchecked into the left channel with the back line appealing for offside. Liddle drove on and slotted into the bottom corner.

The sixth was similarly disappointing as Niall Hainsworth dallied bringing the ball out of defence and Tom Vaudin’s attempt to bail out only served to tee Mark Waters up from inside the D, but there was no taking anything away from the finish as the Farnham midfielder rifled his shot into the top corner.

Addison beat away from his near post to deny substitute Shay Brennan from the angle, while substitute Alex Ward came close to pulling one back, his shot whistling just the wrong side of the post after great footwork from Charlton Gauvain to tee him up.

The Green Lions raised the fans’ spirits in injury time as they broke in numbers and Cauvin was tripped going into the area. Gauvain, who at this point was the Green Lions most senior outfield player at just 23, had taken the armband after the substitution of Ross Allen and took responsibility for the spotkick, burying it to Nash’s left with the keeper going the other way.

Allen had been given a rest, along with Murray, Merris and Acey, with the game over and Wednesday night to think about. The Binfield visit is the more important one and the sort of game the Green Lions’ season will stand or fall on. This one will be brushed off very quickly but is one to take plenty of positives from.

However, GFC have now set a new club record of 11 home games without a win, breaking the streak of 10 set from January to April 2017.

Guernsey remain in the Isthmian South Central relegation zone but can get out of it by beating Binfield on Wednesday. The weekend’s other results were as follows: Ashford Town 0-5 Raynes Park Vale, Binfield 2-0 Sutton Common Rovers, Hanworth Villa 2-1 South Park (Reigate), Hartley Wintney 3-2 Metropolitan Police, Kingstonian 5-3 Badshot Lea, Moneyfields 2-0 Westfield, Southall 1-3 Harrow Borough.

FARNHAM TOWN: 1 Patrick NASH; 2 Jack DEAN; 3 Liam FLANIGHAN; 4 Jordan STEPNEY; 26 Max MEATON; 6 Mark WATERS; 7 Owen DEAN (12 Richie MBELE, 69’); 8 Harry COOKSLEY (c); 14 Joseph JACKSON: 24 Sam DE ST CROIX (11 Shay BRENNAN, 69’); 29 Adam LIDDLE (25 Great EVANS, 85’).

Booked: Jackson.