The team that took the field was a mixture of old, new and potential soon to becomes. The blistering Hampshire sun, whilst great for the fans basking in it must have been rotten for the players and the game rarely got out of second gear. There was really very little to report in the first half. Rangers' only real effort of note came courtesy of an Ainsworth piledriver that the Farnborough keeper did well to turn over the bar. Gallen also forced a save from him and Sabin should have done but failed to get his feet where he needed them.

At the other end Farnborough seemed to have a fair amount of joy against trialist left back Killian Brennan. He was beaten in the air more than once and will be hoping for a better showing if he gets another run out. Partnering Carlisle in central defence was giant Clive Delaney. The Irishman, released by West Ham looked excellent as he won every header and was strong in the tackle. He was one of only two players to complete the ninety minutes, Sabin being the other.

Half time brought eight changes and no upturn in the entertainment factor. Richard Pacquette, Paul Furlong, Marcus Bean and Wes Daly all fired high over the bar as the substitute keeper had n easy time of it. Daly came close later in the game with a low drive that beat the keeper but slid just wide of the right hand post.

Rangers were denied a chance to win the game when the ref failed to give a nailed on penalty for a foul on Dennis Oli. He had cut in from his right wing, bamboozled the defender and found both his legs taken from beneath him. The ref probably didn't give it as he was forty yards back up the pitch and well off the pace of the game. In truth he was pretty poor and many of his decisions left a decent sized crowd scratching their heads.

This was very much a chance for the players to feel their way back into playing and I would think that each game will bring an improvement in sharpness and touch.  Of the trialists Delaney looked good as did left sided player Tom Newey. Brennan seemed a little lost at times but I would rather see him again before giving a damning report.

As for the new boys, Ainsworth looked the part immediately, Sabin didn't. He showed glimpses of his pace but did little with the ball either up front or in his second half left wing berth. Maybe he was another feeling his way back in but he certainly looked as though there was plenty of feeling to be done.

On to Aylesbury now and an evening game that the players will probably enjoy a hell of a lot more than this one.