Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson praised his side’s character after their dramatic comeback against Balham in the Southern Combination Cup final.

Owen Dean was the hat-trick hero as Farnham fought back from 2-0 down midway through the second half to win 3-2 after extra time.

Johnson hailed his side’s comeback and the belief in the team.

“It sums the team up in the run-in – we’ve been doing it week in, week out,” said Johnson.

“They always believe.

“At 2-0 down nothing was coming off for us – nothing was quite happening. So Jimmy Hibburt and I thought we would shift things around and put Owen down the middle, to get Shamal Edwards out wide with his pace, and it paid off.

“We were the better side, and when one ball dropped to Owen Dean, it sparked us into life.

“It’s not that we were out of life, but it just sparked everything.

“The crowd when we attack the Clock End draw you in, and they played a massive part.

“We did it the hard way in extra time, but we should have had the game won inside 90 minutes.

“We made a nervy start but we settled down and I thought we were good for large parts of the match. We kept believing we always had a chance.

“It was a great way to win it. The fans came on the pitch and everyone was galvanised together. It’s a really good place at the minute.”

Farnham have ambitions to win promotion from the Combined Counties Premier Division South next season, and Johnson is relishing the pressure.

“We’ve got a big summer ahead – expectations are high, but that’s what we want,” he said.

“The cup is a great starting block for attracting players.”