Farnham Town manager Paul Johnson was able to see the positives after his side exited the Surrey Senior Cup with a 3-1 defeat at home to National League South outfit Dorking Wanderers in the second round.

First-half goals from Niall McManus, Alfie Rutherford and Rhys Murphy fired a strong Dorking side to victory at The Memorial Ground, with Jordan Gallagher pulling a goal back for Town in the second half.

The match was goalless after half an hour, but the visitors then scored three goals in five minutes to seal their spot in the next round.

“I thought it was a game of two halves,” said Johnson.

“Dorking went strong in the first half. We made changes and it showed.

“Dorking dominated the ball but they didn't really do anything with it.

‘Everything was out wide and we looked comfortable, but after a couple of sloppy moments we found ourselves 2-0 down and it was an uphill task.

“Dorking had a couple of crosses which we dealt with, but I don't think Hugo Sobte's made a save in the first half. It was disappointing.”

At 3-0 down at half-time it could have been a long night for Farnham, but Johnson was delighted with his side’s performance in the second half, and felt they could potentially have won the tie on another night.

“We came out in the second half and I thought we put on a good show,” said Johnson.

“We changed the shape a little bit and then pushed a bit higher up.

“We brought a few of the boys on that have been playing regularly and Dorking made a couple of changes.

“It didn't work out for them but it worked out for us and on another day I think we take it to penalties or we go and win the game.

“It could have gone the other way and it could have been a drumming but the boys dug in and showed the spirit that they've got.

“They enjoyed the second half and it’s a shame they didn't get anything out of it.

“We just couldn't quite couldn't get the second and we ran out of time.

“Overall, we've had the better chances in the game.

“Hugo's made one save in the second half but it was just too much to do in the second half.

“It just didn't quite fall for us but what they did to us in the first half is what we've got to do in the league to teams that we play against.”

Farnham are currently top of the Isthmian League South Central Division and are in a tight battle with second-placed Kingstonian for the one automatic promotion slot.

With promotion being the main objective for the club this season, Johnson admitted the Surrey Senior Cup wasn’t too high on his priorities.

“It's not a competition we were taking too seriously,” said Johnson.

“We're not well clear in the league like we were last year. Kingstonian are still chasing us down.

“We didn't want any injuries. Great Evans pulled out before kick-off with a groin injury, which was disappointing.

“Everyone else got good minutes and we'll move on.

“The boys don't like losing any game of football but at the same time what they did in the second half was positive.”