Owen Dean was the hat-trick hero on Wednesday night as Farnham Town won the Southern Combination Cup on a dramatic night at The Memorial Ground.

Farnham’s cup dreams appeared in trouble at 2-0 down midway through the second half, before a dramatic comeback turned the final around.

A crowd of 1,143 packed into The Memorial Ground and were treated to a thrilling contest.

Balham were quickest out of the blocks and took the lead in the second minute through Alec Fiddes.

When Fiddes doubled the visitors’ lead on 50 minutes Farnham’s cup dreams were hanging by a thread.

Dean pulled a goal back on 65 minutes when he fired home from close range and from then on it was mainly one-way traffic.

Dean duly equalised in the 74th minute, and although Town pushed hard for a winner the game went to extra time.

Farnham were on top for the first period of extra time, but the second period was more even and the tie appeared to be going to penalties.

However, Town won a corner in the 120th minute and Dean headed home to complete his hat-trick and spark scenes of jubilation.

The full-time whistle led to a good-natured pitch invasion by Farnham’s fans as Town won the Southern Combination Cup.