Wycombe Wanderers
1
Miles (71)
Slough Town
0
League
Joe Moloney
SLOUGH TOWN manager Joe Arpino found himself faced with a new injury crisis on Saturday only a few hours before his side slipped to their fourth successive away defeat in the Isthmian League this season.
Mr. Arpino arrived at Loakes Park to discover he was one player short because striker Mick Kiely had badly blistered feet.
Left back Roger Mackay had earlier been ruled out with a septic foot while midfield player Ian Cooke was sidelined on Friday with bruised ribs following the midweek win against Crawley. Teenage striker Rowan Dodds, who had a shin injury, was brought into the team while utility player Charlie Marks was urgently called from Wexham Park to be substitute.
Preparation for the match with local rivals Wycombe and the single goal defeat left Slough firmly anchored at the bottom of the Premier Division. They were beaten by a 71st minute goal from substitute Paul Miles who bundled the ball past Richard Teale from a Mick Holifield corner.
Almost immediately afterwards Steve Norman broke through at the other end only for his shot to be handled by Wycombe's Keith Mead. Yet referee Alf Buksh turned down vigorous appeals for a penalty and booked Peter Feely for dissent.
That booking earned Feely an automatic £25 fine by manager Joe Arpino and it was a further disappointment in an afternoon when little went right for Slough. They had the better of a poor first half and almost took the lead, in the 21st minute, when Joe Maloney headed a Barry Friend corner against the upright.
Shortly afterwards Mead just managed to block a Friend shot at the near post and Wycombe were reduced to 10 men when full back Ray Eaton limped off. Eaton had been hurt in a tackle with Rowan Dodds and Miles came on as substitute with Jimmy Jacobs switching to left back.
Jacobs scored two minutes before half-time but his goal was disallowed for offside and Slough still looked the more likely to break the deadlock.
Another Friend effort forced a full length save from goalkeeper John Maskell in the 50th minute. Three minutes later Dave Russell, still not fully fit after recovering from injury, passed three defenders before pushing the ball into the path of Dodds who shot wide on the run.
Dodds, troubled by his injury, was then substituted by Charlie Marks but now it was Wycombe's turn to look the better side.
Teale did well to stop a Miles shot from close range but had little chance in preventing the substitute from turning the ball in from Holifield's corner. It proved enough to give Wycombe their first home win of the season and Slough manager Joe Arpino plenty to think about.
"This is now a true test of our character and we have got to battle our way out of trouble," he said afterwards. "But we desperately need the players to get well and truly fit. I just cannot believe the run of injuries we have had."
Mr. Arpino arrived at Loakes Park to discover he was one player short because striker Mick Kiely had badly blistered feet.
Left back Roger Mackay had earlier been ruled out with a septic foot while midfield player Ian Cooke was sidelined on Friday with bruised ribs following the midweek win against Crawley. Teenage striker Rowan Dodds, who had a shin injury, was brought into the team while utility player Charlie Marks was urgently called from Wexham Park to be substitute.
Preparation for the match with local rivals Wycombe and the single goal defeat left Slough firmly anchored at the bottom of the Premier Division. They were beaten by a 71st minute goal from substitute Paul Miles who bundled the ball past Richard Teale from a Mick Holifield corner.
Almost immediately afterwards Steve Norman broke through at the other end only for his shot to be handled by Wycombe's Keith Mead. Yet referee Alf Buksh turned down vigorous appeals for a penalty and booked Peter Feely for dissent.
That booking earned Feely an automatic £25 fine by manager Joe Arpino and it was a further disappointment in an afternoon when little went right for Slough. They had the better of a poor first half and almost took the lead, in the 21st minute, when Joe Maloney headed a Barry Friend corner against the upright.
Shortly afterwards Mead just managed to block a Friend shot at the near post and Wycombe were reduced to 10 men when full back Ray Eaton limped off. Eaton had been hurt in a tackle with Rowan Dodds and Miles came on as substitute with Jimmy Jacobs switching to left back.
Jacobs scored two minutes before half-time but his goal was disallowed for offside and Slough still looked the more likely to break the deadlock.
Another Friend effort forced a full length save from goalkeeper John Maskell in the 50th minute. Three minutes later Dave Russell, still not fully fit after recovering from injury, passed three defenders before pushing the ball into the path of Dodds who shot wide on the run.
Dodds, troubled by his injury, was then substituted by Charlie Marks but now it was Wycombe's turn to look the better side.
Teale did well to stop a Miles shot from close range but had little chance in preventing the substitute from turning the ball in from Holifield's corner. It proved enough to give Wycombe their first home win of the season and Slough manager Joe Arpino plenty to think about.
"This is now a true test of our character and we have got to battle our way out of trouble," he said afterwards. "But we desperately need the players to get well and truly fit. I just cannot believe the run of injuries we have had."
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Richard Teale
- 2 Tim Turl
- 3 Micky Cumber
- 4 Steve Norman
- 5 Joe Moloney
- 6 John Beyer
- 7 Dave Russell
- 8 Alan Gane
- 9 Rowan Dodds 12
- 10 Barry Friend
- 11 Peter Feely
Substitutes
- 12 Charlie Marks 9