Kiely destroys Hayes

A second half hat trick from Micky Kiely helped Slough Town chalk up their 13th consecutive Berger Isthmian League, Premier Division win this season against local rivals Hayes at Wexham Park on Tuesday. It also gave the Rebels a £40 win bonus for winning by three clear goals.

In atrocious conditions, which turned parts of the pitch into a virtual mud bath, Slough never quite reached the heights of their performances against Staines and Dulwich. Nevertheless this was another fine performance against a much improved Hayes side which caused the Slough defence plenty of problems throughout.

Rebels manager, Laurie Churchill made one change from the Dulwich match, bringing in Dave Russell for Eggie James, who was substitute. From the start Slough were quickly into their stride and after just five minutes only the woodwork prevented them from going ahead. Micky O'Sullivan crossed from the left and Russell's near post header bounced back off the post with the Hayes defence stranded.

Despite the conditions both sides provided some fine attacking football and there was constant action at both ends. Richard Teale moved smartly to foil a Hayes attack, while another fine sweeping move ended with Russell just failing to connect with a cross from Keith White. The latter then saw a shot well saved by Paul Priddy.

After 22 minutes, the woodwork again saved Hayes. A poor back pass was latched onto by Pat Morrissey, and his shot spun of a Hayes defender and hit the crossbar. Russell then just failed to make contact with the loose ball.

Slowly Hayes began to stifle the Slough midfield and their dangerous forward pair of Joe Auguste and Bobby Bennett started to pose the Rebels defence problems with their strong direct running.

Just before the interval a 30-yard free kick from Steve Wilkins, brother of England international Ray, almost slipped through the grasp of Teale and into the net.

There was almost a sensational start to the second half when within seconds Auguste eluded the Slough defence and broke for goal. However Teale was quickly off his line and cleared the danger.

For 15 minutes Hayes enjoyed their best spell of the match creating several dangerous raids on the Slough goal. The turning point in the match came after 61 minutes, when Kiely scored the first of his three goals. A move down the left between Russell and Morrissey ended with the latter sending over a low cross from the by-line and Kiely was on hand to turn the ball home from close range.

Nine minutes later Kiely increased the Slough lead with a superb solo effort. He picked up the ball inside the Hayes half and embarked on a powerful run which ended with a low shot into the corner of the net from just outside the penalty area. This goal virtually settled the match and Slough were now in full command pushing the ball round with confidence and searching for a third goal.

Micky Scott was booked for a foul on Russell in the 85th minute, after the Slough forward had broken clear on the left. Then just one minute before time Kiely completed a well deserved hat trick.

The ball was fed through to Morrissey and his effort was pushed into the air by goalkeeper Priddy. However the ball fell only as far as Kiely, who calmly headed it over a Hayes defender and into the empty net. Kiely's hat trick was just reward for the hard work he put in throughout the match, and means he has now scored five goals in the last three matches and is leading goal scorer with 10 goals this term.