Reardon stars for Brilliant Slough

SLOUGH TOWN produced one of their finest performances for several seasons to completely demolish championship rivals Wycombe Wanderers in the Berger Isthmian League, Premier Division at Loakes Park on Saturday.

Before a crowd of almost 2,000 the Rebels stunned local rivals Wycombe with a three goal burst in seven minutes just before the interval. This was the Wanderers' first league defeat in 15 matches and gave Slough's championship bid a tremendous boost.

From the start Slough showed total commitment to their task. The defence was solid and dealt comfortably with Wycombe's prolific forwards; in midfield the Rebels completely outplayed their opponents, while the forwards were sharp and eager for goals at every possible opportunity. All 11 members of the side contributed to a brilliant performance and although there were no individual stars if there was a man of the match award then Terry Reardon would surely have been the winner.

With skipper Micky O'Sullivan down with the flu, Reardon was drafted into the side in midfield against his former club. And the "veteran" Slough favourite gave a magnificent display throughout the match never putting a foot wrong as he helped stifle the danger of Wycombe's midfield and continually created and linked menacingly with his forwards.

The opening first 30 minutes was played at a tremendous pace and both Micky Kiely and Eggie James could have put the Rebels ahead. However within the next seven minutes Slough scored three class goals and completely shattered Wycombe's confidence and composure for the remainder of the match.

First, a free kick from Pat Morrissey was superbly flighted to the near post where Eric Young stole in to send a diving header past a flat footed Wycombe defence.

For the second, once again Morrissey was the creator with a fine ball which split the Wanderers' defence and sent Dave Russell clear. He rounded the advancing Gary Lester and then from what seemed an almost impossible angle fired home into the far corner of the net.

Then, a cross from Barry Friend on the left was hammered against the crossbar by Russell and James headed the rebound home into the roof of the net.

By this time Wycombe looked a completely demoralised side and were unable to find even a flicker of the form that had seen them unbeaten in 15 league games and rise to serious championship contenders.

The second half started with Friend missing a golden opportunity to add a fourth Slough goal within 55 seconds. A cross from Morrissey on the right was missed by Lester, when challenged by James, but as Friend tried to place his shot at a virtually open goal Paul Birdseye recovered to clear.

Wycombe finally broke into life when Terry Glynn scored after 80 minutes. A long ball down the middle for once caught the Slough defence out, and the Wanderers' striker ran on to smartly shoot past Richard Teale. However significantly it was Slough who had the last word when with two minutes remaining they added a fourth goal to also ensure their £30 win bonus.

A long clearance from Friend, deep in his own half, set Kiely clear of the Wycombe defence. Showing tremendous pace and determination he ran almost half the length of the pitch before seeing his final effort pushed away by Lester. But James was once again on hand to score his 14th goal of the season and complete a memorable performance for Slough.

During the second half four players were booked by the referee although this was no reflection on the spirit in which the match was contested. The players shown the yellow card were: Morrissey, Reardon, Kiely, and Wycombe's George Borg.