Missed Chances Costly For Rebels

Slough Town's inability to convert the string of chances they created in this match, especially in the first half, proved costly in their goalless drawn Berger Isthmian League, Premier Division clash with Croydon at Wexham Park on Saturday.

As far as scoreless matches go it provided reasonable entertainment for the spectators, and had both sides accepted the number of chances which came their way and the woodwork not saved the day on three occasions there could well have been a glut of goals.

Still bubbling after their dramatic win over Bath City in the FA Trophy on Tuesday evening, the Rebels started brightly almost immediately putting the resolute Croydon defence under extreme pressure.

In fact for a spell during the first half Slough produced some fine attacking football — some of the best they have served up all season but the finishing touches to these moves in front of goal was sadly lacking.

Twice in the opening 15 minutes Dylan Evans forced good saves out of Steve Dungey, while after 29 minutes a powerful run by Eggie James on the left came close to breaking the deadlock.
The closest Slough came to scoring in the first half was seven minutes before the interval when a Dave Russell corner slipped through the hands of Dungey, and then trickled along the line before it was hacked clear.

After Evans had missed a good opportunity on 42 minutes, Croydon finally came out of their defensive shell to twice threaten the Slough goal with fine efforts from Les Whitton.

The second half saw Slough gradually lose their overall domination on the match as Croydon began to push more forward and pose problems for the Rebels' defence.

It took a splendid save by Frank Parsons at the base of the post to foil a brave low header from Alec Jackson, as Slough's frustration at their inability to break down the visitor's defence began to creep into their play.

Slough's best chance fell to Evans after 64 minutes when he intercepted a poor back pass by Alan Prime. But after getting himself into a good scoring position he shot wide with only Dungey to beat.
The final 25 minutes produced virtual non-stop action at both ends with the woodwork saving both sides.

After 66 minutes a cross from Jackson was met by Dave Yerby and he sent a scorching header crashing against his own crossbar, and was then relieved to see the ball bounce down on the line in Slough's favour.

In an attempt to add new life to the flagging Rebels, manager Terry Reardon sent on new signing Jimmy Walsh to replace James. Walsh, 28, has made more than 160 league appearances for Watford and York City — who released him at the end of the last season.

Walsh, originates from the area and this season has been playing for Frickley Athletic in the Alliance Premier League. However, he has now moved back to the area and could prove a useful addition to Reardon's squad.

Primarily a left back he moved into a midfield role and within minutes of coming on almost helped Slough to go ahead. He pumped a long free kick into the heart of the Croydon penalty area where the ball was met by Rod Ward, whose header hit his own post and was finally hacked away when a goal looked certain.

From the resultant corner Joe Moloney saw a header blocked on the line and then in the dying seconds the Rebels' central defender saw another effort hit the crossbar.

Generally Slough dominated this match, a fact which is illustrated by the 11 corners they forced compared to Croydon's two, but their inability to turn their overall control into goals proved costly on the day.