Rebels Unlucky To Draw

Slough Town have produced few better cup performances than the marvellous display they gave at Scarborough on Saturday, to keep their FA Trophy hopes alive in a stirring third-round match at the Athletic Ground.

The Rebels started this crucial third-round match against their formidable Alliance Premier League opponents as "underdogs," but at the end of the day it was Terry Reardon's side who took the honours and a superb second-half display came close to giving Slough victory.

With key players Eric Young and Eggie James missing, Slough's task looked mammoth, but the entire team battled magnificently throughout and apart from several brief periods of Scarborough pressure it was the Rebels who often looked the more dangerous side.

At the back the previously untested central defensive combination of Joe Moloney and Jimmy Walsh dealt confidently with Scarborough's prolific strike force, while reserve team manager Rod Haider, making his debut for Slough, added stability and experiennce to the Rebels' midfield, which in the second half controlled the match for long periods.

And up front Rowan Dodds had probably his best game for the side, causing the Scarborough defence plenty of headaches with his direct running and ball winning ability in the air.

With a crowd of almost 4,000 at Scarborough's magnificent Athletic Ground, the match had a real cup-tie atmosphere, and it was Slough who rose to the occasion from the start.

Almost immediately the Rebels put the Boro defence under early pressure, and it took a timely clearance by Neil Parker to foil Dodds after just 60 seconds.

After Walsh had made a timely interception to keep out his former York City colleague Terry Eccles with 24 minutes gone, one minute later only the woodwork prevented Slough from taking the lead.

A superb ball from Dave Yerby found Dave Russell in space on the right. He carried the ball to the edge of the Scarborough penalty area before delivering a perfect cross to the far post for the unmarked Dodds, who then saw his well-placed downward header bounce past the diving Peter Walters only to hit the post and come back into play.

Slowly Scarborough began to find their rhythm with the impressive Neil Sellars playing a big part in midfield, while the lively Pat Olney and Colin Williams started to test the Slough defence with several dangerous runs towards goal.

With 29 minutes gone Parsons reacted quickly to rob John Watson, and then eight minutes later disaster struck for Slough.

A free kick from Mitch Cook looked to be curling harmlessly across the Slough penalty area and out of play at the far post, when the ball struck the unfortunate Moloney on the chest and went into the net.

Boosted by this goal, Scarborough threatened for a brief period to take complete control and Parsons had to move smartly to save a well-placed effort from Williams.

From the start of the second half the Rebels looked determined to pull back the one goal deficit and they launched an all-out attack on the Scarborough goal.

Russell went desperately close with a fine shot from 20 yards after 50 minutes, and then Barrett and Friend combined well on the left with Friend's eventual cross forcing Walters to push the ball away for the corner as Russell and Dodds closed in.

And from the corner, taken by Friend, after 56 minutes, Slough got the equaliser they deserved. The ball found the head of Barrett and after Parker had cleared off the line, Barrett was on hand to hit the loose ball home from about five yards.

Scarborough now looked a very ordinary side and it was Slough who dictated the action with White a dominant figure in midfield.

However as the match entered the final five minutes Boro suddenly burst into life, and clearly not relishing the prospect of a replay at Slough, they went all out for a late winner.

A fine run by Olney presented a simple chance for Williams, but from eight yards out he completely mis-kicked his shot, and then a fine volley from Cook was confidently dealt with by Parsons.

Then in the final seconds following a long free kick from Parker, Wright beat Parsons to the ball only to see his header fly inches over the crossbar. It would have been an injustice had Boro snatched a winner in the last frantic five minutes, and at the final whistle the Slough players fully deserved the standing ovation they received from the large contingent of their supporters who had made the trek up North on Saturday morning.