The Hungerford jinx continues

Hungerford's jinx on Slough Town in the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup continued on Tuesday evening, when for the second successive season the Rebels made their exit from the competition at the hands of the West Berkshire side.

Unfortunately it always seems that these clashes between the two sides in the competition come at the wrong time for the Rebels.

Last season they met in the semi-final just days after Slough's Trophy defeat against Scarborough, and this year's second round tie came in the same week that Terry Reardon's side face Millwall in the FA Cup.

It would be wrong to use Saturday's big game as any excuse for Slough's latest defeat, as the simple fact that Hungerford took their chances when they arose was enough to give them a deserved victory.

However, it must be said that the Millwall clash almost certainly contributed to the Rebels defeat, as while the side showed plenty of endeavour and commitment it was clearly uppermost on their minds.

With Joe Moloney absent from the back four, Keith White switched to left back and Eddie Hutchinson linked up with Tony Doherty in the heart of the defence, while Dave Yerby returned after illness at right back.

And this combination worked extremely well, with White, Hutchinson and Doherty certainly the Rebels' three outstanding players on the night.

After both Alan Green and Chris Gwynn had gone close for Hungerford, Slough took the lead after 24th minutes. White's deep corner to the far post found Rowan Dodds and he crisply headed home his 14th goal of the season.

It then took a flying save from Frank Parsons to keep out a swerving effort from Ian Farr, before Dean Bradley put Hungerford back on level terms with a powerful header from Nigel Loveless's corner.

Hungerford now started to bubble and on 36 minutes after Tony Doherty had been foiled at one end, the home side broke quickly through their dangerman Farr and the ball was fed to Green who lobbed a shot from some 20 yards out past a static Parsons.

Even at this early stage it started to look doubtfull if the Rebels would recover from this double blow of two quick goals, and they virtually sealed their own fate within 26 seconds of the second half having started.

Parsons carelessly threw the ball straight to the feet of Farr, and from all of 20 yards out the Hungerford striker hammered the ball back first time past the stranded Slough 'keeper.

From this stage onwards the Rebels generally controlled the remainder of the match, but although Vaughan Powell buzzed around with good effect in midfield Slough lacked sharpness once inside the Hungerford danger area.

After another surging run from the impressive Doherty had been foiled and Kevin Cook had seen a cross headed off the line by Mark Turner, Slough had a fine chance to get back in the game on 75 minutes. Dylan Evans was brought down by Stan Webb and a spot kick was instantly awarded by the referee. However, Dave Russell's effort was pushed onto the post by Mark Whiffin and quickly cleared - leaving Slough to reflect on their third successive penalty miss in three matches and exit from the Berks and Bucks Cup.