Slough Shocker

Fans have seen some poor Slough Town displays in recent years but this one on Saturday must rank as absolutely rock-bottom. To crash out of the FA Cup against a side of Chippenham Town's standing is nothing short of disastrous for the Rebels.

And the simple facts about this crucial third qualifying round tie were that Slough turned in a lifeless and miserable performance; they went out of the competition to a side languishing near the bottom of the Western League without really making a fight of it.

Chippenham were not a particularly good outfit, certainly the worst Slough have faced all season; they had the vital ingredients the Rebels lacked; a greater will and commitment to win.

The decisive moment of a dour struggle, in which little constructive football of any note was produced, came in the 25th minute. And the unlikely hero of Chippenham’s greatest moment for many years was their right back Simon Rose.

It was his well taken goal after the Slough defence had failed to clear Paul Baker's cross, which settled the tie and it came almost as much as a shock to the home crowd as to the stunned Rebels.

"He is the one player I would bet against never scoring a goal," said an amazed Chippenham supporter as he celebrated his side's magical moment which put them on the road to a giant killing win.

And from that minute Slough's FA Cup dreams were always destined to end. They had enough possession, particularly in the second half, to have overwhelmed Chippenham, but when a side does not really put in one worthwhile effort in 90 minutes they hardly deserve to win.

The closest Slough came in the first half to cancelling out Rose's goal was one brief moment of magic from leading scorer Rowan Dodds, when he turned his marker and then saw a shot flash across the face of the goal.

Former Windsor and Eton man Floyd Dennis, making his debut, fired over the bar after one of the few promising moves and then in the second half both Dennis and Trevor Baron were guilty of volleying shots off target when well positioned.

In fact the closest Slough came in the second half, despite forcing a string of corners, was from a Francis Araguez cross, which Chippenham 'keeper Keith Nash was forced to push over the bar.

And it was Chippenham who looked most likely to score again. Only a brilliant one handed save by Peter Rackley foiled Andy Hatter on 65 minutes and then a superb last ditch tackle by David O'Flaherty, stopped John Freegard in his tracks 14 minutes from time after the Chippenham striker had broken clean through.

To add to Slough's misery they lost David Lloyd right on the stroke of half time when he was virtually knocked out cold after a clattering clash of heads with Peter Amor.

This game was simply a continuation of the Staines nightmare in midweek for the Rebels. Things could not get worse we all thought but they did. For the large crowd of Slough fans who travelled to Wiltshire full of expectation it was 90 minutes of pure frustration as they watched a Rebels side capable of so much produce so very little.

Terry Readon's team just did not show the same commitment and eagerness as Chippenham, who compensated for their lack of skill with sheer enthusiasm and a burning desire to win.

Admittedly the bumpy and sloping pitch did not help Slough's efforts to produce the footballing talent required to beat Chippenham and the referee was poor, but the Rebels should have had the character and ability to overcome these obstacles and they simply didn't on the day.

It is all too easy to sit back in the stands and criticise a side's performance but what Slough served up in their most important game of the season fell a long way short of what was needed to win this match.