Davis Sent Off, But Windsor's Ten Are Just Seconds Away

"You have heard it many times before," said Slough boss Kennedy, "But when a man goes off, your players drop psychologically and it is hard for them to lift themselves. It would have been a better game all round with 11 men on each side. They still had the same number of defenders. They got a lot of players behind the ball. They are disciplined side and difficult to beat. They had three chances and could have had three goals. “

Slough opened the match with Francis Araguez firing a crisp drive just wide from 20 yards, but after the excitement of the disallowed own goal and the sending off the rest of the half lapsed, not surprisingly, into disjointed ruck.

Windsor's long ball style was wrecked by the absence of Davis to chase them and Slough were far too fussy around the Royals penalty area. The Rebels thought they may have scored, though, when Terry Glynn stepped out of Gary Woodcraft’s clumsy challenge to send a shot skidding across goal. Rowan Dodds and John Mitchell clashed at the far post and as Kevin Mitchell seemed just to have failed to claw the ball back from the line a freekick was awarded against Dodds.

Holland launched wild shot into the night from close range and at the other end Bob King saw his header bump past the upright.

But seven minutes into the second half Windsor met the game's need for a goal.

Chris Yates wriggled past Holland on right and as Kevin Hill and Flaherty battled to meet the ball it ricocheted to Baron 18 yard out. He needed two attempts to control the ball and then failed to connect cleanly with his shot, but still saw it trundle in off the post.

From then on it was backs to the wall stuff from the Royals. Hill and Franks withdrew into deep positions to assist in the rearguard action as Slough heaped together attack after attack.

Dodds was in unmanageable form on the right, time and again striding his way past defenders to send treacherous balls into the box. Mark Woods and Hill cleared off the line from Colin Tate and White as Slough won nine second half corners without reply, and centres from Dodds ended with Glynn heading and White shooting over the bar.

After 69 minutes Dave Alexander. disappointing for most of the game, saw a first timer from 20 yards fly inches too high and five minutes later Kennedy decided that a fourth man at the back was superfluous and replaced Holland with Colin Landeg.

Two minutes further on Flaherty's long shot was diverted by Woods' head, but still landed on the junction of bar and post. Within seconds Kevin Mitchell was flinging himself to his right and holding on to Glynn's effort on the turn from outside the box.

Four corners in two minutes produced nothing, but after Dodds had beaten about four red shirts on his way from the centre circle to the byline Petty's back header was tipped on to the bar by Mitchell.

With only seconds of normal time left the Windsor stronghold was finally breached. Tate nodded on Alexander's freekick and as the ball bounced around the area Petty worked sufficient room to knock it over for White to head in from close range.

But there was more to come as Yates worked the ball to Franks, who found Hill six yards from goal and watched in agony as his team mate lofted his shot over an inviting goal.