Late Again Kenny!

Kenny Wilson produced a page from his scrapbook to give Slough a winning start to the season.

On opening day last season, Wilson’s hat-trick at Tooting included a last gasp winner. And at Wexham Park on Saturday, he came to the rescue again with the injury time goal that gave the Rebels a Vauxhall Opel League win they must have given up hoping for.

But Wilson felt his overall performance bore little resemblance to his sensational Slough debut twelve months ago.

“I was rubbish – you can quote me on that,” said the Rebels winger after finally breaking through Walthamstow’s stubborn defensive blockade.

Many Rebels fans had drifted away, wondering how Slough had failed to deposit three points in the bank, when Wilson struck with the 90 minutes having already elapsed.

Wilson took a left wing free kick and then raced in to the box so that when Jeff Bateman headed the ball across goal and Rowan Dodds helped it on further, he was in a position to whip it in to the top corner.

“I just swung a boot at it,” confessed Wilson, who was simply grateful to see his right foot shot go in. “We didn’t play anything like we have been in the friendlies,” he continued. “Still, we won and that’s what counts.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by manager Alan Davies. He said: “I stressed in the team talk before the match and at half time that the game lasts for 90 minutes. I said that nobody was to get impatient and want to try to win it on their own. I told them if we scored in the last minute it would do me. And that is exactly what happened. We had enough chances to win by five goals. The time to worry is when you don’t create chances. I think the only people getting impatient were the crowd.”

Walthamstow rarely threatened Slough’s goal, but the longer the game went on and the more chances Slough wasted, the more you had the feeling it could be the visitors’ destiny to snatch victory.

Davies said: “They had a 15-minute spell towards the end when they got the bit between their teeth and had us under pressure. But the result was the right one. I don’t think many people could argue with that.”

Davies also felt that on two or three occasions, Slough were unlucky not to be awarded penalties, the first such incident coming after nine minutes when Dodds appeared to be shoved before Colin Keys lifted his shot high over the bar.

Rebels ‘keeper Graham Cox did his first good work in what was a brave performance from him when he slid out to save at Wolsey’s feet.

“Cox had a good game,” said his manager later. “He pulled out a couple of good saves. The more games he plays, the more his confidence will grow. He has got to prove it to himself.”

At the other end of the field, things were not running so smoothly; Wilson slid the ball wide after good work from Keys and Devon Petty just managed to get in a shot that hit the post after Jeff Bateman’s good ball in to the box. Jimmy Brown skied a volley and then headed Kevin Tilley’s free-kick wide, while strike partner Dodds found little chance to shine in the constant shadow of his marker Dennis.

John Mitchell began playing some good balls down the right after a break, but the other long passes Slough tried usually came to nothing. They were at their most dangerous when using the likes of Wilson and Petty, who combined well with Dodds before the latter’s shot went outside the post.

Dodds somehow managed to bundle the ball wide from less than six yards after Brown’s cross from the left and suddenly it was Cox who had to make the save of the day by diving left to keep out a 20-yard volley from Feary. Substitute Paul Waites should have got a late goal on his Rebels debut after Tilley’s corner had ended in the goal area and three minutes to go, Slough should have had a penalty when the referee ruled that a defender had obstructed rather than pushed Petty – from behind!

Tilley was booked for arguing after seeing his shot blocked by a defender who was no more than five yards off the ball when the free kick was taken, but the resulting corner almost produced the elusive goal when Waites hooked the ball against the post.

It appeared that time had run out on Slough, but the referee managed to find a few seconds stoppage time and Wilson, better late than never, discovered his opening game goal touch.