Slough Town
3
Brown (pen 29, pen 57, pen 72)
Hitchin Town
0
League
Slough made it two wins in two after striker Jimmy Brown bagged a remarkable hat-trick of penalties under the lights at Wexham Park despite a poor start which saw ‘keeper Graham Cox provide an injury scare as he emerged from a challenge clutching the arm he broke so badly last season. Manager Alan Davies reported though, that it was a blow on the elbow – nothing to do with the break.
However, Cox and his defence certainly looked unsure of themselves as Hitchin's Robbie O'Keefe, Mark Burke and Johnny Mawhinney all headed off target from close range following first half corners.
The Rebels’ first chance fell to Brown, who stabbed the ball over on the volley after a tight turn in the box from Rowan Dodds, who looked much more eager than he had three days earlier. It was Dodds who earned the penalty that gave Slough a lead they did not fully deserve after 29 minutes. He wriggled round Steve Miller on the left edge of the box, but was tripped by the same player before he could square the ball across the box. Brown clipped the spot-kick into the top corner to signal the start of a good spell for the home team.
John Mitchell, Kevin Tilley and Colin Keys linked up well and Kenny Wilson's final pass into Brown's path set up a wonderful opening that a weak shot across the face of the goal failed to take advantage of.
'Keeper Tony Luff got down well to Dodds' swivelling shot, but the second half opened with Hitchin reminding Slough that they were not to be discounted as Mawhinney skied a volley from, inevitably, another corner. Brown lost a good chance to score when he let the ball rest at his feet for too long in the six yard box, but after 57 minutes he was on the spot for his second goal after being shoved in the back by Burke.
Dodds sent a header bouncing past the upright, but with the midfield and winger Wilson being largely left out of the team's forward play there were no more chances until the third penalty after 72 minutes. It was the only one of the three with any controversy surrounding it. Dodds was clearly brought down as he tried to go round Luff, but the referee appeared to have let play go on to Slough's advantage that was lost when Keys hit the loose ball against a defender on the line.
Referee Andrews then pointed to the spot and Brown did the rest. Brown was obviously not going to argue with the chance of a hat-trick. He said later: “The referee played the advantage, but nothing came of it so it was a penalty. It was good refereeing."
With Gary Woodcraft having his best game so far for Slough and Bateman as dominating as ever the Rebels lead was only threatened from Hitchin's 11th corner late in the game, Burke shooting high on the volley. Slough were unable to trouble emergency 'keeper Mark Smith, who took over for the last 10 minutes after Luff injured a finger.
Match Stats:
Corners: Slough 5, Hitchin 11.
Attempts on target-off target-blocked: Slough 7-6-2, Hitchin 1-9-0.
Slough attempts: Brown 4-2-0,Dodds 2-2-0, Bateman 1-1-0, Tilley0-1-0, Mitchell 0-0-1, Wilson 0-0-1.
However, Cox and his defence certainly looked unsure of themselves as Hitchin's Robbie O'Keefe, Mark Burke and Johnny Mawhinney all headed off target from close range following first half corners.
The Rebels’ first chance fell to Brown, who stabbed the ball over on the volley after a tight turn in the box from Rowan Dodds, who looked much more eager than he had three days earlier. It was Dodds who earned the penalty that gave Slough a lead they did not fully deserve after 29 minutes. He wriggled round Steve Miller on the left edge of the box, but was tripped by the same player before he could square the ball across the box. Brown clipped the spot-kick into the top corner to signal the start of a good spell for the home team.
John Mitchell, Kevin Tilley and Colin Keys linked up well and Kenny Wilson's final pass into Brown's path set up a wonderful opening that a weak shot across the face of the goal failed to take advantage of.
'Keeper Tony Luff got down well to Dodds' swivelling shot, but the second half opened with Hitchin reminding Slough that they were not to be discounted as Mawhinney skied a volley from, inevitably, another corner. Brown lost a good chance to score when he let the ball rest at his feet for too long in the six yard box, but after 57 minutes he was on the spot for his second goal after being shoved in the back by Burke.
Dodds sent a header bouncing past the upright, but with the midfield and winger Wilson being largely left out of the team's forward play there were no more chances until the third penalty after 72 minutes. It was the only one of the three with any controversy surrounding it. Dodds was clearly brought down as he tried to go round Luff, but the referee appeared to have let play go on to Slough's advantage that was lost when Keys hit the loose ball against a defender on the line.
Referee Andrews then pointed to the spot and Brown did the rest. Brown was obviously not going to argue with the chance of a hat-trick. He said later: “The referee played the advantage, but nothing came of it so it was a penalty. It was good refereeing."
With Gary Woodcraft having his best game so far for Slough and Bateman as dominating as ever the Rebels lead was only threatened from Hitchin's 11th corner late in the game, Burke shooting high on the volley. Slough were unable to trouble emergency 'keeper Mark Smith, who took over for the last 10 minutes after Luff injured a finger.
Match Stats:
Corners: Slough 5, Hitchin 11.
Attempts on target-off target-blocked: Slough 7-6-2, Hitchin 1-9-0.
Slough attempts: Brown 4-2-0,Dodds 2-2-0, Bateman 1-1-0, Tilley0-1-0, Mitchell 0-0-1, Wilson 0-0-1.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Graham Cox
- 2 John Mitchell
- 3 Gary Woodcraft
- 4 John McDaid
- 5 Jeff Bateman
- 6 Devon Petty
- 7 Colin Keys
- 8 Kevin Tilley
- 9 Rowan Dodds
- 10 Jimmy Brown
- 11 Kenny Wilson 14
Substitutes
- 12 Tony Knight
- 14 Paul Waites 11
Hitchin Town Lineup
Luff, Paine, Elliston, Burke, Miller, Smith, Lindsay, West, Mawhinney, O'Keefe, Parker. Subs: Taylor (for West 53 mins), Holloway (for Luff 80 mins).