Late penalty gives classy Bognor just reward at Slough

A Jimmy Quinn penalty just 15 minutes from. time robbed Slough of a share of the spoils when they slumped to a disappointing defeat against a quality Bognor side on Saturday.

However, the truth of the matter is that had the Rebels managed to hang on for a share of the points, they would have been doing the visitors a gross injustice.

Slough were outclassed from start to finish and deserved a more humiliating defeat for a second rate performance.

An indication of the one sided nature of the contest was the fact that the visitors won a remarkable 18 corners to Slough's three and had a total of 19 attempts on goal while the Rebels managed a paltry three — of which two failed to trouble Bognor keeper Simon Steele.

Slough manager, Alan Davies, was only too aware of the extent of control exerted by the visitors and slammed his own team for their poor showing.

"On the day, we deserved what we got. We had 11 players and every one of them was second best all over the pitch. I know it and the players know it." said Davies.

To be fair to the Rebels they did look a little more competitive in the second period but Davies pointed out: "After what I said to them at half-time, they should have."

One player who did earn a little praise from the manager was keeper Trevor Bunting. But for him, Slough would certainly have been left with a more convincing defeat. However, Bunting's cause was helped by some poor Bognor finishing which threatened to leave them empty handed despite their supremacy.

As for the rest of the Slough team, they looked two yards slower than their Bognor counterparts and were constantly second to the ball as the Rocks dominated in all departments.

Meanwhile, Slough displayed a lack of basic skills that one might expect from a Division 2 side, not a team that has forced itself among the Premier Division pacesetters.

On the rare occasions when they did manage to secure possession, they contrived to return it to the Rocks with a monotonous combination of careless passing and sloppy control with the players' first touch incessantly letting them down.

Although Bognor took command from the start it was Slough who had the first shot on goal after eight minutes — their only on target attempt of the match.

Wayne Wanklyn did well holding the ball on the edge of the area before knocking it out to skipper Keith White who struck a fine 25 yard effort towards the bottom right hand corner. White did not strike it quite as well as he would have liked, but the ball skidded goal wards on the greasy surface forcing an awkward save from Steele.

Three minutes later, the Rebels were almost gifted the lead when Neal Stanley sent a driven cross towards the near post. Steele fumbled but recovered his composure to take it at the second attempt just as an own goal looked inevitable.

However, that was were where the Rebels totally lost their way and the Rocks started to pile on the pressure.

They appeared to have snatched the lead in the 13th minute when a teasing cross from Geoff Cooper drew Bunting out of position. Russell Burtenshaw knocked the ball back inside for David Poole to hammer home past White's despairing dive on the goal line.

Fortunately for Slough, the linesman had spotted what one can only assume was an obscure offside infringement and the goal was disallowed, much to the chagrin of the visitors and especially Paul Pullen whose animated remonstrations earned him a booking from referee Mr. P. Brennan.

Cooper attempted to make amends seven minutes later but his powerful curling effort from the left edge of the area flew just over.

Now fully into their stride, Bognor went from strength to strength and it was only the heroics of Bunting that kept them at bay.

First, the keeper did well to block Cooper's near post effort after the Bognor wingman had cruised effortlessly past Tony Knight.

A minute later, Bunting was at full stretch to palm Quinn's 20 yard volley round the upright for another corner.

Cooper continued to give full-back Gary Woodcraft a hard time and another awkward centre could have produced the opening goal but Paul Pullen just failed to get on the end of it as it curled out of Bunting's reach.

Slough's best chance of the contest came after 34 minutes when Mark Davis headed through to leave Jimmy Brown in the clear. Unfortunately the killer instinct that has seen goal hungry Brown net six times in his five full appearances this season was lacking.

He was slow off the mark and full-back Mark Bird was quick to recover and nick the ball away from Brown's toes at the last minute.

It was the turn of the woodwork to come to the Rebels' rescue in the 37th minute when Graham Marriner headed Cooper's corner against the upright. Then Cooper broke through again but shot wide of the far post.

Slough's elementary blunders were coming with increasing regularity producing groans of despair from their supporters. In contrast to the Rebels haphazard defence, Bognor found no difficulty coping with the home side's sporadic and hopeful long ball forays.

The Rebels had yet another close call on the stroke of half-time when Wanklyn headed off the line from Paul Pullen's overhead kick towards the far post.

Tempers were suddenly becoming a little frayed and Bognor's Kevin Clements became the second player to go into the referee's book for dissent after the halftime whistle.

The effects of what must have been a genuine roasting from manager Davies during the interval were apparent at the start of the second period as Slough appeared more fired up.

Unfortunately the additional aggression did little for the home side. Although Kenny Wilson went close with a delightful chip which Steele managed to parry towards the far post and on to the head of Mark Davis and over the bar, Slough had little more to offer.

The increased determination and aggression made little difference. Wanklyn appeared the most fired up but it merely got him into trouble as he was booked for dissent in the 57th minute.

Another one of a string of clumsy fouls by Wanklyn gave Bognor a free-kick on the hour which Bunting came for and missed completely leaving Clements to nod goal wards and Knight to head away for the Rocks' 14th corner of the match.

Emotions were now running very high and Russell Burtenshaw and Davis were fortunate not to be booked when Burtenshaw clattered into Davis from behind, Davis went to retaliate but White and the referee were quick to intervene.

However, tempers finally boiled over in the 68th minute when White and Burtenshaw were tussling for a ball by the dug out. White clearly took offence at Burtenshaw's liberal use of his elbows and followed through with his tackle. A brief skirmish ensued between thetwo players with both being booked as a result.

With order restored, Bognor were back on top and once again the athletic Bunting denied them the lead when he palmed a fine effort from Quinn for yet another corner.

However, with the contest looking set for an unjust draw, as far as Bognor were concerned, a probing goal kick found Paul Pullen in the clear. Bunting forced the lone striker wide towards the left of the area but as Pullen attempted to round him, Bunting just caught the player's ankles and the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Quinn calmly sent Bunting the wrong way and put the ball high into the left-hand corner to give his side just reward for their 75 minutes hard toil.

The Rebels may have looked dead but were not quite buried and only Martin Cox's last ditch clearance denied them the equaliser for when the ball was sent goal wards as a crowd of players challenged for the ball from Slough's third corner.

In the 78th minute, a delicate chipped free-kick from White found Browne in the Bognor area but the strikers' first touch was clumsy and a possible chance was gone.

However, it was the visitors who had the last word when with six minutes remaining, Quinn burst through, pulled the ball back for an unmarked Clements who blasted against the underside of the bar from 12 yards. The ball bounced down and out and with Bunting stranded, Clements volleyed his second attempt over the bar.