Another Brown Hat-Trick!

If Jimmy Brown is the kind of striker who claims the match ball when he scores a hat-trick, he'll soon be able to open a sporting goods shop. Brown's seventh treble in the last two seasons took his tally to 26 this term and kept Slough's championship charge going through the potentially hazardous Wexham Park mud.

After Brown's latest lesson in the art of scoring goals on Saturday, Rebels manager Alan Davies said: "That is what good finishing is all about and that is what he is there for." The other key figure for Slough in a victory that keeps them hard on the heels of Vauxhall-Opel League leaders Windsor, was winger Kenny Wilson.

On a pitch that just passed an inspection 25 minutes before kick-off and was a mass of water and brown gunge, Slough needed some magic from Wilson on the grassy areas on the flanks — and he didn't let them down. "You have got to be looking to get the ball wide for Wilson and Tony Dennis on a pitch like that. It wasn't a day for midfield players. Kenny did very well and so, at times, did Tony."

Davies was pleased that the match went ahead, although he admitted he may have felt differently if the result had gone the other way. And that was always a possibility on such a lottery of a playing surface, especially when Slough handed the visitors a goal after 90 seconds. "We knew it was going to be a hard game," said Davies. "When you look at the conditions It wasn't a day for playing football, but there was some good stuff at times."

Slough were level by half time and scored twice in three minutes to go 3-1 up in the second half. But then they gave away a goal two minutes later — something which clearly annoyed their manager. Davies continued: "In the second half we had the better of the game and had a very good spell for 15 to 20 minutes. We made them pay, but then we let them back in the game when they weren't really causing us any problems."

Slough held on to increase their unbeaten run to 10 matches, but Davies was careful not to get too carried away. "Clubs have got games in hand and can overtake us," he said. "We have to look at ourselves and ask how badly we want to win it. At the moment the lads have really got the bit between their teeth."

They certainly needed to after going behind after 90 seconds on a day when the atrocious conditions threatened to make goals a more treasured commodity than usual.

It was a mental aberration from Tony Knight that put Slough up against it as he left a back pass short and saw Micky Dingwall take the ball past stranded goalkeeper Trevor Bunting and find the net from a tight angle.

Davies was not impressed by Knight's foolhardy action and commented: "You tell people not to take chances on days like this. In those conditions the ball should have gone out of the ground."
The Rebels were almost level after four minutes when Wilson rose out of the clinging mud to meet Dennis's cross to the far post with a header that smacked against the junction of post and bar. But after 15 minutes Slough scored the kind of goal that was close to miraculous on such a heavy pitch. Keith White played a beautiful ball from the puddles of the centre circle to the right wige, where Dennis cut inside and slipped the ball into Brown's path in the box. Brown kept his feet and his nerve to slide his shot under keeper Dave Mallett to level the scores.

Neal Stanley pushed the ball beyond the far post nine minutes later after being sent racing into the box by another fine ball from White, but Leytonstone had the only two further chances of the half.

Firstly Terry Sullivan was beaten by the mud, the close attention of Jeff Bateman and his own clumsiness when the ball fell to him six yards out, and then Paul Taylor blazed high from Sullivan's chip.

The afternoon began to come to life 12 minutes into the second half when Brown raced after a monstrous header from Bateman, but the presence of a defender forced his effort wide.

Four minutes later came the most bizarre incident Wexham Park is likely to witness all season as Brown challenged Mallett for a 50-50 ball. Mallett claimed the ball, but the visitors took offence at Brown's legitimate challenge and as the keeper held the Rebels striker, Leytonstone right back Billy Harrigan must have thrown at least half a dozen rabbit punches in a display that made boxing bad boy Bobby Frankham look like a timid choirboy.

Incredibly referee Bennett did not even speak to Harrigan until his linesman suggested it to him and even then it was only to give him a verbal slap on the legs and tell him to run along and play like a good boy. "I thought it should have been a penalty," said Davies after the game. "The ball was free and Brown was entitled to go for it. He was obviously going to slide in, but the keeper retaliated and the right back should have been made to walk."

Slough were compensated in the best possible way by a classical goal after 74 minutes. Wilson showed his wizardry by roasting his marker and making his way along the dead ball line before picking out Brown with a stabbed cross that was headed emphatically home.

Three minutes later Brown went diving into the six yard box to head his third after Stanley had latched on to White's long pass and chipped the ball into the danger zone.

The points appeared to belong to the Rebels, but only two minutes later, an uncharacteristic error from Bateman allowed Dingwall to skate through and clip his second goal past Bunting.

Slough were denied the restoration of their two-goal advantage and a deserved goal for Wilson by the acrobatics of Mallett, who did superbly to tip the winger's diving header over the bar after Dennis's accurate centre.