It Was So Unlucky For Slough

Lethal finishing inside the first 25 minutes enabled Championship chasing Colchester United to record a win they hardly deserved on Saturday. Slough, riding on a recent run of poor form fell to their fourth consecutive defeat - on paper!

But the Rebels must surely take heart from an outstanding performance that had Colchester on the ropes for the best part of the last hour of the match.

Flu' stricken Alan Davies was full of praise for his lads after the game: "They all played extremely well, you can have nothing but praise for them." The only change to the line up was the return of Vernon Pratt on the bench, while tactically Gary Donnellan moved into midfield with Mark Mallinson dropping to left back.

There was a superb atmosphere as 2,715 packed into the grand old stadium to see if the U's could close the gap on top of the table Kettering, and they had the backing of an unbeaten home record.

Colchester looked well organised, strong and competitive and they moved forward threateningly, using the full width of the pitch to their advantage — with Neale Marmon overlapping well on the Slough left. The Rebels were giving as good as they got though, with neat movement forward, and chances came though the finish wasn't quite there. It was to prove the ultimate difference. With 17 minutes gone a sudden lapse in concentration saw the Slough defence turn their backs on a free kick in the centre circle. It was swiftly taken for Gary Bennett to race in behind Mallinson and fire a low shot in off the far post.

Colchester again swept forward looking dangerous and at one stage Tony Knight picked up a booking for retaliation. With 22 minutes on the clock. Trevor How was caught by a long ball which dropped over his head and Mario Walsh raced in to fire home. That was about it from the home side.

Slough got well on top and Lahiff had a quiet remainder of the half in the Slough goal. The Rebels sharp forward movement and imagination had the U's back pedalling and Steve Thompson and Donnellan were posing problem after problem. Thompson was cynically brought down by Eammon Collins who received a booking and the resultant free kick just skimmed the bar.

The Rebels were rewarded for their superior possession after 41 minutes when they finally got the finish to yet another good move. The ball was swept around the midfield, out to the right and Jon Sissons picked out Donnellan in the box who turned and fired home.

Lahiff did well to deny Walsh who was clean through on the stroke of half time, and the other side of the interval saw Bennett denied. But Colchester's brief spell at the start of the second half soon faded and Slough were back in charge.

Thompson was again floored for which Warren Donald was booked, Slough moving well down both flanks and it looked only a matter of time before they grabbed an equaliser. Colchester defended desperately and Darren Anderson saw his header just poked off the line following a free kick headed on by How.

Throughout the half several balls were sent in low but the Slough forwards just failed to get the vital touch, Donnellan's powerful cross —shot was tipped over and Tony Dell saw his shot charged down. Colchester led a charmed life as time ran out and they looked to be moving toward three points they didn't deserve.

In the dying seconds, Stacey's shot caught Tommy Langley's head but keeper Scott Barrett just managed to change direction and grab it on the line. The ball whizzed in and out of the Colchester area but the final whistle was greeted by more cheers from the Slough fans then the majority of home supporters in tribute to a fine performance.