Whisper it quietly, barely audibly even, but it looks like Slough Town's Conference dream may already be over.
Bureaucracy has cruelly robbed the Rebels of hope and looks like condemning the remainder of their season to a scramble for a piece of silverware which is, in itself, meaningless. The legacy of the apathy and lethargy which this would entail was in evidence everywhere on Saturday.
It was there in the way the game failed completely in the entertainment stakes, the way both sides looked for the final whistle long before it arrived, and especially in the way that Slough looked like a team who have already played too many games and have had more than enough of it all. And who can blame them?
Indeed, by 25 minutes, when Bowder and Hippolyte combined to force Bunting to preserve some dignity with his fingertips, Slough were running on empty and the number of openings the whole game through was unbelievably few.
Bushay and Sayer tried their hardest, of course, but the windswept pitch, overshadowed by arehaic gasworks, provided a bleak testimony to the full price of relegation last season.
Yeading looked nothing special, but Hippolyte was in a class of his own, terrorising defenders all afternoon and almost lobbing Bunting from the edge of the area.
Dave Russell obviously had a word or two to say at halftime, and his side emerged from the tunnel looking a little more prepared for a game of football.
Lee started and finished a fine move which could have provided a light in the darkness, crashing a low shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards, but McKenzie was equal to it.
Still, though, too many free-kicks went to waste, too many passes strayed from their intended targets and the world-weary visitors looked anything but a side on the up. Only luck earned them a point, with McKenna spurning a beautiful chance for the home side when he blasted wide from yards out.
Not that any Slough player put in anything which could be classed as a bad display - Sayer was a dynamo as ever, Bushay a constant threat and Blackman looked nimble when he came on. But nothing came of it all, and the game petered out without hope - the first goaless draw of the season.
Ultimately, it is out of Dave Russell's hands. The players are powerless, the fans can do little and even Alan Thorne has seen his best attempts shattered. The supporters' verbal abuse of their side as they left the pitch missed the point completely - Slough's season lies in tatters, and it is through no fault of their own.
Bureaucracy has cruelly robbed the Rebels of hope and looks like condemning the remainder of their season to a scramble for a piece of silverware which is, in itself, meaningless. The legacy of the apathy and lethargy which this would entail was in evidence everywhere on Saturday.
It was there in the way the game failed completely in the entertainment stakes, the way both sides looked for the final whistle long before it arrived, and especially in the way that Slough looked like a team who have already played too many games and have had more than enough of it all. And who can blame them?
Indeed, by 25 minutes, when Bowder and Hippolyte combined to force Bunting to preserve some dignity with his fingertips, Slough were running on empty and the number of openings the whole game through was unbelievably few.
Bushay and Sayer tried their hardest, of course, but the windswept pitch, overshadowed by arehaic gasworks, provided a bleak testimony to the full price of relegation last season.
Yeading looked nothing special, but Hippolyte was in a class of his own, terrorising defenders all afternoon and almost lobbing Bunting from the edge of the area.
Dave Russell obviously had a word or two to say at halftime, and his side emerged from the tunnel looking a little more prepared for a game of football.
Lee started and finished a fine move which could have provided a light in the darkness, crashing a low shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards, but McKenzie was equal to it.
Still, though, too many free-kicks went to waste, too many passes strayed from their intended targets and the world-weary visitors looked anything but a side on the up. Only luck earned them a point, with McKenna spurning a beautiful chance for the home side when he blasted wide from yards out.
Not that any Slough player put in anything which could be classed as a bad display - Sayer was a dynamo as ever, Bushay a constant threat and Blackman looked nimble when he came on. But nothing came of it all, and the game petered out without hope - the first goaless draw of the season.
Ultimately, it is out of Dave Russell's hands. The players are powerless, the fans can do little and even Alan Thorne has seen his best attempts shattered. The supporters' verbal abuse of their side as they left the pitch missed the point completely - Slough's season lies in tatters, and it is through no fault of their own.
Slough Town Line Up
- 1 Trevor Bunting
- 2 Brian Lee
- 3 Andy Clement
- 4 Steve Bateman
- 5 Trevor Baron
- 6 Neil Catlin 14
- 7 Dave Lay
- 8 Andy Sayer
- 9 Mark West
- 10 Brett Smith 12
- 11 Ansil Bushay
Substitutes
- 12 Garfield Blackman 10
- 14 Tony Dell 6