Errors abound as Rebels self-destruct

One thousand nine hundred and two people turned up at Rockingham Road on Saturday, and all left disappointed that the home side had been shown so little resistance as they coasted to a simple 2-0 victory.

That the overriding majority of the crowd were Robins fans was a major boost to their team and an important example to the travelling fans of the value of good vocal support at home, but Slough just don't deserve better backing while they continue to deliver so little to cheer about.

For every meagre scrap the Rebels created, Kettering turned out half-a-dozen glaring chances while providing a very watchable display of entertaining football.

Number 10 Ian Scott was their star, never once beaten to the ball and always one step ahead of the defence. He got their first and was well worth several more, opening the account on 27 minutes when he marched simply onto the end of Judge's long punt, flicked on by Alford, and stroked the ball. past Lomas' dive.

Nine minutes later an Alan Paris error was to bring the second goal, when his woeful attempt at a hack pass fell well short of the 'keeper. Scott nipped in and left Alford with a simple piece of finishing.

Resistance was not quite mute but very silent anyway. Only Rake looked dangerous with the ball at his feet and put one 20-yard effort over the bar, with Bressington seeing Cox head a similar shot off target.

Whenever Slough began what looked like a promising move it all fizzled out in the final third of the field and heads quickly began to drop as they saw what had become a minor irritation turn into a mountainous problem. For the first 10 minutes of the second alone did they do the business and threatened to make a game of it, with Rake creating all sorts of problems for Harmon before being helpfully taken off with a quarter of an hour left, from which point the rot really set in.

The supposed sweeper system was rendered virtually useless by Bressington's lacklustre game, while very pedestrian Mark Pye was left all alone to cope in central midfield, where every Kettering attack began and every Rebels effort ended. But for Alan Paris' experience, some good saves from Andy Lomas and a lot of running from Mark West it could have been much worse.

On 66 minutes, Scott simply ran amuck and passed straight through both Bressington and Honor before fatally allowing the ball to run ahead of him and giving Lomas just enough time to claw it away. A quarter of an hour later the ball was in the net when Paris slipped while marking Alford and gave him the chance to shoot onto the bar. When the ball rebounded, Scott was judged offside as he tapped in, a harsh decision and one which robbed him of a deserved further share of the headlines.

With just one minute left, Kettering missed what could and should have been their fifth goal when AIford rose unmarked and put Pope's free-kick wide of the mark. It could be seen coming a mile off, yet worryingly none of the defence spotted it.

And now there are two days before Macclesfield visit in what will surely be a make or break encounter for the side. The Moss Rose team, reigning Conference champions, will represent. the harshest test yet for Dave Russell's side and will define just how many players he is short of a top 10 team. It's far too early to talk of a crisis, especially given that only the last two league game have given any major cause for concern, but things should be a lot better than this.