Slough Town
1
Bolt (75)
Farnborough Town
0
League
Attendance: 786
Unknown
For an hour and a quarter it seemed that after the Christmas feast, the Rebels' goal cupboard was bare. Slough worked so hard against Farnborough on Monday night, creating chance after chance, hut just could not make their dominance count.
In the first half Lloyd Owusu saw his header come back off the bar, and twice the Farnborough defence had to clear off the line.
By the second, headers were flying over the bar, shots were sent wildly wide, and it looked as if mother 0-0 draw might be on the cards. Then with 15 minutes to go Danny Bolt finally found the net. keeping his head and finishing a well-worked move with style.
It was exactly what the home tide deserved, and the number of chances that Slough had had prompted one fan to comment afterwards: "We didn't beat them 1-0. we thrashed them 1-0!"
It was a shaky start for the Rebels, with Corey Browne and Terry Angus both booked in the first five minutes. But five minutes later Farnborough Neil Baker had to head Owusu's effort off the line after the striker connected with Gary McGinnis' floated free kick.
By midway through the half Bolt had sent a shot over, and Gary Brazil had seen his volley at the near post blocked for a corner, and it seemed a goal would not be far away. Owusu demonstrated throughout the game how much he has come on as a player. His speed and tenacity have served Slough well in the past, but in this match he was winning balls in midfield, getting those vital flick-ons. and playing intelligent balls across the midfield to keep possession.
His vision on 25 minutes almost brought him a goal, as he first picked out McGinnis with a crossfield ball, and then sprinted to the box to get on the end of Brazil's cross and direct a header past the keeper but against the bar.
Five minutes from the break a free kick from the touchline was met almost simultaneously by Angus and Cliff Hercules. again it was cleared off the line. So by half-time it could have been 3-0, but by the hour mark Rebels fans were left wondering if their chance had gone, as Farnborough began to threaten, really for the first time in the match.
On 60 minutes, Martin Rowlands' header rolled inches wide of the post and soon afterwards David Mehew, unchallenged in the box, hit wide from a perfect goalscoring position.
It would have been a travesty if Farnborough had gone ahead, but the realisation that it could happen seemed to lift Slough again, and two free kicks in dangerous positions saw Angus head over on both occasions.
A great surging run by Owusu on 74 minutes saw him beat two defenders and set up Bolt on the left, but Bolt fired well over with a hurried shot. Then Bolt had the good fortune to get a second opportunity and the good sense to learn from his miss a minute later. Determined work from first Danny Bailey and then Browne in the box set up Bolt in exactly the same position on the left. This time he looked up, saw the keeper was out of position, and rolled the ball away from him into the far corner of the net.
The cheers that went up from the Slough fans in the 786 crowd were more of relief than celebration — it was a goal that had been a long time coming, and brought to and end what had threatened to be a night of frustration.
In the first half Lloyd Owusu saw his header come back off the bar, and twice the Farnborough defence had to clear off the line.
By the second, headers were flying over the bar, shots were sent wildly wide, and it looked as if mother 0-0 draw might be on the cards. Then with 15 minutes to go Danny Bolt finally found the net. keeping his head and finishing a well-worked move with style.
It was exactly what the home tide deserved, and the number of chances that Slough had had prompted one fan to comment afterwards: "We didn't beat them 1-0. we thrashed them 1-0!"
It was a shaky start for the Rebels, with Corey Browne and Terry Angus both booked in the first five minutes. But five minutes later Farnborough Neil Baker had to head Owusu's effort off the line after the striker connected with Gary McGinnis' floated free kick.
By midway through the half Bolt had sent a shot over, and Gary Brazil had seen his volley at the near post blocked for a corner, and it seemed a goal would not be far away. Owusu demonstrated throughout the game how much he has come on as a player. His speed and tenacity have served Slough well in the past, but in this match he was winning balls in midfield, getting those vital flick-ons. and playing intelligent balls across the midfield to keep possession.
His vision on 25 minutes almost brought him a goal, as he first picked out McGinnis with a crossfield ball, and then sprinted to the box to get on the end of Brazil's cross and direct a header past the keeper but against the bar.
Five minutes from the break a free kick from the touchline was met almost simultaneously by Angus and Cliff Hercules. again it was cleared off the line. So by half-time it could have been 3-0, but by the hour mark Rebels fans were left wondering if their chance had gone, as Farnborough began to threaten, really for the first time in the match.
On 60 minutes, Martin Rowlands' header rolled inches wide of the post and soon afterwards David Mehew, unchallenged in the box, hit wide from a perfect goalscoring position.
It would have been a travesty if Farnborough had gone ahead, but the realisation that it could happen seemed to lift Slough again, and two free kicks in dangerous positions saw Angus head over on both occasions.
A great surging run by Owusu on 74 minutes saw him beat two defenders and set up Bolt on the left, but Bolt fired well over with a hurried shot. Then Bolt had the good fortune to get a second opportunity and the good sense to learn from his miss a minute later. Determined work from first Danny Bailey and then Browne in the box set up Bolt in exactly the same position on the left. This time he looked up, saw the keeper was out of position, and rolled the ball away from him into the far corner of the net.
The cheers that went up from the Slough fans in the 786 crowd were more of relief than celebration — it was a goal that had been a long time coming, and brought to and end what had threatened to be a night of frustration.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Paul Wilkerson
- 2 Garry Smart
- 3 Paul Hardyman
- 4 Gary McGinnis
- 5 Cliff Hercules
- 6 Terry Angus
- 7 Danny Bailey
- 8 Lloyd Owusu
- 9 Gary Brazil
- 10 Corey Browne
- 11 Danny Bolt
Substitutes
- 12 Mark West
- 14 Mark Fiore
- 15 Matt Stowell