Stoke Gain Controversial Win

It was a disappointing Easter time for the Rebels this year as defeat to Basingstoke was again marred by controversy.

Missing the dominant, Leon Townley in their Saturday fixture against the visiting Boreham Wood, their luck was out again on Monday at Basingstoke.

An unresponsive linesman allowed a home attack to continue after the ball had rolled over the touchline to give them a win that they simply did not deserve.

Bearing in mind the difficult conditions despite a firm pitch both sides provided some good entertainment in a match that was excellently refereed by Mr Mackrell.

Slough, who played well on the whole, will look back to the stunning save by keeper Scott Tarr after 20 minutes as the turning point in the game.

From a corner, Aaron Patton ghosted his way between two defenders to send a powerful header towards the bottom corner of the net, only to see the home keeper sensationally get his fingers to the ball from where it bounced just in front of the line before being cleared for another corner.

This was the most anxious moment in the match for the Basingstoke defence, largely because of the tentative efforts of Dave Rainford, and Marcus Richardson's lack of close control and composure on the ball when promising situations arose.

Half-time arrived with the score-sheet blank, but early in the second half the Rebels should have taken the lead when Rainford was given a free header at goal only to send the ball weakly wide of the far post.

Basingstoke tried to counter but all their efforts lacked inspiration and conviction, and with Daly and Townley solid at the back Danny Honey was hardly troubled.

Slough did suffer an anxious moment when Dave Timothy was called by the referee for a long chat following an awkward tackle mid-way in the second half.

As the enthusiastic defender had already been booked for four lunging tackles during the first half, Slough supporters feared the worst, but the referee was in a lenient mood, letting him off with a warning.

With a quarter of an hour left on the clock Richardson engineered himself into a good position to shoot but sadly his powerful shot skimmed the bar.

This was the first time that Slough had managed to create a good attacking situation in the second period, most of their good work being halted by the linesman on the stand side who ended five promising attacks with the offside flag with four home defenders behind the ball on each occasion.

During the second half Mark Pye was replaced by Eddie Denton, who showed up surprisingly well following his long lay off due to injury.

With the game dying on its feet and just seven minutes remaining on the clock, the linesman on the opposite side must surely have seen the ball played into touch by a Basingstoke defender, something that was clear to all the spectators.

But with no flag raised from that official, Stuart Girdler just carried on and 'slotted a low cross through a hesitant Rebels defence.

Substitute Sean Gorman pounced and shot past Honey into the corner of the net to give Basingstoke the lead against the run of the play.

The remaining time saw the Rebels pushing for an equaliser and leaving their defence exposed.

Recent memories of Aldershot and Canvey Island, where things went wrong at the end, were revived and Honey was forced into a couple of good saves after a largely untroubled afternoon.

The Rebels' luck must surely change before the season ends!