Cheshunt Progress In Bryco Cup

Slough came up against Ryman Division One North high flyers Cheshunt in the second round of this years Bryco Cup, it was guaranteed to be a high scoring game as the Hertfordshire side have already notched up an amazing 49 league goals this season.

The Rebels fielded an under strength side, missing from the team were defenders Daly, Gyoury, Barrowcliffe and Bartley, Darron Wilkinson and Alex Haddow were also absent through injury. Slough played some nice football at times but never looked fully committed, in the end there was no surprise when Cheshunt ran out 4-1 winners and progressed through to the next round of the Bryco Cup.

The Home side started strongly and looked odds on to score first, Tony Boot read a Hyatt pass well and took the opportunity to have a shot on goal, the strike was too powerful and exploded over the bar. Three minutes later Boot reinforced Slough’s supremacy and went on a lone charge through the middle of the pitch, unfortunately his strike was once again to strong and veered north of the target.

Slough continued to look the better team until disaster struck in the 10th minute. Defender Michael Murphy had to call it a day with a suspected thigh strain, Glen Harris came on to replace Murphy but another injury is the last thing Slough need before the crunch tie with Dulwich on Saturday.

Danny Steer found a way round the Cheshunt defence, he unselfishly laid the ball into space for Chris Payne, however the shot was way off target and flew well wide of the post. Cheshunt were gradually getting back into the tie and went close when Darrel Cox took the ball round Slough Captain Adrian Browne, fortunately for the Rebels Michael Gilkes was in the right place at the right time and clearedthe danger away from the penalty area.

With only two natural defenders left on the pitch it was only a matter of time before the away side took the lead. Danger man Darrel Cox was given sufficient space to muster a good enough strike to beat Alan Foster at his near post. Slough managed to keep Cheshunt from scoring another before half time, Danny Steer was putting in a notable performance with some gutsy tackles and first rate deliveries.

After half time Alan Fosters shot stopping skills were needed as Cheshunt went on an early shooting spree, fortunately Foster was good enough to keep the ball out of the net - for now. Soon after Cheshunt attacker Archer doubled his teams lead, once again holes were appearing in the Slough defence and Cheshunt were taking full opportunity to punish the Rebels. Archer skipped past the defence and even Foster couldn’t stop the first class shot.

Slough were again in trouble, Foster was left in no mans land, luckily for Foster Danny Steer sprinted back to the goal line and saved the keeper from embarassment by making a dramatic goal line clearance. Denton decided to make a few changes, Hodge and Payne made way for Seedal and Braich, the Rebels momentarily woke up, Spencer and Braich team work enabled Braich to deliver a cross, however Seedal was unable to connect.

Cheshunt made sure of the win with 15 minutes to go. Archer won the ball on the break and a classy shot flew underneath an uninspired Foster. Adrian Browne got a scrappy consolation goal for Slough, Hyatt whipped in a curling corner and Browne’s foot connected with the ball and it flew into the back of the net.

Cheshunt won the match in style, Cox chipped the ball over a stranded Foster to record his second of the match. However it was the Rebels that amazingly finished the match on top, Michael Gilkes and Ryan Spencer both had a handful of chances each to restore some pride for Slough, however the Cheshunt keeper pulled off some amazing saves to keep the score down to 4-1.

Slough were stuck in second gear for the majority of the 90 minutes and were beaten by a team that obviously wanted to win. The Bryco Cup can wait for another year as it’s the league we really need to concentrate on. Dulwich will provide tough opposition this Saturday at Stag Meadow, 3 points is all we will be looking for, lets just hope our injured defenders recover in time.