Seven Goal Romp For Rebels

Christmas came early for Slough Town this past Saturday as they romped their way to an epic 7-1 victory over bottom of the table Epsom and Ewell. However it wasn’t Santa who delivered the goods at Stag Meadow, goals from Boot, Spencer and four from Ian Hodges elevated The Rebels into the promotion zone and sent out a warning to the rest of the Ryman League.

Epsom travelled to Stag Meadow looking for only their second win of the season, however what they ran into was a run away Rebel express and it wasn’t about to stop for them. Slough were still on a high from Wednesdays Capital League Cup Final victory when they smashed seven past Stevenage, Epsom were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Slough started strongly and could of opened the scoring after just one minute. Ryan Spencer ran the length of the pith and set up the Slough assassin Ian Hodges, however he couldn’t make full contact with the ball and the weak effort rolled wide.

Tony Boot was up next to prove he’s still got what it takes, he had the perfect chance to give the home side the lead after a hard worked cross from Danny Steer found the feet of Boot, however there were just to many Epsom defenders for last seasons top striker to deal with and the ball was cleared to safety.

Epsom won a free kick on the edge of the Slough penalty area after a brave tackle by captain Steve Daly. The ball was well struck by Simon Hatton but only went as far as the safe hands of Alan Foster.

Slough opened the scoring on seventeen minutes after a mix of team work and individual skill. Danny Steer showed what he can do on the left wing by leaving the Epsom defenders in a daze, one of his perfect crosses found an unmarked Matt Miller, Miller took the opportunity to shoot but his effort was well saved by Epsom’s 17 year old keeper Matt Sargeant, however there was nothing he could do about Hodges quick reflexes and the rebound was in the back of the net.

With the one goal cushion Slough momentarily slipped into second gear and let Epsom get their noses back in the game. Epsom displayed their most impressive display of the game but Danish defender Martin Moller dispossessed Epsom with a inspired sliding tackle and The Rebels were back in control of the game.

Danny Steer was really impressing down the left wing and his crosses couldn’t be any more accurate, another superb delivery was met by the head of Ian Hodges and the keeper was left to pick the ball out of the back of the net for the second time in the match.

Slough didn’t look content with only a two goal advantage going into half time so when Boot was brought down in the penalty area on route to a goal scoring opportunity, the Referee Mr Humphrey had no choice but to point to the spot after being advised by his assistant. Boot hadn’t missed a penalty all season and he showed how it should be done placing the ball hard and high to the left of the keeper.

Tony Boot had the perfect chance to net his second of the match, a timely Spencer pass was not cleared by any defender but Boot unselfishly passed to Hodges giving him the opportunity to cap off his hat-trick but Hodges couldn’t find the target. Slough could momentarily relax during the half time break knowing half their job of killing off Epsom and Ewell had been successfully completed.

Slough were once again quick out the blocks and could of added another to the tally, Ryan Spencer’s fierce shot was tipped over the bar by Matt Sargeant.

Surprisingly it was Epsom who netted first in the second half, confusion in the Slough defence resulted in Alan Foster dropping an easy catch and Simon Hatton pouncing on the rebound to give the away side a slight chance of a come back, however it seemed it was like showing a red rag to a bull and it didn’t take The Rebels long to get back on track.

Ryan Spencer was also delivering well from the wing, he looked to whip in a curling cross to one of his team mates in the box but miraculously the ball just kept on curling and ended up beating the keeper and Slough were 4-1 to the good.

Tony Boot displayed some more of his stunning shooting skills, on sixty seven minutes Boot beat the defence and was left one on one with the Epsom keeper, Boot came out victorious after placing the ball exquisitely to the right of Sargeant.

With the match all but won, Eddie Denton brought off some tired legs and replaced them with some fresh ones. Boot, Spencer and Wilkinson made way for Harris, Bartley and Payne.

Ian Hodges was still in with a shout for his hatrick and with twenty minutes to go he got it. After another world class cross from Steer, Hodges headed home with an equally impressive text book header. Captain Steve Daly then went close but his effort rebounded off the post.

There was still time for Hodges to net a fourth, Hyatt thumped the ball towards goal and Hodges somehow managed to volley the ball home from and extremely tight angle - simply amazing!

Slough’s dazzling performance was nothing short of inspirational and even when you take into account the poor standard of opposition there are so many positives you can take out of the match. The Rebels reward for their hard work and dedication is 6th position and a place in the promotion zone of the league. However with only 6 points separating positions 4 to 14 a win at Marlow next Saturday is vital.

And that win at Marlow wont be easy. Marlow currently lie in 15th position, that might not sound to good but it’s only 6 points behind Slough and when you take into account Marlow’s record against the other promotion hopefuls there may be cause for concern. They have managed to take points off Dulwich, Windsor and Hampton already this season, not forgetting their victory over us back in August.

Marlow will be tough but if we continue to play like we are, we should have enough to gain revenge, climb up the table and start to be recognised as serious title contenders.