Maidenhead Lead and then Fail to Slough.

When Rudyard Kipling wrote about "Mudded Oafs" be must have had in his mind's eye a scene similar to that presented on the Wycombe Wanderers' ground on Easter Monday afternoon, when the final of the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup Competition was decided between Maidenhead and Slough.

The pitch was like sea of mud, and long before hostilities ceased be players would scarcely have been recognised by thenr own mothers. The B&B F.A. made a terrible blunder in fixing the final of he Berks and Bucks Midweek Cup Competion to be decided in the morning on the same ground, between Reading Imperials and Stony Watford Thursday (won by the latter by 5-2). It rained hard during the encounter; consequently, the turf was churned into mud and slush.

Happily, the weather improved in the afternoon, and Old Sol did his utmost to cheer the hearts of the thousands who visited Loakes Park to witness these old cup fighters and league rivals, Maidenhead and Slough. Two and a half hours before the match started hundreds were waiting outside the gates. Special trains, heavily loaded, brought enthusiastic contingents into the chair metropolis. Sunshades, umbrellas, hat trimmings and rosettes of colours worn by the rival teams, were very prominent, while rattles, bugles, and various kinds of "instruments" added to the scene, which was unprecedented in the annals of the Barks and Bucks Association.
The attendance was 8,267, and the "gate" was £468. The next best was when Wycombe Wanderers and Marlow met at Maidenhead in 1899, when the receipts were £224.

Maidenhead had worked their way to the final by defeating Wycombe Wanderers 3-2 at Maidenhead; Windsor and Eton, at Windsor, 4—1; and Chesham United, at Slough, 2-0. Slough accounted for Marlow, at Marlow, 5-1; then Wolverton, at Slough, 6-0; and in the semi-final at Maidenhead, Reading United were vanquished 4-0.

Excellent arrangements were made on the Wanderers' ground for a big crowd by Messrs. G. T. Miles and B. C. Hooper, and had it not been for the mud, we do not think there would have been much room for complaint. The Wycombe Furnishing Trades' Band (conducted by Mr. Walter Hawes) entertained the "company" till the time of starting arrived.

Maidenhead were "out" some minutes before Slough, and their appearance was the occasion
fresh outburst of enthusiasm. The referee and linesmen were waiting and the whistle sounded before Slough left their dressing room. They, too, had a rousing welcome.

Maidenhead won the toss and much satisfaction was rife when the skipper elected to attack the Marlow-hill goal in the first half. Amidst further excitement, Norris kicked off. B.E. Johnson immediately cut out the pace but he was beaten back by Tubb. The rebuff was short-lived, and before the game was more than two minutes old there came a sensational change. Slough attacked hotly and Grant's shot fairly non plussed Slay and C. Care with the result that Baldwin fastened on and beay the Maidenhead custodian all over his goal — a performance that was greeted with cheers that could have been heard a mile away.

On resuming, Payne came into the limelight, and from a long shot Care had to throw away. Maidenhead up to now bad scarcely been seen, and when they did get a flutter Pearce was slow to take up the opportunity. However, this was only the forerunner of further efforts
by Maidenhead, and twice Jones was called upon. Cook was a terror, and putting in a model centre the ball crossed the goalmouth to Marcham, who disappointed the Maidenhead supporters by shooting yards wide of the goal.

Rackstraw engineered another attack and was within an ace of doing the trick when Jones got in the way and staved off defeat. Slough were then penalised and there were "yells" for a penalty, but the referee shook his head. Cook and Laurie were soon prominent, but Burden and Gallop hung on tenaciously and cleared their lines. For some minutes the game was "touch and go," first one side and then the other being in danger. During this spell, Jones did well for his aide, and Richards and Rackstraw put in a lot of work for Maidenhead.

Slough then took the game in hand, and with some speedy play on the part of their wing men, the Maidenhead backs wore sorely tried, offside robbing Slough of an almost certain goal. C.J. Johnson was then injured and the game was stopped for repairs.

He was able to resume, following which Maidenhead put more "dash" into their work. Cook put
in a real beauty, and when Jones brought off a brilliant save, he was acclaimed a hero. It was certainly a narrow escape, and thrilled the Maidenhead supporters with hopes and anticipations. Richards started off another attack and Laurie, Pearce, and Cook all had a finger in the pie, but Cook was erratic when he was placed in an enviable position.

At this juncture Maidenhead were giving a true glimpse of the' old form, and the ball travelled rapidly from Cook to Clark, and in turn the whole of the Maidenhead forwards bombarded the goal, and it was little short of a miracle how Jones, Burden and Gallop kept them from doing the trick.

Payne then created an ugly scene by fouling. The referee rushed in as peace-maker and insisted on Payne shaking hands with Clark; and this had the desired effect. Marcham and Clark travelled rapidly towards the goal, but Burden and Chapman supplied the barrier. Payne moved out and trying on his own, landed the ball outside the goal.

Slough returned to the attack again and again. Blay, C. Care and Rackstraw upsetting their calculations, and when "off side' intervened there was a sigh of relief

Then came another change. The ball was passed by Cook to Laurie, who equalised the scores. This goal bad a stimulating effect and after the ball had again been set in motion Norris got into a dangerous position. Slough apparently intended to rush the goal, but it was evident that Johnson had used his band to help the ball on it mission, but it was plain that Mr. Newman saw the movement, and Maidenhead were awarded a free kick which brought Cook into the picture; Jones muffed the final shot and for moments the crowd was on tenter hooks. How the ball was got away from the danger zone we are inclined to think that the Slough backs are at a loss to say.

Marcham replied and sent in a shot almost from the goalline which Burden got away with difficulty. Rackstraw was then responsible for some aggressive work, and although Cook centred rather too hard, Clark and Marcham spoiled the movement by getting in each other's way.

Just on the interval C. Care played "safety" — a tactic that met with the well worn refrain of "Marlow!".

Maidenhead restarted the second half, and in a jiffy Grant and Baldwin made an incursion, which was well cleared by Blay. This led to Maidenhead getting a promising look in, but following a hard shot by Marcham, Gallop was injured, but he was able to resume. Maidenhead were persistent and were soon in another attacking mood, but their final efforts lacked sting.

Tubb was responsible for a fine check, while Clark was tricky, and from free kick for a foul, Gallop almost let down his side, Jones clearing in the nick of time. A free kick to Slough at close quarters looked ugly and this led to an abortive corner. Pearce got away. but his dribbling inclinations lost hnm a fine opportunity to show what a pivot can do.

For some minutes there was lot of blind kicking and passing. Richards and Rackstraw put in fine efforts, but the received no support, some of the players wandering aimlessly about as though "lost." A sthe result, Slough had opportunities which they seized and for some mnnutes Blay, C. Care, Rackatraw and Tubb had a sorry time while their forwards seemed to have lost all idea of serious football.

A corner so Slough led to P. Care making a gallant save, while Blay bobbed up at the eleventh hour an cleared at the expense of another corner to Slough, which Payne placed wide of the haven.

Another change was soon forthcoming. Care saved from Norris, and returned the shot to the Slough centre forward, and while Care was picking himself up from mother earth Norris shot into practically an empty goal an brought the scores level (2-2).

Maidenhead were urged to "pull-up," and they certainly aroused themselves for a brief spell, but Burden and Chapman were respon sible for some grand defensive work.

After Jones had been almost beaten by Laurie, Walker set the Slough left wing on the move with the result that in the assault Care was literally beaten to the world, when one of the Maidenhead backs palpably handled. "Penalty" was claimed all round the ground, but the referee had evidently not seen the "move", and the merriment was intense over Maidenhead's escape.

Maidenhead got back into their old stride, but there was no method in their work while Slough were game to a man — particularly Payne.

From a foul near the penalty line to Slough, a corner followed, and from this Payne gave Care a real teaser, and he was followed by Walker. Two players got at loggerheads and once more the referee showed a strong hand.

From a corner, Norris back kicked and C. Care, on the alert, cleared finely. Maidenhead were now only making spasmodic efforts while their opponents seemed on top of their form and were playing a mach better game.

With less than 10 minutes to go, B.E. Johnson obtained possession, and as he scored Slough's third goal with a clinking shot, Care was left wondering.

Naturally, Slough could almost claim their right to the cup, but they never gave up. Maidenhead made another effort, but Marcham sent the ball wide of Jones' charge, while Pearce returned, but he spoiled by dribbling round player after player an then losing the chance.

Cook put up a great "final" effort, and when Jones brought off beautiful save, Slough went frantic with delight.

Looking at the match from start to finish we are confident that Maidenhead lost the opportunities in the first half, when Slough bad a severe gruelling. In the second half, Maidenhead certainly had their "tails down", while Slough were "game" and added the two goals as the outcome of meritorious work. Slough honestly deserved victory and will know that Maidenhead, though keenly disappointed, will be among the first to congratulate them.