Slough Town
9
Putman (7, 20, 81), Moone (8, 34), Dunn (15), Togwell (45+1), Hollis (70), Raju (pen 72)
Ashford Town (Middx)
2
Herbert (4), English (61)
League Cup
Attendance: 314
Lewis Putman
Slough Town stormed into the Second Round of the Southern League Challenge Cup as they overpowered Ashford Town (Middx) at Arbour Park, with Lewis Putman scoring a hat-trick.
The Rebels could have taken the lead with just over a minute played, but Putman was off-target after rounding Ashford goalkeeper Luke Daley, who had a debut to remember.
It was actually the visitors who took the lead though, with Max Herbert finding the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards on four minutes, the ball squeezing through the hands of Jamie Jackson.
Within four minutes though, Slough turned it around to lead 2-1 with two fine goals. First, Putman bent a free kick into the top corner after Simon Dunn was fouled just outside the box, and then Charlie Moone expertly bicycle-kicked past Daley after Warren Harris stood the ball up to the back post.
Slough played some scintillating football on the Arbour Park playing surface and looked to break the Ashford offside trap over and over again. The third goal, on 15 minutes, came from a piece of individual brilliance from Dunn, who flicked the ball past a defender onto his right foot before bursting into the box and shooting under Daley.
The home side went on to build a huge first-half lead. Putman grabbed his second on 20 minutes, taking Dunn’s pass and sprinting through before taking the ball past Daley and firing into the roof of the net.
Four became five on 34 minutes as Moone scored again, this time finding far too much space before sidestepping Daley and coolly rolling the ball in from six yards.
Lee Togwell, captain for the night, could only find the side-netting on 37 minutes after another inch-perfect through ball from James Dobson, but Togwell did get in on the act on the stroke of half time, poking in the rebound after Daley spilt Dobson’s strike.
With a 6-1 half time lead, Academy player Pritpal Raju was introduced to the game in place of Dunn, and he impressed, testing Daley on more than one occasion.
Putman had the perfect chance to complete his hat-trick when he was felled by Samad Kazi’s slide tackle in the penalty area, but his spot-kick was kept out by Daley.
Raju had a long-range shot fumbled and then gathered right on the goal line by Daley as Slough continued to attack, but Ashford deserve a great deal of credit for a spirited and committed beginning to the second half, as they worked the ball around nicely and tested Jackson on a couple of occasions – Callum O’Sullivan striking a fine volley from distance. The visitors grabbed the goal that their efforts had deserved on 61 minutes, as Kamaron English rounded Jackson before slotting home to make it 6-2.
However, Slough went further ahead on 71 minutes as Hollis planted an unchallenged header through the hands of Daley from Dobson’s free kick, and then a minute later Raju won a penalty, which he duly converted after being handed the ball by Moone for his first senior goal.
Another highlight of the evening was a full debut for a second Academy player, Steffen Bennett, who replaced Harris and had a solid half hour at right-back. Jon Palmer, the former Godalming midfielder and long-time friend of Neil Baker and Jon Underwood, also made a cameo appearance for the final fifteen minutes, replacing Dobson.
Slough went close on a number of occasions before Putman scored his third, finding the back of the net from another free kick on 81 minutes to make it 9-2, rounding off an excellent evening's work for the Rebels.
The Rebels could have taken the lead with just over a minute played, but Putman was off-target after rounding Ashford goalkeeper Luke Daley, who had a debut to remember.
It was actually the visitors who took the lead though, with Max Herbert finding the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards on four minutes, the ball squeezing through the hands of Jamie Jackson.
Within four minutes though, Slough turned it around to lead 2-1 with two fine goals. First, Putman bent a free kick into the top corner after Simon Dunn was fouled just outside the box, and then Charlie Moone expertly bicycle-kicked past Daley after Warren Harris stood the ball up to the back post.
Slough played some scintillating football on the Arbour Park playing surface and looked to break the Ashford offside trap over and over again. The third goal, on 15 minutes, came from a piece of individual brilliance from Dunn, who flicked the ball past a defender onto his right foot before bursting into the box and shooting under Daley.
The home side went on to build a huge first-half lead. Putman grabbed his second on 20 minutes, taking Dunn’s pass and sprinting through before taking the ball past Daley and firing into the roof of the net.
Four became five on 34 minutes as Moone scored again, this time finding far too much space before sidestepping Daley and coolly rolling the ball in from six yards.
Lee Togwell, captain for the night, could only find the side-netting on 37 minutes after another inch-perfect through ball from James Dobson, but Togwell did get in on the act on the stroke of half time, poking in the rebound after Daley spilt Dobson’s strike.
With a 6-1 half time lead, Academy player Pritpal Raju was introduced to the game in place of Dunn, and he impressed, testing Daley on more than one occasion.
Putman had the perfect chance to complete his hat-trick when he was felled by Samad Kazi’s slide tackle in the penalty area, but his spot-kick was kept out by Daley.
Raju had a long-range shot fumbled and then gathered right on the goal line by Daley as Slough continued to attack, but Ashford deserve a great deal of credit for a spirited and committed beginning to the second half, as they worked the ball around nicely and tested Jackson on a couple of occasions – Callum O’Sullivan striking a fine volley from distance. The visitors grabbed the goal that their efforts had deserved on 61 minutes, as Kamaron English rounded Jackson before slotting home to make it 6-2.
However, Slough went further ahead on 71 minutes as Hollis planted an unchallenged header through the hands of Daley from Dobson’s free kick, and then a minute later Raju won a penalty, which he duly converted after being handed the ball by Moone for his first senior goal.
Another highlight of the evening was a full debut for a second Academy player, Steffen Bennett, who replaced Harris and had a solid half hour at right-back. Jon Palmer, the former Godalming midfielder and long-time friend of Neil Baker and Jon Underwood, also made a cameo appearance for the final fifteen minutes, replacing Dobson.
Slough went close on a number of occasions before Putman scored his third, finding the back of the net from another free kick on 81 minutes to make it 9-2, rounding off an excellent evening's work for the Rebels.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Jamie Jackson
- 2 Nathan Smart
- 3 James Dobson 15
- 4 Guy Hollis
- 5 Daniel Hicks
- 6 Lee Togwell
- 7 Lewis Putman
- 8 Simon Dunn 16
- 9 Nathan Webb
- 10 Charlie Moone
- 11 Warren Harris 12
Substitutes
- 12 Steffen Bennett 11
- 14 Mark Nisbet
- 15 Jon Palmer 3
- 16 Pritpal Raju 8
- 17 Mark Scott
Ashford Town (Middx) Lineup
Luke Daley, Samad Kazi, Alex Fisher (c), Callum O'Sullivan, Romario Jonas, Lewis Taylor, Bailey Mummerey, Max Herbert, Dan Fleming, Tommy Brunton, Kam English. Subs: Scott Weight, Mark Bitmead, Russell Canderton, Hakim Hammami, Kav Keadell.