Slough Town
1
Nisbet (74)
Cambridge City
0
League
Attendance: 656
Mark Nisbet
Slough remain top of the league thanks to a headed goal from Mark Nisbet, which finally broke Cambridge City's resilience on Saturday.
This was a hard-fought, and deserved eighth consecutive league win for the Rebels, with the visitors frustrating the home side throughout, but Slough's second half pressure, and a tactical alteration, bore fruit with Nisbet powering in a 74th minute header from a James Dobson corner which left Enol Ordonez with no chance. And with others dropping points, the Rebels are now four points clear at the top ahead of Tuesday evening’s trip to fourth-placed Dunstable Town.
Lewis Putman retained his place in the team following his hat-trick against Ashford Town in midweek, and partnered Charlie Moone up front. Putman could have put Slough ahead with just five minutes played as a defensive mix-up between David Femlioa and keeper Enol Ordonez almost left him with an empty net to aim for, but Harry Norman got back to cover.
Dobson hit the post from a free kick in a scrappy first half which Slough generally had the better of. Warren Harris should have done better than fire over from Dobson’s whipped cross at the back post, but chances were harder to come by than in recent weeks as City stopped the Rebels finding their rhythm.
Possibly the clearest chance fell for Cemal Ramadan, who broke the Slough offside trap, but Mark Scott pushed his shot away. As Ramadan lobbed the ball back across to the back post, Charlie Woolfe miscued horribly and side footed well wide.
Three minutes later, Simon Dunn felt hard done by as he worked his way into the box past a number of challenges before hitting the turf and being shown a yellow card for simulation.
As the half drew to a close, Ordonez was tested as he turned Paul Stonehouse's deflected shot wide.
A flashpoint arose ten minutes into the second half with an altercation between Moone and Woolfe in the City penalty area. Woolfe falsely claimed he had suffered a head injury at the hands of the Slough striker, but luckily referee Andrew Humphries was not fooled by Woolfe’s antics, though did see fit to issue the yellow card to both players.
Woolfe was replaced shortly after, walking off to jeers from the Rebels faithful, and Slough gradually started to play the kind of football regulars at Arbour Park have become accustomed to, taking control of the game.
Slough’s corner kick count increased, and Moone produced an easy save from Ordonez as he headed one toward goal.
A thunderbolt from Dunn was turned over three minutes later, and with Slough starting to dominate, a tactical switch saw Putman move to the left wing, with Dobson switching to the right and Harris playing centrally.
Immediately, Dobson produced a cross from the right which Moone rose to meet, but the ball crashed off the bar.
The deadlock was finally broken 16 minutes from time as Nisbet rose highest to meet another Dobson corner, and the onus was on City to attack – however Slough, having conceded only five league goals all season, were in no mood to let a fifth consecutive league clean sheet slip through their fingers.
Moone flicked a header just wide as Slough looked to make the game safe, Dunn lobbed over the bar when played clean through, and Ordonez kept his side in the contest with smart saves from Moone and then substitute Nathan Smart deep into stoppage time, with City unable to produce another dangerous attack despite a late corner kick.
This was a hard-fought, and deserved eighth consecutive league win for the Rebels, with the visitors frustrating the home side throughout, but Slough's second half pressure, and a tactical alteration, bore fruit with Nisbet powering in a 74th minute header from a James Dobson corner which left Enol Ordonez with no chance. And with others dropping points, the Rebels are now four points clear at the top ahead of Tuesday evening’s trip to fourth-placed Dunstable Town.
Lewis Putman retained his place in the team following his hat-trick against Ashford Town in midweek, and partnered Charlie Moone up front. Putman could have put Slough ahead with just five minutes played as a defensive mix-up between David Femlioa and keeper Enol Ordonez almost left him with an empty net to aim for, but Harry Norman got back to cover.
Dobson hit the post from a free kick in a scrappy first half which Slough generally had the better of. Warren Harris should have done better than fire over from Dobson’s whipped cross at the back post, but chances were harder to come by than in recent weeks as City stopped the Rebels finding their rhythm.
Possibly the clearest chance fell for Cemal Ramadan, who broke the Slough offside trap, but Mark Scott pushed his shot away. As Ramadan lobbed the ball back across to the back post, Charlie Woolfe miscued horribly and side footed well wide.
Three minutes later, Simon Dunn felt hard done by as he worked his way into the box past a number of challenges before hitting the turf and being shown a yellow card for simulation.
As the half drew to a close, Ordonez was tested as he turned Paul Stonehouse's deflected shot wide.
A flashpoint arose ten minutes into the second half with an altercation between Moone and Woolfe in the City penalty area. Woolfe falsely claimed he had suffered a head injury at the hands of the Slough striker, but luckily referee Andrew Humphries was not fooled by Woolfe’s antics, though did see fit to issue the yellow card to both players.
Woolfe was replaced shortly after, walking off to jeers from the Rebels faithful, and Slough gradually started to play the kind of football regulars at Arbour Park have become accustomed to, taking control of the game.
Slough’s corner kick count increased, and Moone produced an easy save from Ordonez as he headed one toward goal.
A thunderbolt from Dunn was turned over three minutes later, and with Slough starting to dominate, a tactical switch saw Putman move to the left wing, with Dobson switching to the right and Harris playing centrally.
Immediately, Dobson produced a cross from the right which Moone rose to meet, but the ball crashed off the bar.
The deadlock was finally broken 16 minutes from time as Nisbet rose highest to meet another Dobson corner, and the onus was on City to attack – however Slough, having conceded only five league goals all season, were in no mood to let a fifth consecutive league clean sheet slip through their fingers.
Moone flicked a header just wide as Slough looked to make the game safe, Dunn lobbed over the bar when played clean through, and Ordonez kept his side in the contest with smart saves from Moone and then substitute Nathan Smart deep into stoppage time, with City unable to produce another dangerous attack despite a late corner kick.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Mark Scott
- 2 Sean Fraser
- 3 Paul Stonehouse
- 4 Guy Hollis
- 5 Mark Nisbet
- 6 Nathan Webb 16
- 7 James Dobson
- 8 Simon Dunn
- 9 Lewis Putman 15
- 10 Charlie Moone
- 11 Warren Harris
Substitutes
- 12 Josh Jackman
- 14 Daniel Hicks
- 15 Nathan Smart 9
- 16 Lee Togwell 6
- 21 Jamie Jackson
Cambridge City Lineup
Enol Ordonez, Paul Cooper, Charlie Day, Harry Norman, David Femlioa, Jack Utteridge, Erkan Okay, Jon Kaye (c), Charlie Woolfe, Cemal Ramadan, Joe Carden. Subs: Jordan Williams, Alex Serrano, Giovany Lopes, Tunde Adewunmi, Ali Richardson.