Rampant Rebels hit Brakes for six

Slough Town won their first match of 2017 and ended a run of four straight defeats in all competitions in emphatic style, hitting league leaders Leamington for six at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium, with Chris Flood bagging a hat-trick.

The Rebels will hope this eye-catching result gets their season back on track after a poor recent run of results, with the three points nudging Slough back into the top five ahead of a difficult long trip to Kings Lynn on Tuesday.

The hosts ended the match with nine players after a series of flashpoints, mostly in the first half – though the Rebels were already two goals ahead and in control when Ryan Rowe was shown a straight red card just after the half hour mark. Jack Edwards joined him in the dressing room in the second half after an incident in the build-up to Slough’s fourth goal led to him receiving a second yellow.

The Rebels added two attacking options to their squad in the week, and loan signing Manny Williams started, whilst Ashan Holgate took a place on the bench. Slough also needed to make a change in the back four with Guy Hollis starting his three match ban, so Nathan Smart slotted in to replace him.

And the Slough back four had work to do early on – Leamington mounted an attack straight from the kick-off, and on seven minutes had a header blocked in the goalmouth following a corner.

But the all-important first goal came the way of the Rebels with 14 minutes played, and it will remain long in the memory. Nathan Webb fed Flood, who turned and curled a fantastic effort into the top corner to give Brakes keeper Tony Breeden no chance.

With the hosts still reeling, Slough doubled their lead four minutes later. Gavin James held the ball up well around the edge of the penalty area and was alert enough to power a shot past Breeden after the ball fell to him just inside the box.

Leamington got their first meaningful effort on goal in as Edwards cut inside and forced Mark Scott into a low save.

The first flashpoint of the match came on 27 minutes when Joe Magunda put in a wild-looking challenge on Webb which went unpunished. The resulting free kick from Flood was on target but Breeden saved it easily.

But four minutes later, tempers flared again after another poor challenge, this time from Jack Edwards on Sean Fraser. This time referee Richard Price produced only a yellow card for Edwards - though it was to prove costly for him later - before striker Ryan Rowe was shown a straight red card for his part in the melee that followed, as he appeared to push Nathan Webb to the ground.

Slough settled and started to make the extra man advantage count, and extended their lead on 37 minutes. A Slough free kick taken by Simon Dunn found Flood unmarked at the far post, and he put a superb header over Breeden.

By this point Leamington were in disarray and in danger of picking up further cards, and Courtney Baker-Richardson was shown a yellow card as the hosts reshuffled, bringing on Darren Pond in place of forward Rob Thompson-Brown.

Slough took their three goal lead into the break, and in the second period Edwards headed a good chance wide after he beat Mark Scott to a free kick in the air.

The Rebels went close to a fourth after a mistake from Breeden led to Fraser crossing in for Flood, but the striker’s effort was cleared off the line.

Leamington made two changes on the hour mark, and one of the substitutes, striker Richard Gregory, found himself one-on-one with Scott within minutes of his arrival, but Scott rushed out and made himself big to deny him.

But the hosts could not keep the Rebels at bay for too much longer, and on 68 minutes Flood completed his hat-trick. The referee played the advantage after a foul by Edwards in the build-up, and allowed Nathan Webb to get a cross in from the by-line which Flood poked in at the near post to all but make certain of the points. Edwards was then shown his second yellow card and dismissed, leaving Leamington down to nine men.

Flood was almost immediately replaced along with Gavin James, with Charlie Moone and Ashan Holgate emerging from the bench – and it took debutant Holgate just four minutes to make an impact, adding Slough’s fifth goal as he tapped in a centre from Dunn.

Further chances came for both sides, with Webb firing straight at Breeden and Baker-Richardson shooting across goal and wide, but Slough remarkably added a sixth goal with six minutes remaining to further punish the hosts. Moone was played through on goal, and he squared the ball to allow Dunn an easy finish.

James Dobson almost added a seventh for a rampant Slough shortly after with Leamington looking at damage limitation, but the final whistle sounded to confirm an incredible result.