Kings Langley
0
Slough Town
2
Nisbet (26), Flood (32)
League
Attendance: 419
Matthew Lench
Neil Baker hailed a ‘professional’ performance from his side after Slough bounced back from last Saturday’s defeat with victory at Kings Langley.
First half headers from Mark Nisbet and Chris Flood proved to be enough to separate the two sides, with Slough never really looking in danger of losing their lead.
The Rebels were able to welcome back several players from injury, with Flood able to start after recovering sufficiently from a head wound sustained at Tiverton, and Simon Dunn and Gavin James also taking places on the bench. New signing Perry Coles added a different dimension to Slough’s attack, partnering Flood after joining from Farnborough in the week.
Slough dominated from the outset and tested Kings Langley goalkeeper Martin Bennett on several occasions.
James Dobson hooked a shot on target in the opening two minutes, but Bennett got his body behind it to save.
Coles created his first chance on seven minutes as he tried to lob the ball over Bennett after harassing the home defenders, but the ball dropped over.
Shortly after, Flood went agonisingly close with an audacious flick from Dobson’s cross, the ball running just past the post.
However, when the Rebels’ opening goal eventually came, there was no trickery or fancy footwork involved. Guy Hollis launched a long throw into the box from the right touchline and Nisbet was in the right place to divert the ball beyond Bennett with a powerful header.
Five minutes later Slough doubled their lead through another set piece. This time Dobson whipped in a corner and Flood rose highest to plant the ball into the back of the net with his bandaged head.
A big chance arrived for Coles to extend the lead further on 36 minutes after he was played in by Warren Harris, but he side footed wide.
The hosts got their first effort on target with half time approaching, and in stoppage time, George Wells was denied by Bennett, who did well to tip his thunderbolt onto the underside of the crossbar.
The visitors’ dominance did not continue in the second half, as a tactical rethink made Kings Langley more competitive and brought them back into the match.
Despite this, Slough remained in control and looked the more likely to add to their lead. The start to the second half was quiet with the hosts having a lot of the ball but unable to create anything clear-cut, with Arjun Jung off target with a couple of half-chances.
Bennett held another long-range effort from Wells, and Dobson flashed a shot over the bar after a counter-attack.
Coles deserved a goal for his perseverance and all-round display, but Bennett was equal to his fierce drive on 77 minutes and turned it behind for a corner.
The final fifteen minutes saw a few flashpoints, with Kings Langley’s Mitchell Weiss booked for a late challenge on Jack Turner and captain Gary Connolly extremely fortunate to escape a red card after an out-of-control lunge on Dobson, who luckily walked away unscathed. Slough’s Warren Harris picked up a rare yellow card in the protests that followed.
Slough saw out the remaining minutes with little concern, moving up into sixth place and taking a big step back in the right direction – though the Rebels were left frustrated in their attempts to rearrange the trip to Biggleswade for the coming week, meaning Slough are back at Arbour Park next Saturday for the visit of St Neots Town.
First half headers from Mark Nisbet and Chris Flood proved to be enough to separate the two sides, with Slough never really looking in danger of losing their lead.
The Rebels were able to welcome back several players from injury, with Flood able to start after recovering sufficiently from a head wound sustained at Tiverton, and Simon Dunn and Gavin James also taking places on the bench. New signing Perry Coles added a different dimension to Slough’s attack, partnering Flood after joining from Farnborough in the week.
Slough dominated from the outset and tested Kings Langley goalkeeper Martin Bennett on several occasions.
James Dobson hooked a shot on target in the opening two minutes, but Bennett got his body behind it to save.
Coles created his first chance on seven minutes as he tried to lob the ball over Bennett after harassing the home defenders, but the ball dropped over.
Shortly after, Flood went agonisingly close with an audacious flick from Dobson’s cross, the ball running just past the post.
However, when the Rebels’ opening goal eventually came, there was no trickery or fancy footwork involved. Guy Hollis launched a long throw into the box from the right touchline and Nisbet was in the right place to divert the ball beyond Bennett with a powerful header.
Five minutes later Slough doubled their lead through another set piece. This time Dobson whipped in a corner and Flood rose highest to plant the ball into the back of the net with his bandaged head.
A big chance arrived for Coles to extend the lead further on 36 minutes after he was played in by Warren Harris, but he side footed wide.
The hosts got their first effort on target with half time approaching, and in stoppage time, George Wells was denied by Bennett, who did well to tip his thunderbolt onto the underside of the crossbar.
The visitors’ dominance did not continue in the second half, as a tactical rethink made Kings Langley more competitive and brought them back into the match.
Despite this, Slough remained in control and looked the more likely to add to their lead. The start to the second half was quiet with the hosts having a lot of the ball but unable to create anything clear-cut, with Arjun Jung off target with a couple of half-chances.
Bennett held another long-range effort from Wells, and Dobson flashed a shot over the bar after a counter-attack.
Coles deserved a goal for his perseverance and all-round display, but Bennett was equal to his fierce drive on 77 minutes and turned it behind for a corner.
The final fifteen minutes saw a few flashpoints, with Kings Langley’s Mitchell Weiss booked for a late challenge on Jack Turner and captain Gary Connolly extremely fortunate to escape a red card after an out-of-control lunge on Dobson, who luckily walked away unscathed. Slough’s Warren Harris picked up a rare yellow card in the protests that followed.
Slough saw out the remaining minutes with little concern, moving up into sixth place and taking a big step back in the right direction – though the Rebels were left frustrated in their attempts to rearrange the trip to Biggleswade for the coming week, meaning Slough are back at Arbour Park next Saturday for the visit of St Neots Town.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Jack Turner
- 2 Sean Fraser
- 3 George Wells
- 4 Guy Hollis
- 5 Mark Nisbet
- 6 Lee Togwell
- 7 James Dobson
- 8 Matthew Lench
- 9 Perry Coles
- 10 Chris Flood
- 11 Warren Harris
Substitutes
- 12 Alan Inns
- 14 Nathan Smart
- 15 Simon Dunn
- 16 Manny Williams
- 18 Gavin James
Kings Langley Lineup
Martin Bennett, Macsen Fraser, Callum Adebiyi, Gary Connolly (c), Jorell Johnson, Elliot Godfrey, Arjun Jung, Josh Coldicott-Stevens, Mitchell Weiss, Matt Ball, Kieran Turner. Substitutes: Steve Ward, Nikolay Minchev, David Femiola, Jay Karagozlu.