Worthing
1
Pearce (64)
Slough Town
1
Minhas (1)
League
Attendance: 759
An exhilarating clash between two sets of ‘Rebels’ ended in a well-earned draw for Slough Town thanks to goal in the opening minute from Nathan Minhas, writes Freddie Gatrell.
In treacherous conditions on the south coast, it was perhaps no surprise that a goalkeeping mishap resulted in a goal at Woodside Road. Vicious winds and swirling rain are hardly favourable conditions for a game of football and this was illustrated clearly mere moments into the match, as within the first minute a Matt Lench cross from the right wing was initially claimed by Worthing’s Josh Jeffries, before the ball slipped from his grasp and into the path of an awaiting Minhas, who thrashed the ball into the back of the net – with Slough’s number 9 claiming his 12th goal of the campaign.
With the conditions in the favour of the Rebels from Berkshire in the first half, Scott Davies’ men will feel unfortunate to have not secured a second goal before the half time whistle.
Amid a flurry of early Slough attacks, it was Minhas who caused most of Worthing’s problems, with his directness and physical play alongside the gusty conditions making him a handful for the Worthing defenders.
Scott Davies came close to adding a second goal via a direct free kick, seeing his effort fly narrowly over the top corner. Moments later, Johnny Goddard’s low drive from the edge of the area smashed the base of the right post.
Just before the half time whistle it was Slavi Spasov’s turn to threaten Jeffries’ goal, with the young Bulgarian beating his man well in the box and firing a powerful strike into the midriff of the Worthing shot stopper.
The standout effort of the first half fell at the feet of Worthing danger man Ollie Pearce, with the attacker rounding debutant Rebels goalkeeper, Hugo Sobte – standing in for the injured Dan Lincoln – but his effort clattered the post from a tight angle.
The second half started in near-nightmarish fashion for Slough, with Dan Bayliss receiving his marching orders for a challenge on Pearce in the 51st minute, before seeing the card rescinded after the referee deemed Pearce to be in an offside position after a lengthy discussion with his linesman.
Moments later, Goddard found space at the other end of the pitch, with his looping effort from the edge of the box rebounding off the crossbar in the 53rd minute.
Worthing, aided by the punishing conditions, began to assert a strong foothold in the game, with Pearce bringing the hosts back into the game in the 64th minute. Fin Chadwick played in the prolific striker, whose effort appeared to rebound off Temi Eweka before it trickled under Sobte and into the back of the net.
In the last ten minutes, Slough were saved by the linesman’s flag on two separate occasions. Veteran striker Jake Robinson slotted home from close range before a late decision by the linesman ruled the goal out in the 83rd minute, much to the disgust of the home support. Just four minutes later it was Pearce who found the back of the net, but on this occasion the flag was raised swiftly, to cut short any Worthing celebrations.
The final whistle could not have come any sooner for the Rebels, with this drama-filled game ending with the spoils shared. This excellent result now leaves the Rebels in 12th place, with Dover Athletic the next test awaiting Scott Davies’ men on Saturday.
In treacherous conditions on the south coast, it was perhaps no surprise that a goalkeeping mishap resulted in a goal at Woodside Road. Vicious winds and swirling rain are hardly favourable conditions for a game of football and this was illustrated clearly mere moments into the match, as within the first minute a Matt Lench cross from the right wing was initially claimed by Worthing’s Josh Jeffries, before the ball slipped from his grasp and into the path of an awaiting Minhas, who thrashed the ball into the back of the net – with Slough’s number 9 claiming his 12th goal of the campaign.
With the conditions in the favour of the Rebels from Berkshire in the first half, Scott Davies’ men will feel unfortunate to have not secured a second goal before the half time whistle.
Amid a flurry of early Slough attacks, it was Minhas who caused most of Worthing’s problems, with his directness and physical play alongside the gusty conditions making him a handful for the Worthing defenders.
Scott Davies came close to adding a second goal via a direct free kick, seeing his effort fly narrowly over the top corner. Moments later, Johnny Goddard’s low drive from the edge of the area smashed the base of the right post.
Just before the half time whistle it was Slavi Spasov’s turn to threaten Jeffries’ goal, with the young Bulgarian beating his man well in the box and firing a powerful strike into the midriff of the Worthing shot stopper.
The standout effort of the first half fell at the feet of Worthing danger man Ollie Pearce, with the attacker rounding debutant Rebels goalkeeper, Hugo Sobte – standing in for the injured Dan Lincoln – but his effort clattered the post from a tight angle.
The second half started in near-nightmarish fashion for Slough, with Dan Bayliss receiving his marching orders for a challenge on Pearce in the 51st minute, before seeing the card rescinded after the referee deemed Pearce to be in an offside position after a lengthy discussion with his linesman.
Moments later, Goddard found space at the other end of the pitch, with his looping effort from the edge of the box rebounding off the crossbar in the 53rd minute.
Worthing, aided by the punishing conditions, began to assert a strong foothold in the game, with Pearce bringing the hosts back into the game in the 64th minute. Fin Chadwick played in the prolific striker, whose effort appeared to rebound off Temi Eweka before it trickled under Sobte and into the back of the net.
In the last ten minutes, Slough were saved by the linesman’s flag on two separate occasions. Veteran striker Jake Robinson slotted home from close range before a late decision by the linesman ruled the goal out in the 83rd minute, much to the disgust of the home support. Just four minutes later it was Pearce who found the back of the net, but on this occasion the flag was raised swiftly, to cut short any Worthing celebrations.
The final whistle could not have come any sooner for the Rebels, with this drama-filled game ending with the spoils shared. This excellent result now leaves the Rebels in 12th place, with Dover Athletic the next test awaiting Scott Davies’ men on Saturday.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Hugo Sobte
- 2 Josh Jackman
- 5 Dan Bayliss
- 6 Jeanmal Prosper
- 8 Matthew Lench 17
- 9 Nathan Minhas
- 10 Johnny Goddard
- 14 Scott Davies
- 16 Temi Eweka
- 18 Munashe Sundire
- 24 Slavi Spasov 23
Substitutes
- 4 Joe Dandy
- 13 Dawid Hamiga
- 15 Eze Ebuzoeme
- 17 Tyrese Dyce 8
- 23 David Ogbonna 24
Worthing Lineup
Jeffries, Felix, Young, Colbran, Livesey-Austin (Tutt 56), Wadham, Chadwick, Klass (Robinson 78), Cashman, Luque (Wheeler 56), Pearce. Unused substitutes: Rees, Luer.