Slough Town
2
Goddard (1), Minhas (16)
St Albans City
2
Banton (78), Jeffers (pen 90+2)
League
Attendance: 1162
Leon Chambers-Parillon
A last-minute penalty kick from St Albans City’s Shaun Jeffers denied Slough Town all three points at Arbour Park, writes Joey Gargini.
It was another quick start for the Rebels with Johnny Goddard putting Slough in the lead within the first minute. Matt Lench intercepted an attempted pass from Francis-Clarke on the right wing, and David Ogbonna played a precise through ball to Nathan Minhas in the box. He struck low towards goal, and goalkeeper Michael Johnson got a hand to the ball, but it fell into the path of an arriving Goddard who fired home from close range for his 16th goal of the season.
Gary Abisogun – making his first start of the season – began to cause trouble for the St Albans defence in the 11th minute. Abisogun’s direct running resulted in a thunderous strike from inside the box, but the effort was unable to find the goal as his shot went high and wide.
The home side’s lead was doubled in the 16th minute when a long pass from Scott Davies was smartly controlled down by Johnny Goddard on the left wing. He played a ball centrally to Leon Chambers-Parillon, who in turn laid the ball to David Ogbonna, who cut in on his left foot and unleashed a powerful strike goalwards. The effort was blocked, but ricocheted back to Nathan Minhas who hit a low, powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Slough Town controlled the rest of the first half comfortably, rarely having the ball enter their half and constraining their playoff-chasing away side to minimal chances.
The Rebels continued their impressive performance with a chance early in the second half. In the 48th minute, a cross from the left wing flashed across the box and was met by an acrobatic effort from David Ogbonna with the ball flicking off his heel and wide of the target.
Abisogun continued to prove a headache for the Saints' defence. In the 62nd minute, he won the ball in midfield and drove his way through the away side’s defence and into the box where he squared a sharp, low pass into the path of Ogbonna, but his effort was parried away by Michael Johnson.
Despite Slough’s dominance, St Albans found themselves back in the game courtesy of a Zane Banton goal in the 69th minute. A deep, curling cross came into the box from Ryan Blackman which found Banton, who made no mistake from close range to give the away side a lifeline back into the game.
The Rebels looked to be seeing the game out in a relatively comfortable fashion despite pressure from the visitors until the second minute of stoppage time. Man of the match, Leon Chambers-Parillon was adjudged to have fouled Dan Bowry just inside the penalty area, giving St Albans a penalty. The subsequent spot-kick was confidently taken by Shaun Jeffers, who dispatched the penalty into the back of the net for his 26th goal of the season.
Trae Cook-Appiah then came agonisingly close to winning the game for Slough in the dying moments. The substitute had already been denied twice on the 90th-minute mark due to an excellent double save by Michael Johnson. The Rebels found themselves entering the St Albans box in a two-on-one situation, with Lench expertly squaring the ball to the feet of Cook-Appiah, but he failed to find the net in what proved the final kick of the game, much to the frustration of an excellent Slough support, with yet another bumper crowd watching on.
A draw leaves the Rebels in 12th place, with the focus now on finishing the season on a high note. Our next game sees us back on our travels against second-placed Chelmsford City, who look to be a stern test for Scott Davies’ men.
Image: Tom Featherstone
It was another quick start for the Rebels with Johnny Goddard putting Slough in the lead within the first minute. Matt Lench intercepted an attempted pass from Francis-Clarke on the right wing, and David Ogbonna played a precise through ball to Nathan Minhas in the box. He struck low towards goal, and goalkeeper Michael Johnson got a hand to the ball, but it fell into the path of an arriving Goddard who fired home from close range for his 16th goal of the season.
Gary Abisogun – making his first start of the season – began to cause trouble for the St Albans defence in the 11th minute. Abisogun’s direct running resulted in a thunderous strike from inside the box, but the effort was unable to find the goal as his shot went high and wide.
The home side’s lead was doubled in the 16th minute when a long pass from Scott Davies was smartly controlled down by Johnny Goddard on the left wing. He played a ball centrally to Leon Chambers-Parillon, who in turn laid the ball to David Ogbonna, who cut in on his left foot and unleashed a powerful strike goalwards. The effort was blocked, but ricocheted back to Nathan Minhas who hit a low, powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Slough Town controlled the rest of the first half comfortably, rarely having the ball enter their half and constraining their playoff-chasing away side to minimal chances.
The Rebels continued their impressive performance with a chance early in the second half. In the 48th minute, a cross from the left wing flashed across the box and was met by an acrobatic effort from David Ogbonna with the ball flicking off his heel and wide of the target.
Abisogun continued to prove a headache for the Saints' defence. In the 62nd minute, he won the ball in midfield and drove his way through the away side’s defence and into the box where he squared a sharp, low pass into the path of Ogbonna, but his effort was parried away by Michael Johnson.
Despite Slough’s dominance, St Albans found themselves back in the game courtesy of a Zane Banton goal in the 69th minute. A deep, curling cross came into the box from Ryan Blackman which found Banton, who made no mistake from close range to give the away side a lifeline back into the game.
The Rebels looked to be seeing the game out in a relatively comfortable fashion despite pressure from the visitors until the second minute of stoppage time. Man of the match, Leon Chambers-Parillon was adjudged to have fouled Dan Bowry just inside the penalty area, giving St Albans a penalty. The subsequent spot-kick was confidently taken by Shaun Jeffers, who dispatched the penalty into the back of the net for his 26th goal of the season.
Trae Cook-Appiah then came agonisingly close to winning the game for Slough in the dying moments. The substitute had already been denied twice on the 90th-minute mark due to an excellent double save by Michael Johnson. The Rebels found themselves entering the St Albans box in a two-on-one situation, with Lench expertly squaring the ball to the feet of Cook-Appiah, but he failed to find the net in what proved the final kick of the game, much to the frustration of an excellent Slough support, with yet another bumper crowd watching on.
A draw leaves the Rebels in 12th place, with the focus now on finishing the season on a high note. Our next game sees us back on our travels against second-placed Chelmsford City, who look to be a stern test for Scott Davies’ men.
Image: Tom Featherstone
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Dan Lincoln
- 2 Josh Jackman
- 3 Gabriel George
- 7 Gary Abisogun 6
- 8 Matthew Lench
- 9 Nathan Minhas 13
- 10 Johnny Goddard
- 12 Leon Chambers-Parillon
- 14 Scott Davies
- 16 Temi Eweka
- 23 David Ogbonna
Substitutes
- 4 Joe Dandy
- 6 Jeanmal Prosper 7
- 11 Will Bailey
- 13 Trae Cook-Appiah 9
- 30 Ryan North
St Albans City Lineup
Johnson, James, Bowry, Rasulo, Jeffers, Banton (Mensah 84), Weiss, Partington (c), Hutchinson, Francis-Clarke (Burger 46), Wiltshire (Blackman 59). Unused substitutes: Bentley, Tripp.