Ten-man Rebels defeated at Salisbury

Slough Town endured a frustrating afternoon at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium, succumbing to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Salisbury.

Despite playing with 10 men for the majority of the game, Scott Davies' side showed tremendous resilience, controlling much of the second half and were perhaps unlucky not to come away with a point.

The match started brightly for the Rebels, as they dominated possession early on and looked the more energetic side. Slough seemed determined to impose themselves on the game, but despite their early control, they failed to truly test Salisbury’s new loan signing David Aziaya in goal. In contrast, Salisbury struggled to create clear-cut chances initially but grew into the game after the first ten minutes.

It was Salisbury who registered the first real opportunity when Ronan Silva's shot was blocked, but that did little to deter the visitors, who continued to search for an opening. Slough’s first sight of goal came shortly after, when John Gilbert was fouled by Luke Wilkinson, resulting in a free kick. However, Gilbert's effort was comfortably saved by Aziaya, who, in truth, was not tested nearly enough by Slough's attacking line.

As the half wore on, Salisbury began to probe more effectively. The home side, managed by Brian Dutton, started to build momentum, with both Aaron McCreadie and Craig Fasanmade causing issues for the Slough defence.

At the other end, Horlock made another important save as he got down well to save from Fasanmade, with some hesitation from the Salisbury striker aiding the Rebels goalkeeper. However, it was an unfortunate defensive error that ultimately led to Salisbury breaking the deadlock.

A mix-up at the back saw Slough defender Lexus Beeden and Salisbury’s Silva tangle, with the latter going down just inside the box. The referee, Adam Merchant, promptly awarded the penalty and, much to the dismay of the Slough players and fans, showed Beeden a straight red card. Josh Hedges duly stepped up to convert the penalty, sending Charlie Horlock the wrong way to put Salisbury 1-0 up in the 34th minute.

The incident prompted Davies to make a double switch, with wide men John Ufuah and Gary Abisogun sacrificed in favour of loanee Louis Lomas and Kweku Lucan.

Slough had the ball in the net just before the break when Slavi Spasov headed the ball home from Lucan’s cross, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. The decision sparked disbelief among the Slough bench and travelling fans, who believed Spasov may have been level with the last defender. However, the decision stood, and Slough went into the break trailing by a goal and a man.

Despite the setback, Slough regrouped admirably for the second half. While Salisbury almost doubled their lead early in the half when Hedges slipped a clever ball through to Jordan Ragguette, whose shot drifted wide, the home side rarely troubled Slough’s defence from open play thereafter. In fact, for long periods, it was Slough who looked the more composed side, dictating the tempo even with 10 men.

Slough continued to press forward and nearly found an equaliser in the 70th minute after a scramble in the Salisbury box led to a pair of quick corners. The second corner, swung in directly by Gilbert, nearly caught Aziaya off guard, rattling the crossbar before being cleared to safety. It was the closest Slough came to finding a breakthrough.

Charlie Horlock, between the sticks for Slough, also deserves immense credit for keeping the scoreline within reach. On more than one occasion, Horlock pulled off fine saves to deny Salisbury’s forwards, especially during stoppage time, when both Tom Leggett and Jaden Pérez had efforts on goal blocked in quick succession.

Slough can take heart from their second-half performance, which saw them control large spells of the game and prevent Salisbury from extending their lead. The penalty and red card decision will undoubtedly be a talking point, with the decision swinging the game out of their favour.

While the result at the ‘Ray Mac’ may not have gone their way, Slough can feel heartened by their showing with ten men and will look to take their second-half performance into a tough match at Enfield Town on Tuesday evening.