Hemel Hempstead Town
4
Lynch (8, 80), White (70), Cerulli (90+3)
Slough Town
1
Amartey (60)
League
In freezing conditions at The Focus Community Arena, Hemel Hempstead Town secured an emphatic victory over Slough Town, capitalising on defensive errors and clinical finishing. Despite a good spell from the Rebels at the start of the second half, Hemel’s dominance in both halves proved decisive.
The match began with promise for Slough, who were quick out of the blocks and nearly made an early impact. A promising opportunity was ruled out by the referee for a foul by Sam Evans in the build-up, halting what could have been a strong start for the visitors. Moments later, Slough’s Francis Amartey found himself unmarked at the back post but could only direct his header wide after a lofted delivery from Dan Roth.
Hemel Hempstead, however, capitalised on a calamitous defensive miscommunication in the eighth minute. A header back to Charlie Horlock by Scott Davies lacked the required power, allowing Oliver Lynch to pounce. The forward, making his debut, calmly slotted past the Rebels keeper to hand the Tudors an early lead.
Slough’s woes deepened when Sam Evans was forced off with an injury in the 13th minute, replaced by Kweku Lucan. Struggling to break down Hemel’s well-organised defence, the Rebels appeared disjointed and bereft of ideas for much of the first half. While they enjoyed spells of possession, the defensive pairing of Kyle Ajayi and Ben Tompkins stood firm, nullifying Slough’s attacking threats.
Hemel nearly doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark when Brandon Barzey’s speculative effort from the left required Horlock to intervene. Slough’s frustrations mounted as Scott Davies received a yellow card and later sustained a knock that briefly took him out of action. Despite regaining their composure, the Rebels went into the break trailing by a goal, undone by their own defensive lapse and a lack of incisiveness in the final third.
Davies introduced Jeanmal Prosper and Slavi Spasov in place of himself and Dan Roth at the interval in a bid to get his side back into the game. The changes nearly paid off immediately as Lucan curled an effort just wide after a driving run from David Ogbonna. However, Hemel continued to pose a significant threat on the counter. Lynch squandered a golden opportunity to double his tally when he fired wide from close range after being picked out by Barzey.
Slough finally found their breakthrough in the 60th minute. A fluid attacking move saw Spasov feed Ogbonna, whose pinpoint cross was met by Amartey with a thumping header to level the scores. The Rebels’ confidence surged, and they came close to taking the lead minutes later, but Tompkins produced a last-ditch challenge to deny Amartey.
The game turned decisively in the 70th minute when Hemel struck on the break. George Williams broke down the right flank and delivered an inch-perfect pass across the box to Joe White, who calmly slotted past Horlock to restore the Tudors’ lead. This goal shifted the momentum firmly in Hemel’s favour, and Slough struggled to recover.
Hemel added a third in the 80th minute, effectively ending the contest. Barzey’s delivery from the right found Lynch at the far post, and the striker made no mistake from close range to notch his second goal of the afternoon. With their defensive frailties laid bare, Slough looked devoid of ideas in the final stages. Hemel, by contrast, continued to press forward and capped off their victory in stoppage time when Alfie Cerulli found the back of the net with a composed finish.
The final whistle confirmed Hemel Hempstead’s win, leaving Slough to rue a performance marred by defensive errors and missed opportunities. Despite a brief resurgence early in the second half, the Rebels were outdone by a disciplined and clinical Tudors side, who took full advantage of their chances to secure all three points.
Slough return to Arbour Park next Saturday against Eastbourne Borough (3pm).
The match began with promise for Slough, who were quick out of the blocks and nearly made an early impact. A promising opportunity was ruled out by the referee for a foul by Sam Evans in the build-up, halting what could have been a strong start for the visitors. Moments later, Slough’s Francis Amartey found himself unmarked at the back post but could only direct his header wide after a lofted delivery from Dan Roth.
Hemel Hempstead, however, capitalised on a calamitous defensive miscommunication in the eighth minute. A header back to Charlie Horlock by Scott Davies lacked the required power, allowing Oliver Lynch to pounce. The forward, making his debut, calmly slotted past the Rebels keeper to hand the Tudors an early lead.
Slough’s woes deepened when Sam Evans was forced off with an injury in the 13th minute, replaced by Kweku Lucan. Struggling to break down Hemel’s well-organised defence, the Rebels appeared disjointed and bereft of ideas for much of the first half. While they enjoyed spells of possession, the defensive pairing of Kyle Ajayi and Ben Tompkins stood firm, nullifying Slough’s attacking threats.
Hemel nearly doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark when Brandon Barzey’s speculative effort from the left required Horlock to intervene. Slough’s frustrations mounted as Scott Davies received a yellow card and later sustained a knock that briefly took him out of action. Despite regaining their composure, the Rebels went into the break trailing by a goal, undone by their own defensive lapse and a lack of incisiveness in the final third.
Davies introduced Jeanmal Prosper and Slavi Spasov in place of himself and Dan Roth at the interval in a bid to get his side back into the game. The changes nearly paid off immediately as Lucan curled an effort just wide after a driving run from David Ogbonna. However, Hemel continued to pose a significant threat on the counter. Lynch squandered a golden opportunity to double his tally when he fired wide from close range after being picked out by Barzey.
Slough finally found their breakthrough in the 60th minute. A fluid attacking move saw Spasov feed Ogbonna, whose pinpoint cross was met by Amartey with a thumping header to level the scores. The Rebels’ confidence surged, and they came close to taking the lead minutes later, but Tompkins produced a last-ditch challenge to deny Amartey.
The game turned decisively in the 70th minute when Hemel struck on the break. George Williams broke down the right flank and delivered an inch-perfect pass across the box to Joe White, who calmly slotted past Horlock to restore the Tudors’ lead. This goal shifted the momentum firmly in Hemel’s favour, and Slough struggled to recover.
Hemel added a third in the 80th minute, effectively ending the contest. Barzey’s delivery from the right found Lynch at the far post, and the striker made no mistake from close range to notch his second goal of the afternoon. With their defensive frailties laid bare, Slough looked devoid of ideas in the final stages. Hemel, by contrast, continued to press forward and capped off their victory in stoppage time when Alfie Cerulli found the back of the net with a composed finish.
The final whistle confirmed Hemel Hempstead’s win, leaving Slough to rue a performance marred by defensive errors and missed opportunities. Despite a brief resurgence early in the second half, the Rebels were outdone by a disciplined and clinical Tudors side, who took full advantage of their chances to secure all three points.
Slough return to Arbour Park next Saturday against Eastbourne Borough (3pm).
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Charlie Horlock
- 2 Josh Jackman
- 5 Dan Bayliss
- 11 Francis Amartey
- 12 Leon Parillon
- 14 Scott Davies 6
- 15 Henry Ochieng
- 16 Dan Roth 9
- 19 Sam Evans 18
- 20 Johnny Goddard
- 23 David Ogbonna 22
Substitutes
- 4 Lexus Beeden
- 6 Jeanmal Prosper 14
- 9 Slavi Spasov 16
- 18 Kweku Lucan 19
- 22 Odysseus Alfa 23
Hemel Hempstead Town Lineup
Craig King, Samuel Adenola, Mazeed Ogungbo, Kyle Ajayi (c), Ben Tompkins, Chris Smith (Kyran Wiltshire 60), George Williams (Kai Brosnan 85), Mathew Achuba, Oliver Lynch (Giovanni McGregor 90), Joe White, Brandon Barzey (Alfie Cerulli 83). Subs not used: Ricardo German.