Truro City
2
Riley-Lowe (6), Oxlade-Chamberlain (77)
Slough Town
0
League
Attendance: 1776
Slough Town fell to a 2-0 defeat away at Truro City on Saturday, the Cornish side proving to be well-organised and clinical, capitalising on an early opportunity and maintaining control throughout the game.
Led by captain Josh Jackman - making his 300th appearance for the club - Slough went into the match off the back of a fine home win against Worthing the previous Saturday, but found the task in front of them at Truro City Stadium too great to overcome.
The game’s tone was set in the sixth minute when Truro’s attacking intent became evident. After a quiet start, a throw‐in from Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain created chaos in the Slough box. The disruption allowed Truro captain Connor Riley-Lowe to find space in the middle of the six-yard area. A long throw dropped into the penalty area, and following an overhead knock from Jaze Kabia, Riley-Lowe’s effort deflected and wrong-footed Horlock, gifting the home side an early lead.
Truro continued to press, and Slough’s set-piece situations provided little respite. At 17 minutes, ‘Tinners’ goalkeeper Dan Lavercombe produced an acrobatic save to deny a free kick from John Gilbert. Slavi Spasov’s subsequent header looked destined for the back of the net before Lavercombe’s alert intervention denied the Rebels again. A few minutes later, a corner was whipped in, only for Lavercombe to once again clear the danger with a display of athleticism that kept the visitors in front.
The pressure from the hosts mounted in the 23rd minute when a well-worked corner eventually fell to Tom Harrison at the back post. His side-footed attempt on target was blocked by Horlock.
A double chance arrived for Slough later, as Gilbert intercepted play and sent Spasov through on goal, only for his effort to be disrupted by a defender. A follow-up from David Ogbonna was also dealt with by Lavercombe, who remained a bulwark in goal.
Truro’s pressure was further evident at 37 minutes when Bell bravely put his body in the way of a clearance. The ball fell to Luke Jephcott, who had the time and space to launch an effort on goal. However, Horlock was alert, making a crucial save and forcing Truro to settle for another corner.
Throughout the first half, Slough had created several chances – but the visitors’ defensive organisation and a troublesome wind affecting set-pieces ensured that the score remained 1-0 in favour of Truro at the interval.
The second half saw a continuation of the high tempo and intensity. In the 51st minute, a miss from Truro’s Jaze Kabia afforded Slough a massive let-off. The striker found himself one-on-one with Horlock, but his strike cleared the ground instead of finding the net.
The momentum swung back and forth as Kabia’s corner at 60 minutes provided Tyler Harvey with a falling header that rattled the post, only to be cleared away by the Slough defence.
The pressure on Slough persisted as Jephcott, operating out on the right, delivered a quality ball between the centre-halves in the 68th minute. Tyler Harvey’s glancing header from six yards fell just short of the target. Truro further tested the Slough goalkeeper at 72 minutes when Yassine En-Neyah was left one-on-one; however, Horlock made a superb save, keeping the Rebels in with a shout.
The decisive moment came in the 77th minute. Kabia headed the ball back towards goal from a free kick, and Oxlade-Chamberlain sensed an opportunity, rising above his marker to head the ball home and make it 2-0. With this goal, the visitors’ hopes of a comeback began to fade quickly.
Late on, a brilliant cross from Gilbert found Spasov, whose header went over the bar – the Rebels’ clearest chance of the second half.
Slough Town will now regroup and look to bounce back at home against Chippenham Town on Tuesday evening.
Led by captain Josh Jackman - making his 300th appearance for the club - Slough went into the match off the back of a fine home win against Worthing the previous Saturday, but found the task in front of them at Truro City Stadium too great to overcome.
The game’s tone was set in the sixth minute when Truro’s attacking intent became evident. After a quiet start, a throw‐in from Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain created chaos in the Slough box. The disruption allowed Truro captain Connor Riley-Lowe to find space in the middle of the six-yard area. A long throw dropped into the penalty area, and following an overhead knock from Jaze Kabia, Riley-Lowe’s effort deflected and wrong-footed Horlock, gifting the home side an early lead.
Truro continued to press, and Slough’s set-piece situations provided little respite. At 17 minutes, ‘Tinners’ goalkeeper Dan Lavercombe produced an acrobatic save to deny a free kick from John Gilbert. Slavi Spasov’s subsequent header looked destined for the back of the net before Lavercombe’s alert intervention denied the Rebels again. A few minutes later, a corner was whipped in, only for Lavercombe to once again clear the danger with a display of athleticism that kept the visitors in front.
The pressure from the hosts mounted in the 23rd minute when a well-worked corner eventually fell to Tom Harrison at the back post. His side-footed attempt on target was blocked by Horlock.
A double chance arrived for Slough later, as Gilbert intercepted play and sent Spasov through on goal, only for his effort to be disrupted by a defender. A follow-up from David Ogbonna was also dealt with by Lavercombe, who remained a bulwark in goal.
Truro’s pressure was further evident at 37 minutes when Bell bravely put his body in the way of a clearance. The ball fell to Luke Jephcott, who had the time and space to launch an effort on goal. However, Horlock was alert, making a crucial save and forcing Truro to settle for another corner.
Throughout the first half, Slough had created several chances – but the visitors’ defensive organisation and a troublesome wind affecting set-pieces ensured that the score remained 1-0 in favour of Truro at the interval.
The second half saw a continuation of the high tempo and intensity. In the 51st minute, a miss from Truro’s Jaze Kabia afforded Slough a massive let-off. The striker found himself one-on-one with Horlock, but his strike cleared the ground instead of finding the net.
The momentum swung back and forth as Kabia’s corner at 60 minutes provided Tyler Harvey with a falling header that rattled the post, only to be cleared away by the Slough defence.
The pressure on Slough persisted as Jephcott, operating out on the right, delivered a quality ball between the centre-halves in the 68th minute. Tyler Harvey’s glancing header from six yards fell just short of the target. Truro further tested the Slough goalkeeper at 72 minutes when Yassine En-Neyah was left one-on-one; however, Horlock made a superb save, keeping the Rebels in with a shout.
The decisive moment came in the 77th minute. Kabia headed the ball back towards goal from a free kick, and Oxlade-Chamberlain sensed an opportunity, rising above his marker to head the ball home and make it 2-0. With this goal, the visitors’ hopes of a comeback began to fade quickly.
Late on, a brilliant cross from Gilbert found Spasov, whose header went over the bar – the Rebels’ clearest chance of the second half.
Slough Town will now regroup and look to bounce back at home against Chippenham Town on Tuesday evening.
Slough Town Lineup
- 1 Charlie Horlock
- 2 Josh Jackman
- 4 Edon Pruti
- 5 Dan Bayliss
- 6 Jeanmal Prosper
- 9 Slavi Spasov
- 10 John Gilbert
- 11 Francis Amartey 17
- 14 Scott Davies
- 20 Johnny Goddard
- 23 David Ogbonna 19
Substitutes
- 16 Dan Roth
- 17 Oliver Spicer 11
- 19 Sam Evans 23
- 24 Jack Timberlake
- 25 Guy Hollis
Truro City Lineup
Lavercombe, Bell, Riley-Lowe (c) (Harvey 55), Harrison, En-Neyah (Bates 90+1), Dean, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jephcott (Neal 90+1), Rooney (Palfrey 84), Kabia (Johnson-Fisher 84), Law. Unused substitutes: none.