WALSTER’S CURLER MAKES WASTEFUL SLOUGH PAY
SLOUGH’S unbeaten home record came to an abrupt end as the side that sat second at the start of play were defeated by fourth-placed Hitchin.
In what was predominately a tetchy and scrappy affair, Canaries left-back Ben Walster’s well struck free-kick just after halftime was the difference.
The Rebels’ joint-manager Jon Underwood told The
NLP: “We were nowhere near the levels we have set ourselves today.
“We were flat and they were very organised and very solid.”
The first half saw little goalmouth action for either team, but it was Hitchin who started much the brighter with Matt Lench, Robbie Burns and Kane Smith all going close.
Despite that, Slough almost took the lead against the run of play when dead ball specialist James Dobson saw his freekick rebound off the post.
It was Lench who was to have the away side’s best chance of the opening half, latching onto Dan Hicks’ short backpass and roundchances ing keeper Mark Scott, only to hit the side netting with the empty net at his mercy.
Hitchin dominated the first period with a high tempo, pressing game which put the Rebels off their usual stride.
Callum Donnelly was their main man in this regard, never giving the hosts a moment’s respite and proving a constant menace in the centre of midfield, a tactic that continued into the second half.
The winner came four minutes after the restart as the visitors won a free-kick on the edge of the area and Walster did what Dobson had failed to do earlier, curling the ball across Scott and in off the far post.
After the goal, Slough limited the Canaries to mostly long range attempts, but failed to create any real for themselves.
This was until injury time, when suddenly the home side started to trouble the Hitchin backline.
First, Dobson’s whipped cross was met by Scott, up from the back, but his header was cleared off the line.
The resulting corner fell to sub Lewis Putman, who drilled through a crowd of players only to see goalkeeper Michael Johnson turn the ball around the post just when it looked like it was creeping in.
Even deeper into added time, Charlie Moone saw another header cleared off the line, but in truth an equaliser would have flattered the disappointing Rebels.