ACE JONAH SAVES DAY
Second and third-placed sides draw to hand Stones a boost
WITH Storm Dennis expected around kick-off, there was some doubt around this game but in the end conditions were not too bad, coupled with an excellent 3G pitch providing a good playing surface for this top of the table clash.
That was a relief, after the reverse fixture had already been postponed three times this season due to the weather.
Slough had the ball in the net after just eight minutes but experienced midfielder Sam Togwell’s tap-in was ruled out for offside by a linesman’s flag.
The Rebels came close on several more occasions in the first half; Dan Roberts narrowly missing at the near post, Sam Togwell denied by a fingertip save and Josh Taylor flicking a header on to his own post.
The Rebels eventually got their reward in injury time. A miscued goal kick was headed back towards goal by Max Worsfold for Matt Lench to run on to and score from a narrow angle.
Despite the action on the field it was something on the touchline which will make the headlines. Guy Hollis used a towel to dry the ball before a long throw, which irritated Havant manager Paul Doswell.
He walked over and squared up to the Slough player. The referee had a word with both parties but decided to give Doswell only a yellow card.
In the second half Havant took control of the game and had Slough camped in their own half, getting an equaliser on 64 minutes.
A long throw wasn’t dealt with by Slough and Jonah Ayunga was alert in the box to poke home.
Ayunga had a great chance to take the lead a little later from a similar situation but this time his effort went inches wide of the post.
Slough joint manager Neil Baker praised the resilience of his promotion-chasing side.
He told The NLP: “We caused them lots of problems first half and hit the post a few times.
“We needed to get ourselves in front, and Lench getting the goal on the stroke of half-time was perfect. Today it was always going to be a game of two halves and we knew we would need to dig in second half. “
When asked about the chance to make up ground on Wealdstone, Baker tried to put the pressure on the Stones.
“Today’s result is brilliant for them and they have it all to lose now,” he said.
“For us it was important we didn’t lose today and getting the point is a good point for us.
It’s important for us to get into those play-offs.
“We just need to keep chalking games off and picking up points when we can.”