Ronnie rocks Rebels with last gasp leveller
Billericay Town 2, Slough Town 2
Slough Town let a late lead slip as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Billericay Town on Saturday.
Ronnie Henry netted Town’s injury-time equaliser to frustrate the Rebels and ensure their search for a first win of 2020 goes on.
Slough remain fourth in National League South, and remain a good bet for a play-off finish, however, their lack of wins in recent weeks has seen the chasing pack narrow the gap to them.
One of those, Dartford, are the visitors to Arbour Park tomorrow (Saturday), where the Rebels will look to register their first win since Boxing Day, when they beat Wealdstone 2-1.
On the balance of play Jon Underwood and Neil Baker couldn’t grumble too much about Saturday’s draw, but the timing of Henry’s equaliser, deep into stoppage time, felt like a kick in the teeth for a side that had defended in depth to keep out their hosts.
With the wind at their backs the visitors enjoyed the best of the first half action, with Matty Lench firing wide and Sean Fraser shooting over the bar before Lench showed composure to volley the ball past Nathan Harness to make it 1-0. Lench and Dan Roberts might have doubled their lead, but Billericay remained a threat and Odysseus Alfa levelled matters before half-time when his shot deflected off Sam Togwell and looped into the net.
Conditions favoured the home side after the break and momentum swung their way. Turner saved well from Alfa five minutes after the restart, but, surprisingly, it was the Rebels who restored their lead when Lee Togwell’s header into the penalty area found George Wells who lashed home on 73 minutes.
The visitors held firm until right at the death when Henry bundled the ball home from Robinson’s header in the 92nd minute. It might have been worse for the Rebels but Alfa fired wide in the final seconds of injury-time.
Baker said: “It was very much a game of two halves. There was quite a strong wind that dictated the play really.
“I thought we were excellent in the first half and they were excellent in the second half. I thought we defended magnificently right until the end when we just switched off slightly.”
The Rebels host seventh placed Dartford at Abour Park tomorrow.