Slough moved to fifth in the league table with a slender victory over Woodford United.
A first-half own goal from Tom Fountain was enough to separate the sides in a game the hosts had the better of, but the Rebels needed to dig deep late on to secure the three points.
The Rebels were guilty of missing a number of clear-cut chances before making the breakthrough. Tommy Hayes, in for the injured Simon Martin, fed Paul Edgeworth, but his scuffed shot was blocked.
Mo Sharif saw his header tipped over the bar by Matthew Finlay before Leon Hibbert missed a far simpler header from the resulting corner, somehow heading across goal and wide from no more than a couple of yards out.
The pressure on Woodford increased as Hayes’ drilled effort was saved well by Finlay, with Elliot Buchanan just unable to stretch enough in the six yard box to turn the ball in.
But soon afterwards Slough took a deserved lead. Dean Harper’s superbly weighted ball over the top set Hayes free, and his effort was saved by Finlay, but the ball rebounded back towards goal off defender Tom Fountain, and the supine Finlay was unable to keep the ball out.
Woodford enjoyed spells of possession but were unable to get a clear sight of Perks’ goal, and Slough went closest to extending their lead as Sharif played in Buchanan, but the striker mishit his shot and Finlay saved at his near post.
Slough started the second half in similar fashion to most of the first half, and looked to kill the game off, but Hayes and Buchanan wasted good shooting chances.
The first real test for Ricky Perks arrived ten minutes into the half, but substitute Oliver Manoochehri’s shot was turned around the post. The resulting corner was eventually booted away after a frantic goalmouth scramble.
Boosted by this, Woodford enjoyed long spells of pressure in the closing stages, but Slough stood firm and repelled everything thrown at them, with Harper and Sweeney particularly impressive as the onus switched from attack to defence. The visitors had a rare effort ruled out for offside but were unable to significantly test Perks again.
Slough, who had looked so comfortable in the first half, looked nervy as they were forced to seek chances on the counter-attack, but gratefully played out the remaining minutes to secure the win.
A first-half own goal from Tom Fountain was enough to separate the sides in a game the hosts had the better of, but the Rebels needed to dig deep late on to secure the three points.
The Rebels were guilty of missing a number of clear-cut chances before making the breakthrough. Tommy Hayes, in for the injured Simon Martin, fed Paul Edgeworth, but his scuffed shot was blocked.
Mo Sharif saw his header tipped over the bar by Matthew Finlay before Leon Hibbert missed a far simpler header from the resulting corner, somehow heading across goal and wide from no more than a couple of yards out.
The pressure on Woodford increased as Hayes’ drilled effort was saved well by Finlay, with Elliot Buchanan just unable to stretch enough in the six yard box to turn the ball in.
But soon afterwards Slough took a deserved lead. Dean Harper’s superbly weighted ball over the top set Hayes free, and his effort was saved by Finlay, but the ball rebounded back towards goal off defender Tom Fountain, and the supine Finlay was unable to keep the ball out.
Woodford enjoyed spells of possession but were unable to get a clear sight of Perks’ goal, and Slough went closest to extending their lead as Sharif played in Buchanan, but the striker mishit his shot and Finlay saved at his near post.
Slough started the second half in similar fashion to most of the first half, and looked to kill the game off, but Hayes and Buchanan wasted good shooting chances.
The first real test for Ricky Perks arrived ten minutes into the half, but substitute Oliver Manoochehri’s shot was turned around the post. The resulting corner was eventually booted away after a frantic goalmouth scramble.
Boosted by this, Woodford enjoyed long spells of pressure in the closing stages, but Slough stood firm and repelled everything thrown at them, with Harper and Sweeney particularly impressive as the onus switched from attack to defence. The visitors had a rare effort ruled out for offside but were unable to significantly test Perks again.
Slough, who had looked so comfortable in the first half, looked nervy as they were forced to seek chances on the counter-attack, but gratefully played out the remaining minutes to secure the win.
Slough Town Line Up
- 1 Ricky Perks
- 2 Simon Sweeney
- 3 Danny Murphy
- 4 Rob Kean
- 5 Nathan Bowden-Haase
- 6 Dean Harper
- 7 Mo Sharif
- 8 Leon Hibbert
- 9 Thomas Hayes
- 10 Elliott Buchanan
- 11 Paul Edgeworth
Substitutes
- 12 Danny Jordan
- 14 Ryan Fenton
- 15 Tyron Sealey
- 16 Graeme Edwards
- 17 Jamie Jackson
Woodford United Line up
Finlay, Liburd, Kinch (c), Pearman, Jackson, Fountain, S King, N King, Ibrahim, Hawkins, Travers (Edwards). Subs not used: Haynes, Manoochehri, Hastie.