First-half blitz sees Slough Town stun promotion-chasing Hemel Hempstead

Wiktor Makowski. Photo: Zak Rana

--

Hemel Hempstead Town 0, Slough Town 3

Slough Town produced one of their results of the season as they went away to promotion chasing Hemel Hempstead Town and beat them 3-0 on Saturday.

The Tudors had become something of a bogey side for the Rebels, having edged their last few encounters. However, there was no sense of inferiority from Scott Davies’ side as they bounced back from a disappointing midweek defeat on the road at bottom of the table Chippenham Town.

All the goals came in the first half at Vauxhall Road, with Wiktor Makowski scoring twice in the 17th and 25th minute, before Tyrese Dyce capped off a sensational first half when he headed home a third deep into first half stoppage time.

Slough might have expected a response from their hosts – who went into this game sitting fifth in the table and in good form – however, they were unable to draw Adam Desbois into a save until the hour mark and were generally held at arm’s length thanks to some calm and composed defending.

Frustration then boiled over for Hemel in the 83rd minute when their captain Kyle Ajayi was shown a straight red card after a clash with Kiki Oshilaja.

The Rebels made a nervy start to the game with Desbois beaten to the ball inside the area by a Hemel player in the third minute, but fortunately he recovered to snuff out the danger.

The visitors then saw appeals for a penalty for handball in the area dismissed by the referee in the 11th minute. But they didn’t allow that sense of injustice to fester and took the lead six minutes later.

A long ball forward caused problems for Ajayi and Johnson who collided into each other following a miscommunication and Makowski was able to pounce and fire the ball into the empty net. A second penalty appeal was waved away when Makowski went down in the area a few minutes later, but the striker didn’t have to wait long for his brace.

Again, it was a slightly strange one. Dyce lifted a dangerous ball to the back area of the box where Makowski was lurking. He fired it on the volley at goal and Johnson couldn’t keep it out; despite initially looking like he’d made the save.

Tyrique Clarke curled a decent opportunity over the bar in the 42nd minute, but in the seventh of seven added minutes at the end of the half, Dyce powered home a header from a free kick to extend Slough’s lead even further.

The result and performance was as good as it’s been for the Rebels this season and means they’ve now picked up 13 points from their last seven matches – four wins and one draw. The result sees them move level on 31 points with 17th placed Tonbridge Angels, now seven points clear of the drop zone. And they’ll get the chance to move above Tonbridge when they host the Angels at Arbour Park on Saturday.