Slough town 1-1 Hitchin

[staines_rebel_Jr]

The game ended 1-1 with Hitchin scoring from a penalty and Stuart Swift scoring for slough.

 

it was a great game to whatch (in my opinion), with some great tackling (which the ref obviously didnt see).

 

The last 20 or so minutes were extremely nerveracking with Slough holding on for a draw but with a couple of good chances to score ourselves.

 

Shaun Byrne got sent off for a slide tackle which was never a foul.

 

Unfourtunately we couldnt stop Hitchins unbeaten run but we gave them a scare at times.

[Martin]

Excellent performance against clearly the best side in the league. They edged the first half but we kept battling and got a deserved equaliser. The second half we started the brighter but the game was changed by Byrne's red card. It was a straight red card for a tackle on the half way line. I was directly in line with the challenge and he very clearly got all of the ball. I am not sure he even took any of the man. Never a foul let alone a booking. From then on it was backs to the wall stuff and Fanner made two great saves. Ultimately we deserved the point and nearly snatched all three after good work from Porter and Sonner nearly poked the ball home.

 

The referee started the game really well but it went to his head and he became far to flamboyant and showy in his decisions.

 

It would have been nice to see a full 90 minutes 11 v 11 to see if we could have put an end to this unbeaten run.

[Mr Rebel]

the red card was absolutely disgraceful imo. wasn't even a challenge where you could make any sort of argument about it being a foul. how on earth after what felt like forever the ref came up with a red card i have no clue. the tackled player was fine till he realised he had got a foul and then seemed to roll around on the floor. mindblowingly bad decision it really was and very nearly ruined the game for us

 

not totally sure what their pen was for from where i was standing but how we didnt get a pen not long after Hitchin player hurled ours to the ground from a corner i have no clue

 

as said we came close considering we only had 10 to getting a winner though our defence and especially Charlie Fanner the keeper done superbly late on. some wonderful handling and saves from Fanner especially the one where their striker had an open goal from yards kneed it into the ground and keeper flew across the line to block it. prob MOM imo

 

happy with a point at end of the day. woulda took that before the game and especially woulda took that after the ref robbed us of having 11 men. heres hoping the assesor in the crowd realised how bad a decision it was. absolute hopeless decision

[A Rebel and a Saint]

It was a great game, despite the best efforts of the referee to ruin it. It may have been a foul as he had his studs up but it was a booking at the very most. It just looked worse because Byrne's foot rolled across the top of the ball due to his own momentum. It was all part of a terrible refereeing display.

 

Putting that to one side, I thought we played very well today. Charlie Fanner had a fantastic game for us, especially after a difficult first couple of games, making some top class saves especially in the second half, deserves MOTM I think. Coyne played well despite the threat of a second booking hanging over him for so long. The whole team did well to contain the threat, they are not top of the league by luck, they were also a good team and we had them rattled at times, even when we had a man less than they did. The draw was probably the fair result however.

 

Well done Slough, a good start to a long run of tough games!

[HEAVY TRUCKER]

what a good game end to end stuff only spoilt by the ref with his unreasonable decisions, and some idiot of a hitchin fan that wanted to fight me for calling him an idiot and further proving my point by keeping on offering to have a fight with him i would have done so but that would only made me more stupid than he was. player of the match today for me has to be the stand in keeper charlie fanner , best mistake of the day has to go to simon martin whose shot went across the goal and ended up at stuart swifts feet who then shot in the equaliser the sending off was never even i from some 50 yds away could see that the ball went away then the hitchin (donnelly i think) player dived over and went for his equity card. so this shows that twice now we have been equal to hitchin with 11 players on the field so they have to get the odds changed in their favourto enable them to beat us didn't work this time did it . makes me think though how many times have they used this tactic this season and got away with it?

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

The 8 was Callum Donnelly and will be performing in Mama Mia next week as his skills are wasted on a football pitch - he was fine until the ref blew up and then went for the oscar!

 

However the ref, Mr SJ Phipps was totally consistant, as he yet again made a total pigs ear of this game, along with the others we have played with him "in charge", in all of them he has made major mistakes.

 

There penalty was legitimate, and if the fool in the black had played advantage, all would have been happy as they went on to score! - but no he blew for the penalty and upset the Hitchin fans by not allowing the original goal to stand - maybe Phipps wants to be the star of the show along side Donnelly?

 

Our performance against the oposition 12 was outstanding, worked hard all game long, not the most attractive football, but well ground out.

 

Charlie Fanner was outstanding and kept a cool head in a game where things could have gone badly wrong for any keeper.

 

Today showed we are as good as Hitchin and their large lead in the table flatters them if todays performance is their best.

 

There is no reason if we continue to play like we did today, why we cant be be up there in the final weeks of the season causing Hitchin a headache!

[Ted]

Slough certainly showed good spirit and determination today, especially when down to 10 men, and we finished quite strongly. Certainly deserved a point in the end.

 

The sending off was for a 2 footed challenge, and even if the Hitchin player over did the dramatics as I'm not sure there was any contact with him, 2 footed challenges are always likely to get a red card.

[chris sliski]

And where was the hundred's of Hitchin fans ? they promised us this year and last year !

 

counted about 30 behind the goal in the second half and a few more scattered around ...

 

all the talk of the best away supported team home and away !! home yes ...away never !

 

The game was the best for spirit and endeavour by this Slough team for ages ...well done to one and all...

 

nice to have radders back leading the singing !

 

bloody marvellous result ..considering all things that we had to put up with some of the antics of a few of the Hitchin players !

 

Donnally was caught winking to his team mates while on the floor , getting attention for his fantasy injury ,and while Shaun Byrne

 

was given a red card ! ..Sad that cheating came into this blood and thunder game !

 

However we deserved the draw at least !

 

chris s

Edited January 8, 2011 by chris sliski

[Irishadrian]

Yes An excellent point against what is arguably the best team in the league The heavy pitch made it difficult for both sides but it was an entertaining end to end game to watch. I was particularly pleased with the determination and work-rate of our midfield but would also make Charlie Fanner our MOTM. Everyone raised their game as we always seem to against the top teams. It makes our inconsistency against the much poorer teams even more frustrating. I agree the behaviour of the Hitchin players at the sending-off was disgraceful but as others have said whether you get the ball or not studs-up is not on and will probably lead to a red card

[Irishadrian]

A few of the other results today worked in the Rebels favour

especially our neighbours Burnham beating Woodford 2-1 Rugby and Biggleswade drew 0-0 Arlesey and Leighton drew 1-1 Daventry beat AFC Hayes 3-1.

[staines_rebel_Jr]

We deserved a point.

 

Special credit has to go to Fanner as people before have said he kept us it the match with several outstanding saves, he has got beter and better with each match he has played. I have to admit i was worried when he irst played a few matches ago and hearing he came from two leagues below but he has proven that he is a good keeper and deserves a chance at higher levels.

 

Their number 8 is a joke but after Sean Sonner came on he deliberately immitated him when tackled (all beit for a lot less time) to see what the ref would do to their player (send off or not).

 

Hopefully we can play as well as we did today for as long as possible for the remainder of the season.

 

With todays performance and the one at the beginning of the season against Hitchin we have shown that we are one of the best teams in the league (even with only 10 men).

[canarie lad]

Really enjoyed todays game a proper match between 2 of the better teams in our league.we, were not at our best but give credit to yourselves for matching us which has not happened much this season. good luck for the rest of the season, nice to meet you windsor enjoy your jolly in rugby & chris i think there were quite a few more than 30 of us.

[Mr Rebel]

i would say 60 to maybe 100 Hitchin fans probably. still not as many as i hoped they had brought along but lets face it far far better than every other team that visit us at Beaconsfield

[readingrebel]

I thought we showed some real battling qualities when down to 10 men.

 

As some people have said the tackle on Donnelly by Sean Byrne was IMO 2 footed but again IMO he didn't touch the player and the Ref, I would like to think, gave it for intent rather than making contact. The galling thing is the way Donnelly cheated with his over the top reaction in trying to get Byrne sent off and on reflection (though I doubt it) is thoroughly ashamed of himself for such a cowardly act.

 

Very difficult to pick a MoM because everyone played their part in a real team effort but special mentions must go to Paul Coyne who was in the thick of it from start to finish, Danny Burnell who imo had his best game for us and Charlie Fanner who made some blinding saves.

[hitchin_chris]

Thought a draw was a fair result. Some really fair and objective assessments of the game on your Forum. Slough did up their game, particularly when down to ten men. Your midfield worked really hard to keep the ball away from your own penalty area so as not to expose your sometimes panicky defence, and when they were, your keeper came to the rescue - made two blinding stops in the second half.

 

You had your chances to win it too.

 

Have seen that there are one or two that still find it hard to be gracious and end on a friendly note, and criticism of Hitchin creeps into their postings. Heavy Trucker - first of all we do not use that tactic of trying to get players sent off and get away with it. We have no reason to. After our disappointment of last season we have added a couple of key players to the team and have just stayed focused and determined to get out of what is basically a poor, soul-destroying division in which to play our football. There are ourselves, yourselves and Rugby - and that's about it. Forget Arlesey aka Man City - big wages, big egos, small crowds, don't gel very well.

 

Fact is, as I said on our site - yes you have matched us in two games. But in both, sadly, the ref saw fit to send one of your players off. Not totally sure about today's one I admit but Seeby's back in August was clear cut. So with that, and all your big names in your squad, bigger names and more widely known than ours, you should be top of the League. You aren't because of some dreadful and quite amazing inconsistencies in performance, and it is consistency which up till now has put us where we are. We are learning from last season where Bury's consistency won them the title. Our position doesn't flatter us, so far we have earned the right to be there. With the exception of our draw at Daventry, we have created enough chances to win in all of our drawn games and arguably, should have. But we are only too clear that we have a long way to go to win this League, and like yourselves, every team looks to up their game against us.

 

We are also smart enough to know that if we don't win the League this season then forget it next season - St. Neots Town are on the way and if Arlesey are Man City, then St. Neots Town are Real Madrid!

 

Anyway - wish you the very best for the rest of the season. Very disappointed that you say there was an idiot from Hitchin in your midst offering to fight you HT - VERY VERY un-Hitchin. Can you describe the idiot? If you can I am sure we will do what we can to sift him out!

Edited January 9, 2011 by hitchin_chris

[HEAVY TRUCKER]

ok hitchin i accept that i was probably a bit over the top and i apologise profusely ,no excuses , but i will not lower myself to give a description other than he was an idiot and i have now dealt with itand want to forget him and put the sorry incident behind me and get on and enjoy my football hopfully he will find the stone he crawled out from under and disappear back underneath.

[Ian]

One Hitchin fan sarcastically commented as we were walking out..."if you celebrate a home draw like that against us you must have problems".

 

Well why wouldn't we celebrate a decent result? We haven't always played well this season, we were playing the team at the top who are miles ahead of us on points, we went 1-0 down then had a player sent off. Furthermore our other main midfielder (Coyne) was unable to put a tackle in for the last 30 minutes or the referee would have sent him off as well. We battled superbly for the second half, nobody more so than our on loan keeper who put in an inspired performance to keep Hitchin out.

 

Hitchin were good as you'd expect. Right from even before the first day of the season it was obvious they'd be the team to beat. A good club with good people. I think their number 8 let them down today though.

 

Sean Byrne's challenge was two footed and you always run the risk of a red card when that happens. However, it doesn't always result in a red if you get the ball (which he clearly did) and if you are nowhere near any other player (which he wasn't). The Hitchin player came into the challenge much later than Sean Byrne then milked it for everything he was worth. It was a disgraceful piece of play acting that contributed directly to the refs decision to produced a red.

 

Going down a bit easily to win a free kick or a penalty I understand. That's all part of the gamesmanship and every team does that. Deliberately acting to get a player sent off is totally unacceptable however and I hope his team mates and manager take issue with it.

[hitchin_chris]

ok hitchin i accept that i was probably a bit over the top and i apologise profusely ,no excuses , but i will not lower myself to give a description other than he was an idiot and i have now dealt with itand want to forget him and put the sorry incident behind me and get on and enjoy my football hopfully he will find the stone he crawled out from under and disappear back underneath.

 

 

 

Top man HT - the only reason I asked for a description is that we don't ant him either!! As soon as things get tough for us again he will crawl back under his stone no doubt - but believe me, 99.9% of decent Hitchin fans do not want such an idiot in their midst. Every club has their idiots, aggressive idiiots are another thing.

 

It is fair to say also that 99.9% of the Hitchin fans I have spoken to feel it would be the right thing if Hitchin and Slough were promoted this season - the only other decent team, as I've said, is Rugby. Hope you enjoy your football for the rest of the season!

 

And you are totally right to celebrate a decent result Ian! It's really hard to see how if you can turn in performances like that one, that you have had a few such shocking results against the lower teams.

 

Good luck for the rest of the season, anyway. Do us a favour and turn Man City over!!!

[brighton_rebel]

That was just a thoroughly enjoyable game of football and i think the ref (sort of) did us a favour. It galvanised the crowd and team, and while there was plenty of heart stopping moments in the second half we also had our chances. But a draw was a fair result and the atmosphere behind the goal was fantastic - good to have Radders back, but everyone was fired up. I reckon Hitchin bought about 70 which is more than any else has, so not gonna complain about their fans - any i have met have been decent people.

Coyne has been excellent last couple of games but special mention to our young goal keeper. Quite a few of us made a point of going up and praising him in the clubhouse after the game. He's jumped two levels, played in front of much bigger crowds than he's used too and put in a brilliant performance. Particularly impressed with his kicking.

What yesterday also did was give me another taste of games like this and the desire to get out of this league which Slough are more than capable of if we play that like every week. Let's make sure us supporters play our part and really get behind them for every game.

[3spirit]

I thought we showed some real battling qualities when down to 10 men.

 

As some people have said the tackle on Donnelly by Sean Byrne was IMO 2 footed but again IMO he didn't touch the player and the Ref, I would like to think, gave it for intent rather than making contact. The galling thing is the way Donnelly cheated with his over the top reaction in trying to get Byrne sent off and on reflection (though I doubt it) is thoroughly ashamed of himself for such a cowardly act.

 

Very difficult to pick a MoM because everyone played their part in a real team effort but special mentions must go to Paul Coyne who was in the thick of it from start to finish, Danny Burnell who imo had his best game for us and Charlie Fanner who made some blinding saves.

 

 

Have to agree with you,Reading Rebel,about the three most outstanding Slough players of yesterday's game,being Coyne,Fanner and Burnell.

Thought Simon Sweeney and Danny Murphy should take some credit,too though,as they ran their hearts out.

However,all the team deserve a pat on the back for their battling performance.If only we would play like this most weeks! If we did we would be up at the top with Hitchin or even,above them.Shows what our team is capable of,when they want to do it.

 

I've been critical of Paul Coyne since his arrival as our regular centre midfielder but credit where credit is due,he was excellent yesterday.If he played like that more often,I for one wouldn't get on his back.Thought Sean Byrne was struggling in the midfield battle but no way should he have been sent off for that tackle,as he won the ball cleanly.

Wasn't the referee terrible? I'm NOT one of those supporters,who moan every game at the man in black,for the fun of it or by having an aggressive/bitter nature but the official was totally inept and nearly ruined the game as a spectacle.He blew up for some ridiculous decisions.I think some refs think we fans go to watch them in action rather than the teams! How deluded they are.

 

What a brilliant save,Charlie Fanner made on our goal line.How he got across to what looked a clear goal,I'll never know.We may have uncovered another nugget.With a bit more coaching,he can only get better.

As for Danny Burnell,he ran his socks off and was a constant nuisance to the Hitchin defence.For such a small man,his hold up play was superb.

WELL DONE YOU REBELS!