It was a game of two halves. Where as the first ebbed and flowed at high pace, the second failed to develop any pattern or shape.
Slough started slowly, providing a few speculative shots from distance in the opening stages. It was Vics that started the brighter, Williams and Stannard looking as sharp as at any point in recent months as they probed and stretched the visiting defence. It led to Williams spectacularly hitting the crossbar after five minutes. Picking up the ball midway inside the Slough half, he ran diagonally across the face of the defence before firing a right foot effort from 25 yards which hit the bar and bounced high into the air before being punched away by keeper, Paul Wilkerston. Despite Vics' early pressure though, it was the visitors who scored.
On 12 minutes Danny Bolt broke from midfield and chipped a delicate pass over Crookes to release Gary Brazil into the area. The striker fired a shot under Greygoose and into the corner of the net from 12 yards.
It didn't dampen Vics' resolve, continuing to pass the ball well in the final third of the field with Steve Walters in majestic mood. It was his clever free kick from 22 yards which almost levelled the scores on 22 minutes. Seemingly preparing to float a cross into the area, Walters instead curled a low shot around the wall, forcing Wilkerston to scamper back across his goal to scramble the ball around the post for a corner.
Slough almost made it two on 29 minutes, Gary Abbott capitalising on a weak Simpson clearance in the penalty area to blast a shot over the bar from 10 yards.
The 36th minute saw Vics' miss a great chance. Stannard played a low, early cross across the face of goal from the right wing. Timing his run to perfection, Mark Gardiner arrived at the back post just in time to side-foot an effort towards the back post. With the keeper beaten, the ball rolled agonisingly wide of the up-right.
Another great chance went begging two minutes later. A long ball from deep in his own half by Simpson proved troubling for centre back McGinnis, whose poor back pass was intercepted by Stannard who volleyed a sizzling effort wide from 20 yards.
It was to prove Vics' last chance of the half. After the break the game lost its edge, the pace was slowed and the attacking impetus wained. There wasn't a chance of note until the 73rd minute, when an intelligent reverse pass from Walters played Tait into the area. With the keeper sprinting out the substitute tried but failed to lift the ball over the keeper into the empty net, Wilkerston smothering the effort.
With 10 minutes left Stannard found himself in a good position once again, 12 yards out virtually on the penalty spot, but his shot ballooned over the bar.
They were rare sights of goal as Slough effectively nullified Vics' threat. Happy to sit back and soak up the pressure the visitors earned their win the hard way.
Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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