Slough came away with an impressive 2-1 win against play-off sitters Dorking Wanders in this 3 pm kick-off in the Vanarama National League South.
Slough were able to absorb some early Dorking pressure which then saw Dorking’s experienced centre back Sami El-Abd go off with an early injury just half an hour into the affair.
Just five minutes later Matt Lench picked up the loose ball on the halfway line and drove towards the box, as he stepped inside and moved the ball to his left Lench was tripped by the trailing leg of the Dorking defender and the referee didn’t hesitate to point to the spot. The resulting penalty was drilled down the middle by Aaron Kuhl giving the hosts the lead.
The woodwork came to the aid of the home side just five minutes later as a Dorking corner from the right hand was headed back across goal where Callum Kennedy saw his header cannon back off the bar. Dorking were to rue their missed chance as Lench whipped a lovely outswinger to the on-rushing Freddie Grant who found himself free to head home which was his fourth this season giving the hosts security going into the break.
The home side looked to finish the game off with ten minutes to go as a ball over the top met by the sweeping Dorking keeper Nelson left an open goal for Aaron Kuhl around 35 yards out but he couldn’t keep the shot down.
Some late pressure saw a consolation for Dorking as Callum Kennedy’s ball towards the back post was met by unmarked Alfie Rutherford who headed into the bottom left corner as Slough keeper Jonathan North could only stand and watch. This result means Slough are now five unbeaten and moves them up to twelfth, three points off the final play-off spot and Dorking lose their six-game unbeaten run and sit in sixth with all four playoff teams tied on 21 points.
Maidenhead United and Hungerford Town suffer home defeats
Elsewhere, Maidenhead suffered a heavy home 4-1 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge leaving them three points clear of the relegation zone as an Angelo Balanta hat-trick in just over an hour helped the away side to the three points with Ibrahim Akanbi grabbing the fourth.
With the score at 0-2 the Magpies were given hope when Josh Kelly met Sam Barratt’s cross but they weren’t able to add to the goals.
Hungerford also lost out at home in a seven-goal thriller. The away side Ebbsfleet United picked up a 4-3 win with two late goals from Ryan Seager. Despite the result, Hungerford sit in eighth, one place outside the playoffs and just two points off their opponents Ebbsfleet who occupy the final automatic spot.
