v Hornchurch

[Reading Rebel]

After our efforts in midweek we'll do well to get any sort of result against title chasing Hornchurch.

I'll take a point now and go for a 1-1 draw.

[Curtis]

With 27 points from our last 14 matches, we are in the form you would normally only see from a title chasing team, but a lot will depend on who is fit & starts.

[Kaiser Gibbs Batman (KGB)]

Two-nil up at half time!

[Kaiser Gibbs Batman (KGB)]

56 minutes ago, Kaiser Gibbs Batman (KGB) said:

Two-nil up at half time!

Pegged back to level but won it with a third at the death. COYR

[GlenSTFC]

I was fuming when they equalised but to find a winner against what sounds like constant home pressure is a massive well done. Excellent away win against a title chasing team, just shows even with a depleted squad we can still compete/beat the best teams.

[Irishadrian]

Excellent result We are 15th with 49 points We have a gap of 6 points between ourselves and 16th and more importantly we have a 17 point gap between ourselves and 21st the first relegation place!!

[G Brown]

1 hour ago, GlenSTFC said:

I was fuming when they equalised but to find a winner against what sounds like constant home pressure is a massive well done. Excellent away win against a title chasing team, just shows even with a depleted squad we can still compete/beat the best teams.

Not as fuming as those in attendance and the Slough bench considering their equaliser looked like a blatant foul on Marriott, ball kicked out of his hands!

[Reading Rebel]

What an excellent win against 2nd in the table 👍

Sounded like Walker and Wiktor terrorised their back line.

Wiktor with another goal and an assist.

Imperative we get both of them on a contract for next season.

We can now banish any though of relegation, well done to Scott and the squad. 

[Rebellier]

Wiktor for sure will be snapped up by an NL side. 19 goals and counting doesn't go unnoticed. See Spasov.

[Markskelton]

4 minutes ago, Rebellier said:

Wiktor for sure will be snapped up by an NL side. 19 goals and counting doesn't go unnoticed. See Spasov.

That was my thought on the train home..we need to enjoy him for the rest of the season.

[sdelane1357]

What a superb game to be at the whole squad are giving their all to the Manager his backroom team the supporters and club just so enjoyable to watch.

A game of 2 halves both teams giving there all.

Some dodgy decisions

No VAR AH RAY 🫰👌👍

great defending and  classy goals scored.

Wiktor so good he must enjoy learning from Jefferson Louis coach and ex player with so much knowledge in the striking  department…

Always a good drive home when the team win.

Their are a number of clubs in our division that are good to go and play against Hornchurch is one of them…

COYREBELS 

Edited March 7 by sdelane1357

[GlenSTFC]

1 hour ago, Reading Rebel said:

What an excellent win against 2nd in the table 👍

Sounded like Walker and Wiktor terrorised their back line.

Wiktor with another goal and an assist.

Imperative we get both of them on a contract for next season.

We can now banish any though of relegation, well done to Scott and the squad. 

17 points clear of 4th bottom you’d think is safe now, maybe one more win on Tuesday should seal it. Yes unfortunately I can’t see Wiktor staying even though no doubt he’s already been offered a contract. Can’t blame him as he’ll have a plethora of offers to choose from in the summer. Just very frustrating as with Adam we’re losing these great players without compensation.

[Curtis]

Why would the club lose Makowski without any compensation?

[GlenSTFC]

14 minutes ago, Curtis said:

Why would the club lose Makowski without any compensation?

Because his contract is likely to end when the season finishes so he’ll be a free agent in the summer.

[Curtis]

I think he’s 23, so even if his current contract does expire at the end of this season, if the club offer him a contract even marginally better than his current contract, they will at very least be due compensation if another club wants to sign him.

[GlenSTFC]

29 minutes ago, Curtis said:

I think he’s 23, so even if his current contract does expire at the end of this season, if the club offer him a contract even marginally better than his current contract, they will at very least be due compensation if another club wants to sign him.

But from Wiktor’s perspective why would he sign a contract with us when he’s got the chance to either play higher or move to a club with a much higher chance of promotion plus of course a lot more money.

[Curtis]

I’m clearly not explaining it very well… look up the FA’s Under 24 Transfer Rule.

[GlenSTFC]

19 minutes ago, Curtis said:

I’m clearly not explaining it very well… look up the FA’s Under 24 Transfer Rule.

I know the rule, but I’m saying why would Wiktor sign a new contract with us and harm his chance of gaining a big move if any prospective club would then have to pay a fee to sign him? Not sure any player would do that.

[grandad]

I think Curtis is saying that he doesn't need to sign a new contract with us, but an expiring one assuming we offer a new one rather than release, is enough to gain compensation. 

[Holyport Rebel]

"A thrilling late victory".
"A remarkable 3-2 win in Essex".
"A pulsating contest that swung dramatically throughout."
"Another memorable away victory for Scott Davies' side."

Those quotes above are from the first few lines of the official match report of yesterday's game on the Slough Town F.C. website.
What a game.
One of those games that you would be so gutted to have missed if you're a Slough Town fan.
(Sorry Bernie and RR)
I can't believe any loyal Slough fan before the kick off would have come out with words such as the following, hoping for a
" dull, boring incident free 0-0 borefest, with absolutely nothing of interest to discuss or talk about afterwards."
How selfish would they have to be to want a
"relaxing, report free writing Sunday"
and worst of all, to
"dread a big incident packed Slough win."

Errrrrrrrrrrrrr......................

Let's move on, shall we.
(The quicker the better.)

The game started at a good pace, and when we were eventually awarded a penalty in the first quarter of an hour ( what took the ref so long to blow his whistle for an obvious penalty ?) , you felt something might be stirring in the air.
Ruben's penalty  entered the net after the goalie got his hands to it and also after hitting the underside of the bar.
On another day that shot might have stayed out, but today it went in.
Perhaps it was going to be one of those days ?
It was great to see Ruben back in the team.
Hearing that he had spent Saturday night in hospital after his collision with the Dover goalie last weekend, I feared it might be a while till he returned to the team.
All the first half our attacks on Hornchurch were very threatening.
Wiktor was like a little terrier harassing the two great big  St. Bernard dogs that were at the centre of Hornchurch's defence.
The St. Bernard dogs couldn't cope with him.
Wiktor has done this all season to so many opposing defences.
What a great engine he has, and when you think that this is his first season at this level after a big jump up from where he was playing last year, what a fantastic season he is having.
Very possibly my Player of the Season.
A first half that never seemed to lack for incident or attacking intent, ended with a glorious second goal for Slough.
Wiktor doing a pretty good impression of Georgie Best weaving around the goalkeeper to slide the ball into the back of the Hornchurch net.
The only concern then was what looked like a very worrying injury to Wiktor that only became apparent after he had scored..
When the  half-time whistle went straight afterwards, Wiktor seemed to require help from two staff members to be  carried off the field, although he was thankfully able to limp unaided when he got a bit nearer the dressing rooms.
I was surprised but very pleased that Wiktor reappeared for the second half.
As we all know, 2-0 is a dangerous score line, and Hornchurch made it 2-1 much earlier than I would have wanted in the second half.
Looked like a clever back heeled goal to me.
At  2-1 up, and with such a decent amount of time remaining in the match, with an injury depleted team, away to a team in form and 2nd in the league, I would gladly have settled then for a 2-2 draw and a very valuable point come the end of the game.
Then came what I feared might be a turning point in the match.
Wiktor on his own  in the 'D' on the edge of the Hornchurch penalty area, had a fantastic chance to make the score 3-1.
He lobbed the ball over the Hornchurch goalie, but agonisingly and frustratingly the ball this time, unlike on Tuesday night against Bath, hit the top of the bar and went out of play.
At 3-1 up, the game would have been so much more secure for us.
At  2-1 still, the pressure was going to be immense for us to hold on for the win.
By now we had a defence containing basically a new goalkeeper, a new left back, a new right back and a youngster Balu who has started a handful of games for us.
They were all magnificent yesterday, (as also was Kiki and Dan at left-back before he got substituted.)
Hornchurch equalised with what I thought was a dodgy goal, although when I see the video highlights of the game I might change my mind, but it did look to me as though Alfie had both hands on the ball and the Hornchurch player kicked it out of them. 
At 2-2 with about ten minutes to go I definitely, 100%, would have taken a 2-2 draw and a point come full time.
With Scott Davies' Slough Town though, I should know better by now.
In the last minute a smart interception by Brian Nelson (who also had a great game, but then who didn't yesterday in an amber shirt), led to a very probing pass forward to Wiktor, who yet again squirmed past one of Hornchurch's muscular defenders in the box, and just managed to get his toe to the ball to nudge it just past the despairing dive of the oncoming Hornchurch goalkeeper.
Amazingly and so incredibly excitingly, Jaiden was there (what was he doing so far up the pitch in the last minute ?)  to take Wiktor's pass, and he had the easy task of putting the ball in the back of the Hornchurch net.
Unbelievable.
Just as only a few days earlier away at Bath, ecstatic scenes on both the pitch, touchlines and terraces.
One of those you had to be there moments.
Hornchurch continued  to have a right go to try to score in the minutes added on at the end of the 90, but we held firm and had achieved another astounding, incredible, amazing away victory. 

Yet again we are in a spell where injuries sadly are increasing, but you wouldn't know it from our performances such as those we have witnessed in our last two very tough away games.
I regularly watch other manager's interviews, and read many other clubs fans forums, and so often they make comments or write words which are  so negative about their respective team's players.
There seems a lack of team spirit within a lot of camps.
That is something you could never say about Scott's Slough Town team.

Scott talks in his after match interviews about how he is amazed at what his players produce on the pitch in games.
Scott has got the players to 'buy into the cause.'
That is a fantastic quality to have.

A very special quality.
The team, management and supporters celebrating together at the end of the match yesterday was yet again, so wonderful to be part of. 
To see videos this morning uploaded of Slough fans singing in the Hornchurch clubhouse before kick off, to see the rejoicing on the terraces at each Slough goal, and even to see fans singing along to the Slough Town drum on the train going home after the match, continue the massively 'feel good' feeling I have still today after the result  yesterday afternoon.
What a great result it was yesterday.
What a great performance.
What a very special day it was. 
 
P.S.
After a day like yesterday you wouldn't think it could get any better.
It did.
For me anyway.
I haven't got a smartphone,so only really see the football scores when I get home after the match.
Did anybody else notice the game at Bolton yesterday  ?
The Wy'scum (Satan's very own football club) were playing there.
In the 88th minute of the match, the 'Scum were winning 2-0.

Final score was  

Bolton Wanderers  3   'Scum 2.
An absolutely wonderful  example I would say of it being "Two nil, and you F***ed it up" ! 
Thank You God, Thank You.
What a truly fantastic day it was yesterday.
    
 

 

 

  

Edited March 8 by Holyport Rebel