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Fleet 1-2 Slough Town

Slough Town repeated their 2-1 victory the last time they came to Stonebridge Road in the league more than 20 years ago as Oxford United loanee Tyler Goodrham scored both goals to give the Rebels the points.

Having already won at Maidstone this season, Slough clearly fancy their chances in Kent and despite Fleet equalising through Ben Chapman early in the second-half, the hosts switched off minutes later to allow Goodrham to steal in for the winning goal.

There was just the one change for the Fleet, with Alfie Egan coming in for Kieran Monlouis, while new singing Ashley Nathaniel-George was named on the bench following his loan move from Southend United. Slough were without their young top scorer Alfonso Tenconi but named fellow youngster Imran Kayani in their starting eleven.

The visitors showed plenty of positivity in the opening stages and it needed a good tackle from Tobi Adebayo-Rowling to halt Goodhram’s advance as Slough enjoyed possession and space in the Fleet half for the opening quarter of an hour.

Fleet’s first real show of strength came on 14 minutes when Shaq Coulthirst did well to round his man to get a shot away that was blocked and the same happened when Egan attempted a low drive as the ball came back out to him.

Slough thought they’d taken the lead on 20 minutes when Goodhram’s corner was met by Ben Harris, whose momentum took the ball on to the line where Chris Solly managed to hack it away despite protestations from the visitors that it had gone over.

Will Wood had a couple of chances as he snuck into good positions at the near post. First Chapman sent a cross over that Wood headed off target before Coulthirst’s good delivery from the right fell to Wood, who lifted his shot over the bar. Egan was next with a cross but Wood sent that header wide.

And Slough were in front on 28 minutes when Josh Jackman got a foot to a clearance to steer a pass to Goodhram. The youngster found a little space to run and take the ball wide of Chris Solly before curling a great shot out of Louie Moulden’s reach.

Fleet had a penalty appeal turned down six minutes before the break when Adebayo-Rowling let Dominic Poleon off on a run. Lee Togwell tangled with the Fleet striker in the box but there didn’t seem too much wrong with his tackle. Fleet’s best chance came in time added on in the first half, Poleon wriggling through several challenges down the left and his low ball into the six-yard box was met by Wood whose stab at it hit a Slough player on the ground and was cleared courtesy of some last-ditch defending.

Ben Chapman scored Fleet’s equaliser

Nathaniel-George was introduced for Wood for the second-half and it didn’t take Fleet too long to haul themselves back into the game. On 52 minutes, Slough half-cleared from a corner but in came Chapman from 25 yards to send an excellent shot winging its way into the bottom corner past Jonathan North.

But with the scores level, equality lasted only five minutes. George Hunt lifted a high ball towards the Fleet box and as Solly and Moulden both came for it under pressure from Kayani, Solly hooked the ball back to Goodrham who fired under the Fleet goalkeeper for 2-1.

Slough shut up shop after that as Fleet enjoyed plenty of possession and territory propelled by the willing energy of substitute Kieran Monlouis but they just couldn’t pick the lock. Elliott Romain was introduced and his 77th minute turn and shot was as close as Fleet came, a well-worked effort that somehow Slough turned behind for a corner.

Poleon’s promising run was stopped in its tracks and 10 minutes from time a Fleet corner was scrambled out of the six-yard box, where Nathaniel-George got his overhead kick on target, but again the visitors managed to clear.

The loanee was certainly involved and his mazy run from wide minutes later was another promising opening but his final ball skipped clear through a crowd of players. He then fired over after Adam Mekki had won a corner as the minutes ticked down.

A whistle-happy referee kept Fleet fans frustrated, as did Slough’s numerous occasions of players going to ground, but that was to be expected as the visitors had already done their part with the two goals. A couple of late half-chances saw Poleon beaten to Adebayo-Rowling’s cross, a good move between Craig Tanner and Mekki was well defended and then Romain’s header in seven minutes of added time was blocked and Slough were able to celebrate a hard-fought three points.

EUFC: Moulden, Adebayo-Rowling, Chapman, Solly, N’Guessan, Egan (Monlouis 75), Wood (Nathaniel-George 46), Mekki, Tanner, Coulthirst (Romain 69), Poleon. Subs: Haigh, Paxman.
STFC: North, Jackman, Pruti, Togwell, Harris (Worsfold 90), Goodrham, Hunt, Davies, Kuhl, Fraser, Kayani (Nisbet 90+5). Subs: Williams, Goueth
Attendance: 1,106

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