Welling without boss Stringer but come out on top in five-goal thriller at Slough

BY MARK DOIG

Although manager Rod Stringer was too ill to attend, Welling United did him proud with a stirring 3-2 victory at Slough Town.

Assistant Kevin Watson took over the dugout duties and, between the two of them, they again rang the changes. Goalkeeper Rhys Lovett returned, and Paul Osew and Josh Redfearn were given their first Welling starts.

Teddy Perkins was also in the team for the first time since September as the Wings looked to bounce back from their disappointing F.A. Trophy defeat at the hands of Havant and Waterlooville.

Changes to personnel allowed the management to tweak their formation as they looked to nullify Slough’s front three of Slavi Spasov in the middle and Francis Amartey and David Ogbonna out wide.

Amartey had the first shooting opportunity of the match with an effort that flew into the side netting. However, Welling showed that they were not present just to make the numbers up as they started to ask questions of the Slough defence.

Redfearn’s close control enabled him to send Chiori Johnson away. However, Charlie Horlock, the Rebels’ goalkeeper, was alert to the danger and came out to save at Johnson’s feet.

In the nineteenth minute, Welling made their greater share of the possession count when they went ahead. Maxwell Statham threaded a long pass down the inside right channel and Redfearn held off his man before firing across Horlock and into the bottom corner.

Dan Bayliss went up for a corner but headed over from close range. Josh Jackman then netted. However, the whistle had already been blown for a foul on Jack Burchell.

Just after the half-hour mark, Welling stunned the home supporters, who were expecting a comfortable afternoon, by scoring again. Gene Kennedy’s initial shot was blocked but when it came back to him, he made no mistake, burying it into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Lovett made a good low save from a Leon Chambers-Parrilon header before holding another one comfortably from Bayfield.

Six minutes after the restart, Welling added a third when Kennedy found Johnson, who was enjoying playing in a more advanced position. His first touch took it away from Horlock before he clipped it into the net for his third goal of the season.

That seemed to rouse the Rebels, and they pulled one back five minutes later when it fell kindly for Slavi Spasov, who smashed it home from close range. Sam Evans, who had come on for Slough a few minutes earlier, thought that he had further reduced the deficit only to be denied by a brilliant save by Lovett.

Evans’ introduction meant that the hosts played a more direct style of football, with him being a focal point for Scott Davies’ trademark diagonal passes, and the big target man scored midway through the second period. Frustratingly for the Wings, it came immediately after they had missed a chance to put the game to bed with a wayward final pass. Slough broke and Evans went through to fire past a helpless Lovett.

Amartey shot over from close range, then fired wide from a good position before being replaced by Gary Abisogun. The substitute had a shot deflected wide before firing over with ten minutes remaining.

Experienced Anthony Grant was introduced for the Wings and calmed his team-mates down. In stoppage time, when Welling won a corner, he waited for a Slough player to charge it down and kicked it against him for another corner. He repeated the trick, and Bayliss was so irked that he lost self-control and was dismissed for an awful challenge on Garrett Kelly.

One last chance fell to the hosts when Horlock went up for a corner. However, when it fell for him, he blasted it high into the trees behind the goal.

Whilst Stringer and Watson will have been happy to have let the players enjoy the win, they will have them back in training on Monday to prepare for a busy week with a match at home to Tonbridge Angels on Tuesday evening, then an away game at Aveley on Friday.

PICTURES: DAVE BUDDEN