Battling Rebels rocked by dubious decisions in Five-Goal Hornchurch blitz

Johnny Goddard celebrates his first half goal. Credit: Zak Rana

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Slough Town 2, Hornchurch 5

Slough Town were left stewing over a couple of controversial refereeing decisions as they collapsed to a 5-2 defeat at home to league leaders Hornchurch this afternoon.

The Rebels took the lead in the first half when Johnny Goddard ran onto an excellent pass from Josh Adepoju and swept the ball home left-footed, having seen his initial shot blocked by an Urchins’ defender.

The hosts could justifiably claim to have had the better of the opening half hour or so, despite Tom Wraight’s thumping equaliser for Hornchurch in the 32nd minute.

But a game which had been firmly in the balance tilted decisively Hornchurch’s way in the final five minutes of the half on the strength of one – or possibly two- mystifying decisions by referee Steven Swan.

The first saw Slough’s Tarik Gidaree yellow carded for a dive in the box when it seemed to all but the staunchest Hornchurch fans that Gidaree had been fouled and bundled over as he raced through on goal.

The Rebels supporters appealed in expectation of a penalty - and for Hornchurch’s covering defender to be shown a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Instead, the match official pulled out a yellow card for simulation by Gidaree.

If supporters inside Arbour Park were dumbfounded by that decision, they were positively seething when Peter Ojemen was then shown a straight red card following a robust challenge on Charlie Pegrum.

This decision was slightly less controversial, with Ojemen all but certainly catching Pegrum as the two clashed close to the dugouts by the touchline but coming so quickly after the decision to overlook Slough’s penalty and red card appeal, it felt like salt was being rubbed into open wounds.

The half-time whistle sounded shortly afterwards, and it’s to Slough’s credit that they managed to wrestle back momentum in this clash during the second half - if only for a short while.

Player manager Scott Davies rang the changes at half-time, bringing on Brian Nelson for Slough’s goal scorer Johnny Goddard in midfield, Ruben Bartlett-Antwi for Josh Adepoju and Makumbi for Gidaree. And the hosts fell into a lower block, looking to hit their visitors quickly on the counterattack with balls over the top for Wiktor Makowski and Bartlett-Antwi to chase.

Rebels’ keeper Adam Desbois was forced into a couple of decent saves, while at the other end, Slough kept their visitors honest, with Makowski doing well to set up Tyrique Clarke for a shot that flew over the crossbar in the 51st minute.

The hosts then put the cat firmly amongst the pigeons with a second goal in the 66th minute.

Makowski did brilliantly to wriggle free from his markers and dink a beautiful ball through for the alert Bartlett-Antwi, who drew the keep and lofted the ball over him to make it 2-1.

Arbour Park erupted, and the Rebels had a lead to try and cling to. Not only that but they maybe could have added to their advantage when Bartlett-Antwi was played in again on the break but saw his low effort parried by Nasta.

Slough’s lead lasted less than 10 minutes however, as Wraight smashed his side level once again with a half-volleyed effort from just inside the box. Desbois, who was terrific all game, looked like he was unsighted as the ball flashed past him at a saveable height.

Hornchurch then took the lead in the 77th minute when a corner from the right was flicked on by an Urchins’ head and substitute Charlie Ruff was quickest to react and headed home from close range. Ruff came close to adding a fourth as he was denied by another splendid Desbois save, while Bartlett-Antwi was denied once again by Nasta when in another good position in the 81st minute.

Slough clung onto Hornchurch’s coattails until the 87th minute when the lively Darren McQueen was played through on the left and he slipped the ball past Desbois to make it 4-2.

The Urchins then scored a fifth deep into stoppage time when Josh Rees ran through and poked the ball wide of Desbois and into the bottom corner.

The final score was certainly harsh on the Rebels, who gave a decent account of themselves with 10 and 11 men, but the floodgates sadly opened after Ruff headed Hornchurch’s third in the 77th minute.

On social media at least, manager Davies was phlegmatic about the defeat and decisions that went against his side, saying: “11 vs 11 I thought it was a pretty decent game and that we were doing okay.

“After the red it was always going to be tough but the lads gave it a right go against a team that are flying high. Big decisions didn’t go our way but it is what it is. Onto the next one.”

The thoughts of Wiktor Makowski and Ruben Bartlett-Antwi after @sloughtownfc’s 5-2 defeat to leaders @HornchurchFC at Arbour Park. Some big calls went against the Rebels in this one. pic.twitter.com/PXgDjlDkP2

— Daniel Darlington (@Darlington10) September 20, 2025

The result sees Slough slip to 19th in the table - now just two points above the drop zone - while Hornchurch continue to lead Weston Super Mare at the top by a point having now won seven and drawn two of their opening nine matches. They are the only unbeaten team in the division.

Slough are in FA Cup action next weekend when they travel to Bedfont Sports in the third qualifying round.