SLOUGH TOWN 4 PAULTON ROVERS 2

Once again Rovers lost a two goal advantage, had two players dismissed and were faced with a referee officiating without any consistency.

Slough first chance was after four minutes Scott Harris's cross was met by Ed Smith who clipped the post. Rovers responded with a mazy run from left back Jordan Walker before he was tackled.

On 16 minutes Paulton keeper Kyle Phillips tipped over a long range effort from Ryan Parson's a the heavy rain and wind swirled.

Town midfielder Luke Knight must have been as dismayed as everyone that he stayed on the pitch when his tackled from behind on Mike Bryant went completely unpunished a minute later.

It was Rovers that went ahead on 24 minutes when Jon Davies crossed from the right and Mike Bryant's header hit the far post before running along the line and going in off the other.

However the visitors went down to 10 men three minute later as Stuart Tovey was shown a straight red card for a sliding challenge on Tom Moran.

Within minutes Brandon Barnes fastened on to Walker's ball down the left and Davies drove narrowly over the bar. A minute afterwards home captain James McClurg should have certainly scored but hit his shot over the cross bar from only 8 yards out.

Scott Wilson out paced the defence only for his low shot to be held by six foot six Slough keeper Alex Gogic. Walker was shown a yellow yard for dissent and immediately afterwards a nasty tackle by Billy Jeffreys received only the same punishment.

None the less Rovers doubled their lead five minutes before the interval when Barnes laid the ball to Wilson who passed to Davies, who cut in from the left and fired home.

With the home supporters chanting for the match to be abandoned due to some surface water, the referee seemed in two minds whether to restart the game spending a minute rolling the ball in areas of the pitch.

Slough must have had a stiff talk and they were moving the ball with much more precision with Knight and centre back Reece Yorke firing over the top from distance.

Yorke was only yellow carded from a foul on Walker as the referee continued with his one way leniency and on the hour Phillips was on hand to save at the second attempt from McClurg and then shortly after from Harris after neat Slough build up.

The pressure was telling a on 65 minutes 'The Rebel's' scored after confusion in the box the ball fell to Harris who hit it into the net.

Three minutes later they leveled Knight found Harris in space and he beat Phillips from close range.

Worse was to happen in the seventy fourth minute, Walker again on a jinxing run appear to be sandwiched by two defender. Trying to squeeze through the referee adjudged that he had fouled them. No one was clear whether a second yellow or straight red was shown, but again no action was taken against offending the home players.

Down to nine men and visibly tiring on the very heavy pitch Slough attacked wave after wave with Phillips saving from Yorke before on 79 minutes Harris completing his hat trick to put Town ahead.

From the kick off Paulton should have equalised. Davies broke on the left his shot slowing up in the goal mouth puddles and the ball falling to Wilson who only had to tap into the net from three yards out. The ball struck in the mud, clipped the foot of the post and went out for a goal kick

Rovers kept threatening with sub Darren Jefferies testing Gogic, whilst at the other end Phillips pulled off a brilliant double save from Smith.

In injury time Paulton had a corner and three everyone bar Phillips into the attack and Davies seemed certain to score, but his shot was blocked cleared to Smith ran on to round Phillips and make it an undeserved 4-2.

This was the fifth time this season that Rovers have two goals up and lost and that reflects itself in the league table.