SLOUGH Town made a successful start to the defence of their Berks & Bucks Senior Cup crown after a 3-2 win on penalties against MK Dons on Tuesday night, writes Rob Stevens.
The Rebels conceded a two-goal lead as the quarter final tie finished 2-2 in normal time at Arbour Park, but the home side then held their nerve to win the shoot-out.
Slough have joined both Wycombe Wanderers and Newport Pagnell Town in the hat for the semi final draw with Marlow set to host Reading in the final quarter final tie tonight.
The Rebels took the chance to rotate their small squad and made six changes from the side that lost to Berkshire rivals Hungerford Town in the National League South last weekend.
Both Aaron Kuhl and Manny Williams were handed a rare start while Paul Hodges was available again after suspension. The trio of Sean Fraser, Scott Davies and Ben Harris also returned to the starting line-up.
The hosts opened the scoring inside 15 minutes when Davies spotted Andy Fisher off his line and lobbed the Dons keeper from just inside his own half.
It is the second time the former professional midfielder has scored in a Slough shirt and both have been wonder strikes from inside his own half. The first came in a league match against Eastbourne Borough back in January.
PHOTO: Slough Town midfielder Scott Davies scored with a wonder goal from inside his own half against MK Dons.
The Rebels doubled the advantage with a goal from Harris in the 19th minute. The striker won a free-kick 25-yards from goal and put the set-piece in the bottom left-hand corner.
It is his 13th goal in all competitions this season and his fourth for Slough in the Senior Cup.
Football League club MK Dons halved the arrears as Dyllan Asonganyi scored from a tight angle off the inside of the far post nine minutes before half-time.
The Dons came close to scoring either side of the strike from Asonganyi as Slough keeper Jack Turner got down to his near post to palm away a shot before producing a great save to push another over the crossbar.
Slough made a change at the break to replace goal scorer Harris with Daniel Roberts and the substitute came close to scoring eight minutes into the second half. He was put through and tried to find the corner from a tight angle but put is effort well wide of the goal.
MK Dons were gifted the chance to level the scores when Kuhl brought down Asonganyi inside the box. The same player dusted himself down and sent Turner the wrong way with the resulting spot-kick in the 50th minute.
The visitors had an opportunity to get their noses in front on the hour mark as Turner parried a shot, but the loose ball was put wide.
PHOTO: Slough Town striker Ben Harris scored his 13th goal of the season in the win against MK Dons
The Rebels had a chance to win the tie inside the final 20 minutes when substitute Warren Harris raced away down the right and into the box but blasted his shot high over the bar.
The match went to penalties and the trio of Roberts, Turner and Davies all scored from the spot, but captain Mark Nisbet saw his effort saved.
MK Dons saw one effort fly over the crossbar another hit the bar and a third saved by Turner.
Slough currently stand in fourth position in the National League South and make the trip to third-placed Weymouth this Saturday (3pm). The two sides drew 1-1 in the reverse fixture at Arbour Park back in August.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here