Ten-man Slough beaten at Plainmoor

Slough Town were heavily beaten by Torquay United at Plainmoor, with five second-half goals turning the match decisively in the hosts’ favour after the Rebels had briefly taken the lead through Saikou Janneh.

The Rebels had defended resolutely during a goalless first half, but were reduced to ten men when Dennis Adeniran was shown a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Slough moved in front from the penalty spot shortly after half time, Janneh converting after Kyle Brooks had been brought down inside the box.

Torquay responded quickly, however, with substitute Matt Jay levelling before Callum Morton completed the turnaround eight minutes later.

Jacob Beaumont-Clark then struck twice late on, either side of a goal from Luke Browne, as the Gulls turned a narrow advantage into a comprehensive victory.

There were two debut starts for Slough, with goalkeeper Killian Barrett and defender Terell Thomas both making their first appearances for the club.

Torquay started brightly and had two opportunities inside the opening four minutes. Cody Cooke fired over from close range after getting on the end of a low cross, before Sean Robertson’s diving header from a cross from the left flashed wide.

Slough gradually settled and began to frustrate the hosts, with a number of offside decisions disrupting Torquay’s attempts to build momentum.

The Rebels had their first sight of goal when Jared Myers found space on the right and delivered into the box, with Janneh heading wide from the resulting cross.

Myers was again involved shortly afterwards as Slough looked to threaten from the right, while Jacob Beaumont-Clark saw two efforts blocked for the hosts after making progress into the box.

Torquay remained the more threatening side overall, though, and Elijah Oladunjoye and Terell Thomas were required to make important defensive interventions.

Thomas produced an especially timely challenge in the 36th minute after a misplaced Slough pass released Roberts, preventing the Torquay winger from getting a shot away.

At the other end, Janneh was presented with another opportunity when a Slough cross from the right picked him out unmarked at the back post, but the forward was unable to keep his header on target.

The biggest moment of the first half arrived just before the interval.

Adeniran was booked in the 42nd minute and then received a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time, leaving Slough to play the entire second half with ten men.

Torquay made two changes at the interval, introducing Deon Moore and Callum Morton for Cody Cooke and Sean Robertson.

Slough also made a double change, with Latrell Humphrey-Ewers and Godlove Oppong replacing Myers and Luke Holness as the Rebels reshaped following Adeniran’s dismissal.

Despite being down to ten, Slough stunned the hosts by taking the lead on the hour.

Brooks was brought down inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty, with Torquay unhappy with the decision. Janneh kept his composure, sending Toby Savin the wrong way to give Slough a 1-0 lead against his former club.

The advantage lasted only two minutes.

Torquay immediately introduced Matt Jay for Dan Hayfield and the substitute made an instant impact, driving a low effort beyond Barrett from the edge of the box to bring the hosts level.

The Gulls then turned the match around in the 70th minute.

Angelo Cappello, another second-half substitute, saw his shot spilled by Barrett and Morton reacted quickest, firing home from close range to put Torquay ahead.

Beaumont-Clark fired wide from the edge of the box as Torquay piled on the pressure.

Arthur Gregory replaced Brooks in Slough’s final change, but Torquay were increasingly able to exploit the extra man as the match entered its final stages.

Barrett was called upon several times to keep the deficit at one, making a good save to deny Beaumont-Clark before holding another effort from the Torquay winger.

The pressure eventually told in the 87th minute when Beaumont-Clark found the bottom corner with a confident finish from the edge of the box to make it 3-1.

Torquay added a fourth three minutes later.

Morton was unable to find a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box but created space for Browne, who stepped onto the ball and drilled a powerful low effort into the net from just outside the area.

There was still time for a fifth, and Beaumont-Clark completed his brace in the third minute of added time, wriggling free inside the box before firing past Barrett and inside the post.

The result leaves Slough with four points from their opening 11 league matches, while the Rebels will now look to respond when they return to Arbour Park next Saturday to welcome Horsham.