Matt Lench has a night to remember as Slough Town progress in FA Cup

Midfielder Matt Lench has described Slough Town’s 2-0 victory over Ebbsfleet United as ‘one of the best nights’ he has had a Rebels player ‘without a shadow of a doubt’.

Lench produced a man-of-the-match display at Arbour Park on Tuesday night as his side got the better of Dennis Kutrieb’s men to progress to the first round of the FA Cup.

Retaining his place following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the Fleet, Lench proved his worth first spinning his man before delivering a sublime ball into David Ogbonna whose cutback nearly found a Slough man inside the box on the half hour mark.

Much to the delight of the home support, captain Josh Jackman opened the scoring soon after, but Lench had fans celebrating even wilder as he doubled the Rebels’ lead with a splendid solo effort in the 42nd minute.

Speaking to the Express after the game, Lench admitted: “Honestly, it was a bit of a ‘why not?’ moment. My friends were behind the goal, it was an FA Cup match, it felt rude not to give it a go.

“I haven’t had many shots this season, so I thought, ‘go on then, let’s see what happens’, and thankfully it went in.

“Had I missed, George (Alexander) to my right and David to my left would have probably had a word with me because they were both in with a chance of scoring if I hit the right pass.

“I’ll be honest, going into the game I didn’t have overly high hopes of us winning. We were extremely disappointed with how close we came to victory on Saturday.

“但Scotty公平,他使我们that was basically all or nothing. We played three up top and immediately there was a real belief in the team.

“We executed the game plan to a tee, Ebbsfleet couldn’t get a foothold in the game. As a result, we ended up winning quite comfortably although it was very difficult on my old legs.

“It was a brilliant night. It was one of the best nights I have had as a Slough player without a shadow of a doubt.”

Slough Town will face League Two outfit Grimsby Town at home in the first round of the FA Cup and Lench is optimistic about his side’s chances.

“I think we can beat Grimsby, there’s the opportunity for an upset at Arbour Park. Some clubs don’t like playing on 4G,” he said.

“We’ve got a really exciting team and they’re not afraid of playing anyone. We have got quite a lot of young lads that have desires to play in the league, and I think they can.

“From a club standpoint, a long cup run is invaluable. The FA Cup really does give you a lifeline from a financial perspective.

“We’ve got new owners and they’ve been brilliant. It is a testament to them that the atmosphere was what it was on Tuesday night. It is quite difficult on a Tuesday night to get people to Arbour Park and even more so with an England game on. But they managed to get the match sponsored, they managed to have pizza vans there, and I think they deserve a lot of praise. But, if there’s an opportunity to get more funds for the club, we must grab it with both hands.

“From a personal standpoint, the FA Cup means everything to me. I love it. You can come up against brilliant sides and they are the memorable games, they are the ones you look back on when you are retired.

“I’ve dined off a hat-trick in the FA Cup for the last six or seven years (6-0, Gainsborough Trinity, Saturday, November 4, 2017).

“They are the special moments, they make the long drives worthwhile. That is what the FA Cup is to me. It’s a reminder of what is possible and why we play football.”

Lench added: “The dream would be to play Fulham away. My dad would certainly be the happiest man in the world if I wandered out onto the pitch at Craven Cottage. But that’s just a dream right now. We’ve got to play Grimsby. They will be massive favourites, but I think that’s often when we get the best out of our group.”

Slough Town return to league action this Saturday (October 21) as they host Chelmsford City.