Scott Davies admits Rebels' draw with Chelmsford was 'probably a fair result'

Successive goalless draws at home have left Slough Town two points from safety in the relegation zone, however, few of the sides around them will be able to match the Rebels 10-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

Scott Davies’ side may be struggling to lift themselves away from the danger zone after a disappointing start to the campaign, however, there were plenty of encouraging signs in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Chelmsford.

There was always likely to be a bit of a hangover from Tuesday’s magnificent 2-0 FA Cup win over Ebbsfleet United, however, once the home side had sweated out that lethargy, they created more than enough chances to win the game.

David Ogbonna was named man-of-the-match by the sponsors, and he created the chance of the game in the second half with a dazzling piece of skill on the touchline. It resulted in George Alexander being denied by the keeper from point-blank range after captain Josh Jackman’s shot from the edge of the area had been deflected to the striker.

Speaking to Connor McNeish for Sloughtown.net, Davies said: “The first 45 minutes I thought was flat and the boys looked leggy and tired. People say that’s to be expected, but we talked about that before the game, about starting with a tempo and we just never really got going.

“We still had a couple of half decent chances. But second half I thought we looked bright. David Ogbonna gave us a real spark. He was excellent at times. I thought we were going to get ourselves ahead in the game, but we didn’t manage to do it.

“Obviously, they then went down to 10 men but sometimes that makes it a bit more difficult. But they still had a couple of chances.

“Overall, I’m a bit deflated we couldn’t find a goal but at the same time, if you’re going to draw a game, I’d like to do it with a 0-0. That’s another clean sheet, and seven in 10 games now. It shows that we’re not conceding many goals, but we’ve haven’t managed to score at home to Weymouth and then again today which is disappointing.”

On Ogbonna’s display Davies added: “He’s so exciting. I think with David, he does the first bit so well and it’s just the end product sometimes that we’re looking for. But I have no problem with David, that will come. He’s still only 22 years old. He’s going to be a really good player and his ceiling is a lot higher than what he’s doing now. When he gets running at people, I get excited as a player and manager. We’re enjoying watching him, but I’d like to see him chip in with a few more goals and assists.”

Davies also felt the referee and the match officials had an impact on the game, with Chelmsford’s Luke Jenkins and the Rebels’ Temi Eweka both seeing red in the second half. He felt they set the tone for a card happy display by booking Slough’s Sundire Munashe after only a couple of minutes.

“It’s getting ridiculous,” said Davies. “It was probably one of the most genuinely contested matches I’ve played in in a long time. Two sides that were going for the ball and they weren’t moaning about tackles. I don’t think there was a bad tackle in the game, but we’ve had two people sent off and the number of yellow cards now is destroying the game. On another day there should have been two or three bookings, but I think there were 10 or 11. It’s every week and someone has got to do something. There will be so many players suspended and it’s also costing clubs a fortune. We can’t afford to keep paying £200 per match. They are getting card happy and it’s not helping anyone.”

The Rebels now face a couple of tricky looking away fixtures at St Albans City tomorrow evening (October 24, 7.45pm kick-off) and Eastbourne Borough on Saturday.

“We take a point from today,” he added. “That’s five wins and five draws now and after the Tonbridge game (which the Rebels lost 5-2) we’d have taken that. But at the same time, I think a draw was probably a fair result.

“We had a (points) target for Chelmsford, St Albans and Eastbourne and hopefully we can still achieve that.

“There are some tired bodies and legs in there, and we may look to freshen things up a bit. St Albans are a good side. They will use the ball well; the pitch is huge. It’s a good game for us and we’ll have to prepare. We’ll worry about St Albans first and then Eastbourne and take each game as it comes. We’ve set a target for the week, and I think we can achieve that. We don’t want to be in a relegation battle, but we’re two points adrift with a game in hand here and there. With the FA Cup we’ll also have some re-arranged games. It’s a congested fixture list and the squad is not huge so we need to make sure we look after them and get people out there who can play at the tempo we want to play at.”