Rebels make it 23 games unbeaten at Arbour Park
Goddard’s second half penalty sees them come from behind for draw
Slough Town 1, Welling United 1
Slough Town maintained their incredible home record in all competitions as they brought the curtain down on an impressive campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Welling United on Saturday.
A season that began with the Rebels losing six of their opening seven matches to sit bottom of the pile ended with Scott Davies’ side sitting proudly in 10th place.
They may have drawn too many of their matches in the run-in to maintain their challenge for a play-off finish, but it’s still been a remarkable campaign for Slough and one that bodes well for their hopes next season.
Incredibly they also haven’t lost at Arbour Park in any competition since their 5-2 defeat to Tonbridge Angels back on September 2. It’s now 23 matches and counting for Davies’ side who’ll take that proud record into the start of next season as they look to maintain the kind of form that’s seen them shoot up the standings in recent months.
After away wins over Taunton Town and Hemel Hempstead Town, the spoils were shared with Welling thanks to a 77th minute penalty from top scorer Johnny Goddard.
The Rebels started well on their own patch, with David Ogbonna rattling the crossbar in the 41st minute – one of several chances for them in a goalless first half. But in a slightly more subdued second half from the hosts, Reece Grant poked home the opening goal for Welling in the 71st minute.
They led for all of six minutes as Ogbonna was yanked to the floor in the area and Goddard coolly converted from the penalty spot to level the scores.
The game was played out in front of a record National League South attendance for the Rebels of 1,849. It was the fourth highest in the division on Saturday.
Afterwards there were more reasons to celebrate for Slough players and their supporters. The end of season awards took place on the pitch, with Johnny Goddard claiming another hattrick. He was named the player’s player of the season and supporters’ player of the season and picked up the Golden Boot award as the side’s top scorer.
Trae Cook-Appiah’s outrageous overhead kick in the recent win at Taunton Town was crowned goal of the season while Dan Bayliss got the nod from Scott Davies as his player of the season. An excellent season from David Ogbonna saw him named as the young player of the season while skipper Josh Jackman
claimed the Kevin McGoldrick Award.
The club also announced on Saturday that they’d agreed a revised 50-year lease for Arbour Park, securing Slough’s long-term future at a ground that’s very much become home in recent seasons.
The Rebels have agreed the new lease with Slough Borough Council and ensure they will remain an ‘integral part of the Slough community for decades to come’.
The new lease runs until May 2074. Arbour Park has been the club’s home since August 2016 after 14 years of groundsharing arrangements with Windsor & Eton FC and Beaconsfield Town.