Rebels extend unbeaten home run to 18 matches
All the goals were scored in a chaotic first half as Slough claimed a 3-2 win over Dartford
Slough Town extended their unbeaten home run to 18 matches with a 3-2 win over Dartford which was packed with mistakes and moments of individual quality,
A chaotic first half saw the Rebels twice pegged back after Nathan Minhas and Johnny Goddard had put them in front against the Darts.
Defensive mishaps, including a slip from player/manager Scott Davies, allowed the visitors back into the game.
But exciting prospect David Ogbonna lit up Arbour Park on the stroke of halftime as he arrowed in a left-footed strike before wheeling away to execute a somersault befitting of a remarkable first 45 minutes.
Davies told the Express that he took responsibility for a sloppy first half display but praised his side for securing three points on an evening when they weren’t at their best.
He said: “It wasn’t pretty. I take responsibility as well, I was really poor tonight and that filters throughout the team when that happens.
“3-2 at half-time wasn’t our plan and I thought once we got the first goal we could go and get the second and third and have a comfortable night but we were a little bit off it tonight.
“I think that’s a sign of a good side that we’ve not been at our best but we’ve managed to get three points.”
The tone of the game looked set in the first minute as Nathan Minhas stooped to head home a long throw flicked on by defender Dan Bayliss.
But any hopes of a comfortable evening for Slough were quickly dampened minutes later as player/manager Davies stumbled while in a foot race with Dartford’s lively Olly Box who cooly finished past stand-in Rebels goalkeeper Hugo Sobte.
Ogbonna, so often a source of menace and danger for Slough, won a penalty in the 21st minute as he wriggled into the area, drawing a penalty from the Dartford defence which Johnny Goddard converted.
Slough’s defensive shakiness was punished again on the half-hour mark though as Box turned in a deep cross from Maxwell Statham which Sobte couldn’t keep out.
The hosts could have been behind were it not for an inspired bit of goalkeeping from Sobte who somehow tipped Jack Smith’s goalbound effort over the bar in the 40th minute after it looked to be nestling in the back of the net. Ogbonna then took centre stage as Dartford failed to deal with a ball into the box – allowing the diminutive winger to lash home into the top corner.
The topsy-turvy nature of the game was not to be repeated in the second half but Sobte once again showed his shot-stopping ability as he managed to tip a goalbound header from Joash Nembhard round the post in the 63rd minute. Dartford were reduced to 10 men late on as Nathan Minhas latched on to a through ball only to be pulled back by Nembhard – leading to a straight red card for the Darts defender.
Slough navigated five minutes of injury time with no scares and secured a victory which leaves them three points off the play-off places.
Davies added: “It’s nice to keep the season alive but we’ll see how it goes. There’s no pressure on us to get in there but I think the expectation is rising week by week when we’re winning games of football.”