Scott Davies facing toughest spell but Slough Town hope to make FA Cup memories

Boss Scott Davies said Slough Town are facing their toughest spell since he took over as manager but he hopes his side can ‘make memories’ in next weekend’s FA Cup first round.

The Rebels slipped into the relegation zone on Saturday after a 4-1 thumping at home to Maidstone United – which saw ex Rebel John Gilbert score twice.

Davies had given Slough hope when his deft 52nd minute free-kick halved the visitors’ first half lead.

But slack defending allowed the Stones to regain their two-goal advantage shortly before the hour mark through Antony Papadopoulos.

Jephte Tanga compounded Slough’s misery in the 83rd minute after he capitalised following an underhit back pass from Dan Roth.

Davies didn’t emerge from the changing room for 45 minutes after the game as his squad exchanged some ‘home truths’ about where things have been going wrong.

Slough’s player/manager said: “For me this has probably been the hardest part of the three years. There was a bad start to the season a couple of years ago which was tough but that was early on, it wasn’t 10 or 12 games in.

“Obviously the injuries are a huge, huge loss but we had a couple back today for 45 minutes which was a positive.

“It’s difficult because it consumes you, you go home and you think what can I do better to help the boys.

“But days like today when there’s individual errors, you can’t legislate for that. There’s nothing tactically we can give them that can stop those goals happening. It’s just a bit of pride and individual battles need to be won to stop those goals going in.”

The Rebels have been facing an injury crisis in recent weeks and that has been compounded by skipper Henry Ochieng’s knee injury which is set to sideline him for up to four months.

This loss could lead Slough to search for a replacement, Davies said, due to Ochieng's importance in the spine of the team.

“Henry is our skipper for a reason, he’s our tempo setter and he’s the one we turn to when things aren’t going well. He’s a huge loss.”

Slough did welcome back defenders Reiss Greenidge and Tyrese Dyce on Saturday who both managed to complete 45 minutes.

Their return failed to plug Slough’s leaky defence though as Maidstone, and particularly Tanga, exploited Slough down the channels throughout the game.

Davies’ trademark free-kick gave the Rebels hope of salvaging something from the game.

But Slough felt the match’s pivotal moment came moments before after Stones defender David Sesay escaped a red card for tripping Wiktor Makowski as he surged through on goal.

Any disappointment from Saturday’s disappointing defeat will need to be quickly forgotten as the Rebels welcome National League side Altrincham to Arbour Park this weekend with a place in the FA Cup second round at stake.

Victory at this stage of the competition would hand Slough a £47,750 prize fund while also leaving them just one game away from a potential match-up with Premier League opposition.

Davies added: “It’s all about memories for me. We had it against Grimsby for the supporters where they saw a mammoth effort against them here and I thought we were unlucky not to win.

“The fans are going to be here for a lot longer than we are and if we can deliver on that front then great.

“Our bread and butter is the league but we can also put a smile on people’s faces for a short period of time in the FA Cup and that’s something I’m desperate to deliver for the supporters, the players, the board.

“Hopefully next Saturday we’ll see a right reaction from the players and we can go out there and put a performance which is worth of being proud of.”