'Bang average but a good point' – Davies reflects on 'bore-fest' with Horsham

Adam Desbois was in fine form again on Saturday. Credit: Zak Rana

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Scott Davies admits Saturday’s goalless draw with Horsham was a ‘bore-fest’ but the Rebels boss was pleased his side was able to grind out another useful point on an afternoon of low entertainment.

The Rebels have dazzled in recent weeks, winning their last three in the National League South against Chelmsford City, Maidstone United and Weston-Super-Mare while finding the goals easy to come by.

But on this occasion, they struggled to get their fluent attacking game going, nullified by disciplined defensive display from their visitors. Horsham will probably feel they could have won the game on the balance of clear-cut chances. Slough had very few while they managed to work their way through the Rebels defences on more than one occasion – however, in those moments they were thwarted by the excellent Adam Desbois.

An erratic opening to the game from the Rebels could have seen them chasing the game. But they managed to stay on level terms and improved significantly after the interval, without creating many moments to get supporters off their seats.

While this was a forgettable clash – with Davies confiding afterwards it had been an ‘awful game of football’ – he was still pleased with the point, which lifts Slough 12 points clear of the relegation zone.

Get your week off to the best possible start with all the highlights from Saturday’s draw with Horsham #OneSloughhttps://t.co/YX2N0Hx7w1

— Slough Town FC (@sloughtownfc) February 16, 2026

“It was a bore-fest,” he told Connor McNeish for Sloughtownfc.net after the final whistle. “I wasn’t ever really off the edge of my seat. It didn’t really excite me to be honest.

“We lacked a bit of energy and tempo. There were five changes to the team as well which were kind of enforced. We didn’t really carry an attacking threat, and I was kind of disappointed at half-time and I told the lads.

I thought we were much better in the second half and we played in their half a lot more. I’m not saying we had them camped in, it was far from that. They probably had the better opportunities and will be disappointed they haven’t nicked it from one of the chances they had.

“I think we’ve got the best keeper in the league in goal. I thought he (Desbois) was superb. I thought we defended our box ok for large periods, but there were a couple of sloppy moments when we got caught on the ball.

“We gifted them a couple of half chances, but going the other way, I don’t really remember anything of note when you’re thinking we’ve got to score. We were bang average is the truth. But to bang average and to keep a clean sheet and put another point on the board against a good side, listen, because of the run we’ve been on, it becomes a good point.

“I said to one of their management team after the game, ‘what an awful game of football’ and I thought it was. We disrupted the way that they played at times because they’re a good footballing teams, and our attacking strengths didn’t come out today as much as we’d have liked. It’s another point and a clean sheet.”

Slough were missing a few regulars for the visit of Horsham, most notably their player manager himself, with Davies having to accept he can’t continue playing with the slight hamstring strain he recently picked up. They were also without attacking options Jared Myers – who should return from his rolled ankle in a week or so – and Basil Tuma, who’ll miss up to six weeks with a longer-term injury. Davies hopes the club can extend his loan deal with Reading to at least ensure he can finish the season with the Rebels.

Without those players they missed some of the cutting edge they’ve displayed in recent weeks. Coming into Saturday, Slough had won seven of their previous nine matches to lift themselves away from relegation danger, and though a push for the top seven is likely to be beyond them, they would love to win many more games between now and April to finish as high as they can.

“We set ourselves a target of getting 10 wins quite a while ago, and at the time it looked like a really difficult target,” said Davies.

“But the lads have racked up seven wins in the past few weeks, and results elsewhere have also been kind to us today, so that’s why it’s a very good point.

“A year or two ago, I might have thrown caution to the wind to try and win that game, and we’d have probably lost it, but I’m learning all the time. I think we’ve drawn the least number of games in the league, and these are points we need to pick up because it gets us closer to our target of 50 points. The best way to draw a game, I believe is nil nil.”

On the injuries, Davies added: “Jared rolled his ankle. a week or two. Basil is out for six weeks. Hugely disappointing. Hopefully he can come back to us for maybe the last month of the season if we can extend his loan with Reading.

“Myself, I’ve done my hamstring. I did it against Chelmsford – I played against Maidstone and Weston, but I had to surrender the other day. I got told by the management team it would be stupid and naive of me to play again. It felt weird being on the side.

“I don’t really do injuries, and this is my first one in a long time. But it was great to see Luke (Holness) back today and the boys in there are doing well. At times today it was brilliant to watch Tyrique Clarke too. Overall, it’s not the worst result in the world. “