Davies eyes strong finish to season after Rebels share spoils with AFC Totton

Reiss Greenidge scored a fantastic equaliser at AFC Totton. Photo: Zak Rana

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Scott Davies has said grinding out hard-earned points on the road shouldn’t be underestimated after the Rebels bounced back from Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Worthing to share the spoils with AFC Totton on Tuesday night.

The Rebels may not have won in three league matches, and Davies admits he’s desperate to savour that feeling once again. But they have been edging themselves clear of the relegation skirmishes taking place beneath them, with Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at The Snows Stadium keeping them 11 points above the drop zone.

They were generally outplayed by a very strong Worthing side in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat, with Davies admitting the hosts could have doubled their goal tally. But the Rebels are a resilient bunch and they managed to claim a crucial point against Totton on Tuesday, despite playing on a difficult, heavy pitch which Davies said sapped energy from the players legs.

Having fallen behind late in the first half to a goal from Christie Ward, central defender Reiss Greenidge levelled matters on the hour mark with a wonderful solo goal that left the Rebels’ bench ‘gobsmacked’.

“Overall, I actually thought they edged last night’s game over 90 minutes,” said Davies.

“But we’re never going to have things all our own way away from home. It was a really tough surface and it’s the same for both teams, but it was really sapping on the legs. After a tough game on Saturday at Worthing.

“We rang the changes at 60 minutes and made four subs. I felt that gave us a fresh impetus in the game and we kicked on. In the end we were very happy to gain a point on the road and that can never be underestimated.

“Yeah, we were all gobsmacked on the side of the pitch (when Reiss scored). He’s gone past his man on the pitch, cut in and has finished it really well. I was over the moon for Reiss. He’s had a tough period because of injury but last night he was superb. One of the biggest positives from the game was his performance.”

Recent results have left Slough’s season at a bit of a crossroads. They sit 15th in the table, 11 points above the drop zone and 10 points of the play-off spots. Neither a relegation scrap or promotion push is a likely scenario in the remaining weeks of the season, but Davies would still like his side to finish strongly and push for some of the targets they’ve been set by the management team. He does not want the campaign to fizzle out like last season.

“We know we’ve got some games at home that we’re targeting to pick up maximum points,” he said.

“Going away from home we’ve been guilty in the last few years of going for broke and trying to win the game. Now we realise the value of picking up a draw here or there. They can’t be frowned upon, and we’ve shown a different side of our character.

“We did that well yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, Adam Desbois was called on a few times and he was excellent.

“Everyone outside of our inner circle has said that we’re safe, but we’re not getting complacent. I think when complacency kicks in that’s when it comes back to haunt you.

“For us it’s about getting to the 50-point mark as quickly as we can. I still feel like there’s a lot of work to do, but we also don’t want to crawl over the line.

“We want to finish the season as strongly as we can and we have bigger aspirations than just getting to 50 points. If we slowly looked at that as a target, we’d take our foot off the gas. The players aren’t like that and I’m not either and we want to finish the season strongly and move up the table.

This Saturday they welcome Dover Athletic to Arbour Park and while the Rebels will be targeting three points, Davies knows the game will be far from straightforward against a pacy, powerful team who sit just behind Slough in the National League South table. Davies hopes to return from injury for the clash while Jared Myers should also return to the fold in a couple of weeks. The on-loan Reading forward Basil Tuma is not expected back until early April.

“It’s always a tough game against Dover, I’ve never actually beaten them in my managerial career so it would be nice to get three points,” said Davies.

“They’re having a great season. They’re very similar to us in the way they play and the players they’ve got. They’ve got pace and energy and power. It’s a good game for us to have and hopefully we can get the three points and move closer to where we want to be.

“We want a win; it’s been three games without one now. We’ve been spoiled over the last 12 games where we’ve had seven wins, but we want to get that feeling again.”