Davies eyes another Rebels FA Cup run but warns Welling will be no walkover

Photo credit: Zak Rana

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Scott Davies would love to repeat Slough Town’s glorious run to the first-round proper of the FA Cup two seasons ago, and give fans memories that will last a lifetime, but first he knows they’ve got to roll up their sleeves and find a way to defeat Welling United.

When the draw was made, Slough weren’t exactly enthused by the prospect of going to Park View Road to take on a Welling side only relegated from the National League South last season. Admittedly, they’ve made a poor start to life in the Isthmian League Premier Division, and Slough rightly go into Saturday’s second qualifying round tie as favourites, however, Davies has warned the trip won’t be for the ‘faint hearted’ and knows his players must earn the right to put their name in the hat for the next round.

“I genuinely think it’s our toughest game this season,” he said. “We’re the step 2 team, they’re the league below now, but they’re still a big football club with a lot of history. They’ve got some very good players, a couple of our old players who have signed there. The expectation is probably on us to go and win the game, but I think that comes with its own pressure. So, I think it’s a difficult game. I think they’re a lot better than what their league position suggests.

“I’ve watched a lot of their games, and they’ve got some good individuals. I know it will be difficult, but we’ll be doing our best to try and get through.

“We want to try and get through, it’s a cup competition and it’s going to be a shootout for 90 minutes and both teams will want to get through. I always think there’s extra spice when it comes to a cup competition.

“We’re going to have to see who is fit and available and we’ll try to get the fittest team out there because we know we’re going to have to run, fight and battle to get a foothold in the game. I don’t think the pitch is conducive to good football.

“Welling away is not for the faint hearted. It’s a game on paper that’s step 2 against step 3, but I don’t see it like that as I know they’ll fancy their chances just as much as we do.”

Slough Town have as much as any non-league club at their level enjoyed great success in the FA Cup in recent history. Two seasons ago they scrapped their way through to the first round proper and played League 2 side Grimsby Town at Arbour Park. A glorious Davies free kick helped earn them a replay and though they were heavily beaten at Blundell Park, those memories haven’t been tarnished for Davies, who said he the competition is incredibly important to him, the club and its supporters.

They head to Welling, currently second bottom of the Isthmian Premier Division, off the back of a disappointing performance at Torquay United on Saturday. Having attempted to go toe-to-toe with the Gulls, they go swept away by a Torquay tornado, conceding four first half goals.

“It’s so important I probably couldn’t put it into words,” he said.

“The first thing, for the fans, the competition gives them some unbelievable memories that you can create together, as you saw a couple of seasons ago at Grimsby. It also gets the club’s name out and about and put on the map if you can get to the first round. Financially it’s huge and from a playing perspective, it enables some of our younger players to maybe catch some of the spotlight.

“The longer you can stay in it, that’s by far the better thing that can happen. I’d love a cup run again and to get to the first round.

“The experience we had a couple of years ago as a club was brilliant and I’d love to be able to repay our supporters with that again.”