Their home is a fortress and now Slough Town are looking down on their Vanarama National League South kingdom.
The Rebels are 25 games unbeaten at Arbour Park and went top of the table on Bank Holiday Monday thanks to a 3-0 win at Aveley – a division containing the likes of Torquay United and Boreham Wood.
And while Slavi Spasov might be leading the goalscoring charts with four, it will be Gary Abisogun’s return to prominence that will leave many with a smile on their faces.
A ‘fan favourite’ at previous club Bracknell Town, Abisogun returned to Bracknell on loan in the second half of last season as he returned to full fitness following a knee injury – he initially joined Slough in the Summer of 2023.
That loan spell lead to some hope he might make the return to Southern League Premier Division Bracknell a permanent one, but Abisogun is firmly in Scott Davies plans at Arbour Park this season making two starts and two substitute appearances from five fixtures so far.
The winger made his mark on Monday away to the Essex side, scoring the 21st minute opener on the rebound from John Ufuah’s shot.
Kweku Lucan and John Gilbert were also on the scoresheet for the Rebels who have beaten Chelmsford City, Enfield Town and Hornchurch in their opening games this season. Tougher tests are certainly on the horizon but it’s unlikely to be from Weymouth on Saturday who are bottom of the table with five defeats from five so far.
East Berkshire Headlines
Bracknell Town ‘defended for their lives’ as nine men held out for a 1-1 draw at Basingstoke Town on Monday. The Robins had beaten Tiverton Town 2-0 on Saturday but were a goal down after two minutes in Hampshire before Jordan Esprit levelled before the break. The Robins were then reduced to nine inside four minutes when George Knight was sent off for a second bookable offence while Dylan Ive saw red shortly after for an off-the-ball incident. Some outstanding goalkeeping from Michael Eacott earned a point for Bracknell.
Maidenhead United earned their first three points of the Vanarama National League season, a 3-1 win over Barnet no less at York Road, a side the Magpies have habitually produced negative results against. We’re reliably informed it’s been 60 years since Maidenhead had beaten Barnet. Reece Smith scored twice while Tristan Abrahams got the other.
The East Berks derby between Binfield and Ascot United finished in a 3-1 win for the Yellas, Taylor Morgan scored twice for Ascot with Sean McCormack scoring the other while Duarte Surpanu registered his first goal for Binfield.
In the Combined Counties League Premier Division North, Holyport continued their strong start to the season with a 3-0 win over Hilltop while in the Premier South Sandhurst Town were beaten 2-1 by Camberley Town, and in Division One Langley suffered a 4-1 home defeat to Yateley United.
