SLOUGH TOWN celebrated the out-standing service Kevin McGoldrick has given as club physio with a testimonial match against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Over 1,000 spectators packed out the now complete Arbour Park Community Sports Stadium to honour McGoldrick and his 32-year career with The Rebels.

Slough came from behind to beat the Premier League Baggies 2-1 thanks to goals either side of the break from Warren Harris and Chris Flood.

McGoldrick was given a guard of honour by players from both teams before the match, and afterwards Rebels’ joint-manager Jon Underwood labelled the physio as a “gentleman, and genuine and honesty guy.”

Underwood told the Observer: “Kevin is massive, he is bigger than any of us, he’s more important than any of us.

“He has been here much longer than any of us managers or players, and obviously that loyalty and service is something that is pretty rare.

“I think the biggest thing that everyone says about Kevin is that he is just such a gentleman, he’s such a nice guy, a genuine and honest guy. There’s a lot of respect and love for Kevin at the club and rightly so.

“It was great that he had a great crowd against a good side and I’m really pleased that the players did it for him on the pitch as well as it made it an enjoyable afternoon for him.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: Kevin McGoldrick receives a guard of honour from Slough Town (right) and WBA players before kick-off on Saturday.

“He didn’t have much to do, so that was good, he was pleased. He doesn’t want the limelight so it was a good afternoon for him and I’m sure he enjoyed it.”

Commenting on the win, which extended Slough’s unbeaten run in pre-season to six matches, Underwood said: “I’m really pleased. I thought we were excellent, particularly in the second-half. That was probably as good as we’ve given in pre-season and for a long time here actually.

“I thought we played some great stuff against a good side. It wasn’t the big names that we kind of hoped for, the keeper [Boaz Myhill] is well known but it was a relatively young West Brom side, but still professional players at a Premier League club.

“In the first half I thought they had a lot of the ball and we were a little bit on the back foot, but we said to them at half-time to be a little braver on the ball and have a go at them, and I thought we did.

“We grew in confidence and as the second half wore on I thought we were much the better team, so I’m really pleased with that and to keep the winning run going and it’s all really positive at the moment.”

Slough complete their pre-season preparations with a trip to Tonbridge Angels this Saturday (1pm), before the new Southern Premier Division season begins with a visit to Arbour Park from Kettering Town on August 12.

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