JON Underwood has challenged Slough Town to turn Arbour Park into a fortress once again after watching his team secure a first home win in three matches.

The Rebels marked their long-awaited homecoming with a win against Hayes & Yeading back in August, and they went unbeaten in the first four games inside the new stadium.

A poor run of form saw Slough win just twice in the league this month, but Underwood is keen to build on the 2-0 victory against Banbury on Tuesday evening.

“I was really pleased with the result and the performance after Saturday, which was really disappointing,” the Rebels joint-manager told the Observer. “We wanted to perform better and get on a good run again in the league.

“It wasn’t easy because Banbury are a decent side and beat us [1-0] at the start of the season, but I thought we deserved the win.

“It was a really professional performance and we improved defensively. We concentrated much better.”

Guy Hollis and dead ball specialist James Dobson scored the goals in midweek as Slough moved up one place to second in the Southern Premier Division table.

The Rebels are now four points behind leaders Leamington with a game in hand but, perhaps more crucially, 10 points ahead of Dunstable who are just outside the play-offs in sixth position.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: James Dobson celebrates his second goal - and 14th of the season - in the 2-0 win against Banbury United on Tuesday.

Underwood commented: “With Merthyr [fifth] losing at Basingstoke it opens up a gap, which is good because they’re our rivals for promotion.

“There are lots of big games coming up between sides at the top and teams are going to drop points. It’s about picking up as many points and wins as you can, and staying consistent.

“Our run of nine wins earlier on in the season put us in a strong position and meant we could afford a poor run but still be in contention.

“We’ve had a little bit of a wobble results wise but are determined to find our consistency again now. We’ve won our last two league and want to build on that.”

Slough welcome Frome Town to Arbour Park this Saturday (3pm), before a tough trip to third in the table Chippenham on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Underwood said: "We've not beaten Frome since we've been in the Premier Division, so they're a bogey side for us, but it's a match we would like to win to keep our win going.

“We have to get back to making Arbour Park a tough place to come again, so we will go out all guns blazing to get the three points.