SO there is light at the end of the tunnel after all.
By taking a point off long-time league leaders Slough Town at Communications Park on Saturday, Daventry Town showed emphatically they have the wherewithal to move away from the relegation zone.
The Rebels had not lost a league game since December 10. The Town had not won one since the same date but the weekend contest could still could have gone either way with both sides threatening to break the 1-1 deadlock in the last half-hour.
Daventry began a shade nervously but took the lead after only 15 minutes on recalling Adam Confue, Tom Berwick and John Powis after the 2-0 midweek defeat by new leaders St.Neots. Confue latched on to a bad clearance to open the scoring.
But the Rebels should have equalised just before half-time when Town goalkeeper Joe Mellings was assessed to have upended experienced visiting striker Lloyd Owusu.
Slough’s top scorer Danny Burnell scuffed the spot-kick, allowing Mellings to parry the shot. This was then scrambled to safety by the Town defenders. Even so the visitors were back on terms early in the second-half.
This time Owusu did the job himself, catching out the Town defence at the far post to head home a cross from full-back Stuart Swift.
By that time Daventry striker Howard Forinton had left the fray with a cut head.
After that an intriguing clash could have gone either way. First Berwick needed too much time on the ball inside the penalty area, then Aaron Parkinson and substitute Ashley Robinson both had shots blocked.
Mellings brought off a fine save from Paul Coyne before Slough goalkeeper James Warrington made a point-blank save from Robinson after a free-kick from man-of-the-match George Thompson.
“Congy” then cleared one off the line and Mellings again saved well from Nathan Bowden-Hasse as a determined Daventry side held out to pick up only their second point in 10 matches.