MAIDENHEAD UNITED 1 ALDERSHOT TOWN 5

The Shots demolish Maidenhead with goals from Marvin Morgan, Kirk Hudson (2), Junior Mendes and Scott Donnelly.

Aldershot Town came into their fifth pre-season game without the (still) injured Nikki Bull, Rhys Day, Jason Milletti and Dave Winfield. Trialist Lee Canoville started the game at right back and super striker Marvin Morgan got his first pre-season start.

Four of Maidenhead's summer signings (keeper Shane Gore, winger Dale Binns and the midfield duo of former Shot Tyron Smith and ex-Shots trialist Ashley Nicholls) started. The ex-Shots connection was continued with the Magpies being managed by Johnson "Drax" Hippolyte and their defence being marshalled by Dominic Sterling.

The game was three minutes old when Tyron Smith crunched into Scott Donnelly out on the left wing. The loose ball fell to Marvin Morgan and play was waved on. The big number 10 crossed the ball into the penalty area where it seemed to be handled by a defender, but nothing was given and the ball was cleared for a throw-in. Donnelly then received treatment for a couple of minutes before play resumed.

Maidenhead's first shot on goal came on 10 minutes when Narada Bernard (another ex-Shots trialist) shot tamely at Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz from distance.

The game's first goal came a minute later from an Anthony Straker throw-in on the left-hand touchline. Marvin Morgan ran to meet the ball just inside the penalty box, but let the ball run across him before turning and hitting a looping shot that went over Shane Gore's despairing dive before nestling in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. That was Morgan's fourth goal in as many pre-season games.

On 18 minutes, Scott Donnelly won the ball in midfield (following good pressure by Rob Elvins) and set off goalwards before unleashing a shot from 25 yards that fizzed over the bar. Two minutes later, Ashley Nicholls and Gavin James combined well before James shot at Jaimez-Ruiz, who gathered comfortably.

The Shots continued to hold the upper hand in the first half, a half in which Maidenhead's attacking play often culminated in an attempted pass when the player in possession would have been better advised to shoot.

Two attacks came in quick succession - on 21 minutes, good work by Louie Soares on the left wing resulted in a cross that was met so powerfully by Elvins that Shane Gore needed two attempts to gather it. Almost immediately, a neat interchange between John Grant and Ben Harding sent Marvin Morgan out onto the right wing. Shots boss Gary Waddock was heard to say, "show us a trick" and the big man responded by completely wrong-footing Narada Barnard before delivering a cross that an off-balance John Grant punted out of the ground.

Grant set his sights on goal again three minutes later, but shot over from an Anthony Straker through ball. A few minutes later, an exchange between Morgan and Grant saw the latter dink the ball just over the bar.

Goal number two looked to be on its way on 37 minutes when Rob Elvins played the ball to Grant whose classy flick sent Louie Soares clean through with just Gore to beat. However, in trying to take the ball round the keeper, he ended up going too wide and was eventually tackled on the byline. The resulting corner came to nothing.

Goal number two seemed to have arrived five minutes before half time. Ben Harding's shot was blocked by Grant Cooper, with the Maidenhead number 5 being lucky that his flying interception went out for a corner rather than end up as a spectacular own goal! The resulting corner prompted a game of pinball in and around the home side's 6 yard box with a shout of "goal!" (from a Marvin Morgan header) being followed almost immediately by one of "penalty!" after Dominic Sterling appeared to clear the ball off the goal line with his hand - neither was given!

The last meaningful action of the first half saw Richard Pacquette head over from a Ty Smith corner.

HT 0-1

Gary Waddock made seven half time substitutions, including bringing trialist Kieron Murphy on at right back (Lee Canoville moved over to centre half) and the fit-again Dean Howell on at left back.

Whatever the boss had said at half-time bore fruit in the second half as the Shots stepped up a gear and hardly gave their hosts a look-in.

The half was barely two minutes old when Jermaine Hinds clattered Rob Elvins midway inside the Magpies' half. The Maidenhead number 4 received a yellow card (a rarity in a pre-season game) for what was his second bad tackle of the game before Elvins was stretchered off. In what could best be described as a "precautionary measure", Hinds was immediately substituted and replaced by Player-Coach Dave Clarke. Louie Soares was re-introduced in place of Elvins, but wearing an uncustomary number 25 shirt.

After a three minute hold up, play resumed with a free kick taken by Scott Donnelly. He slid the ball sideways for Lewis Chalmers whose pin-point ball found Kirk Hudson loitering just to the left of the Maidenhead goal and the 2008 "Blue Square Young Player of the Year" side-footed the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net with the aid of a slight deflection.

Two minutes later and the Shots were 3-0 up. Dean Howell bombed down the left wing and crossed to the far side of the penalty area where Junior Mendes was waiting 15 yards out to hit a first-time shot across substitute keeper Sam Worrall into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

On the hour mark, Kirk Hudson cut-in from the left wing and passed to Louie Soares whose rasping shot was pushed away by Worrall for a corner. A minute later, Hudson took the ball down the left wing before pulling the ball back from the byline for Scott Donnelly to drill a shot low into the left-hand corner of the net.

Trialist Kieron Murphy was next to try his luck running at the home defence, but Donnelly's chip from Murphy's pass went just over. On 68 minutes, Danny Hylton cut-in from the right wing with Tom Baddeley hot on his heels. Junior Mendes ran across in front of Hylton in an attempt to draw the Maidenhead defence out, but unfortunately his well-intended movement served only to put Hylton off and the lively youngster "pulled" his shot wide.

The 74th minute gave rise to a rare second half attack by the Shots' Conference South hosts, which resulted in them pulling a goal back. A Maidenhead corner was cleared, but the ball found its way back into the Shots' penalty area. With the ball dropping over his shoulder, Lee Newman drilled the ball past a static Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz who, like his defenders, may have been expecting an offside flag that (rightly) never came.

This seemed to inspire the home side, who then mounted two more attacks - in the 78th minute, a Newman corner found its way to Narada Bernard whose shot was pushed clear by Jaimez-Ruiz before Jerome Hall blasted a shot into roughly the same area (outside the ground) that John Grant had done 55 minutes earlier! Newman and Hall then combined to set up Ashley Nicholls, but his crafty flick went agonisingly wide of the left-hand upright.

The Shots' fifth goal came on 83 minutes when Louie Soares dispossessed Dave Clarke in the middle of the park and slid the ball through to Danny Hylton. The youngster then passed to Kirk Hudson who calmly scooped the ball over the advancing Worrall from midway inside the penalty area.

With five minutes remaining, Ashley Nicholls picked up the ball in his own half and fed it to the home side's man-of-the-match Lee Newman. The lively number 12 ran at Lee Canoville, twisting the Shots trialist one way then the other before getting to the byline and putting in a hard low cross that ran right across the Shots goal without a home player to put it in the net.

The last minute of the match saw Lewis Chalmers head over from a Junior Mendes cross before Lee Newman tested Jaimez-Ruiz from 20 yards, with the big Venezuelan diving to his right to push the ball away.

Aside from the injury to Rob Elvins (which will be assessed later in the week), Gary Waddock can be happy with the performance of his players tonight, especially in the second half.

Next up for the Shots is Leyton Orient at the EBB Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Line-Ups :

Shots

Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Anthony Straker (Dean Howell H/T), Chris Blackburn (Kieron Murphy H/T), Anthony Charles (Ricky Newman H/T), Louie Soares (Kirk Hudson H/T), John Grant (Danny Hylton H/T), Marvin Morgan (Junior Mendes H/T), Rob Elvins (Louie Soares re-introduced 49), Scott Donnelly, Ben Harding (Lewis Chalmers H/T), Lee Canoville

Maidenhead

Shane Gore (Sam Worrall H/T), Tyron Smith (Bobby Behzadi H/T), Mark Nisbet, Jermaine Hinds (Dave Clarke 49), Grant Cooper (Tom Baddeley H/T), Dominic Sterling (Jerome Hall 62), Narada Bernard, Ashley Nicholls, Richard Pacquette (Trialist "A" 69), Gavin James (Lee Newman 49), Dale Binns (Ricky White 62)

Unused Substitute - Freddie Okyere