Aldershot Town suffered defeat on the road on Saturday, 27th September, following a six goal affair at the Shay Stadium that finished 4-2 in favour of the hosts, FC Halifax Town. Goals from James Clarridge and Hady Ghandour at the end of each half proved inconsequential, as the Shaymen – with the help of some unforced errors – scored four goals courtesy of Will Harris, Josh Hmami, and a brace from Jamie Cooke.
Tommy Widdrington made three changes to the starting XI that tasted defeat on Wednesday, with Kwame Thomas, Theo Widdrington and Charlie Penman making way for James Henry, Tristan Abrahams and perhaps most significantly Ryan Jones, who made his first start of the campaign.
The Shots began the game on the front-foot, with two chances in quick succession arriving near the five-minute mark. James Henry turned his marker on a sixpence in midfield before finding Josh Barret 25-yards from goal. The forward – who saw himself captaining the side on the day – looked up quickly before attempting an audacious 25-yard chip, the result of which saw the ball finish just high of the crossbar.
Seconds after, Ryan Jones intercepted a pass on the left-hand side of the opposition third, and reacted quickly to square the ball to an open Tristan Abrahams. However, a miscontrolled first touch saw a genuine opportunity go begging.
Despite the visitors starting the stronger, it would be the Shaymen who would open the scoring. Defender Shaun Hobson chanced a long ball over the top which found only the head of Jed Meerholz. However, the loanee’s seemingly routine nod back to Marcus Dewhurst didn’t quite have enough on it, asking questions of the keeper. The onrushing keeper mistimed his clearance, with the ball rolling under his feet, leaving Will Harris with the opportunity to poke the ball into an empty net.
The second goal arrived just three minutes after the opener. A long ball from Shaun Hobson picked out Jamie Cooke, who proceeded to lob an onrushing Marcus Dewhurst with precision.
The hosts almost added a third, after a good combination from Josh Hmami and Angelo Cappello, with the latter reaching the byline and cutting the ball back, though a crucial Ryan Jones intervention quelled the danger.
Just before the break, the Shots found a route back into the match. A short corner routine saw Ryan Jones return the ball to Josh Barrett, whose driven cross-cum-shot made an accurate clearance near-impossible, with James Clarridge poking it home to make it 2-1. The Shots had another late opportunity before halftime from a corner, as Barrett’s delivery reached the back post, but the resulting header drifted wide.
HALF-TIME
Halifax begun the second-half on the front foot. Jamie Cooke surged down the left and aimed for Harris in the middle, but Clarridge intervened to turn it behind for a corner. From the set piece, Turner-Cooke targeted Hobson, who appeared to be held, but Aldershot cleared and launched a counterattack. Barrett picked up possession on the left, cut inside, and curled a shot just wide of the far post. Barrett continued to threat, delivering a cross into the area, but Johnson managed to gather at the second attempt.
Tommy Widdrington’s men pushed forward again, with Henry making a promising run before laying the ball off to Tetek, whose first-time shot took a deflection and looped safely into Johnson’s gloves.
The home side re-established their two-goal cushion soon after. Confusion at the back for Aldershot allowed Bray to pick out Cooke in space on the edge of the area, and he made no mistake, firing a decisive effort past Dewhurst for his second of the day. The Yorkshire side soon grabbed a fourth. Angelo Cappello broke through the Aldershot backline and, from a tight angle, managed to beat Dewhurst with a low drive.
Aldershot did pull one back in stoppage time, with Ryan Jones whipping in a cross from the left which was turned home from close range by Hady Ghandour, though muted celebrations echoed opinion that it was too little, too late, for the Shots, as Halifax saw out the game to secure a 4-2 victory.
Attendance: 1385 (167 away)
Shots line-up: 1. Marcus Dewhurst, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 10. Josh Barrett (C) (18. Kiban Rai 85′), 11. Ryan Jones, 14. Jed Meerholz, 17. James Henry, 19. Ryan Hill, 28. Archy Taylor, 30. Tristan Abrahams (23. Hady Ghandour 76′), 32. James Clarridge (5. Ben Jackson 85′), 34. Dejan Tetek (15. Charlie Penman 85′).
Unused Subs: 16. Pat Nash, 9. Kwame Thomas, 24. Maxwell Mullins.
Halifax line-up: 1. Sam Johnson (C), 4. Will Hugill (36. Thierry Latty-Fairweather 70′), 5. Shaun Hobson, 8. Josh Hmami (19. AJ Warburton 82′), 9. Will Harris (31. Owen Devonport 74′), 10. Jamie Cooke, 11. Angelo Cappello (22. David Kawa 82′), 16. Jevon Mills, 17. Owen Bray (20. Jack Jenkins), 27. Jay Turner-Cooke, 29. Sean Tarima.
Unused Subs: 12. Nat Ford, 3. Adam Adetoro.
