Jaden Harris, Inih Effiong and Harry Panayiotou were on the scoresheet, as Aldershot capped a return to The EBB Stadium with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Crawley.
It was an unbelievably fast start from Aldershot, as Jaden Harris pressured the Crawley defence and caught the visitors napping as he pocked home a loose touch to give Aldershot a 1-0 lead within 30 seconds.
Crawley began to take control of the game, but Aldershot still looked a threat on the counterattack, the best chance after the goal falling to Francis Amartey as was put one on one by Inih Effiong, but saw his effort tipped wide by Morris.
Luca Ashby-Hammond was busy in the Shots net, making some important saves, but despite his efforts, Crawley found an equaliser in the 27th minute following an Ashley Nadesan shot on the half turn, which went well out of the reach of Ashby-Hammond.
Crawley pressed on after they got back into the game, creating a number of sighters, but it was Francis Amartey who was proving the biggest threat down the Aldershot right, cutting in and curling a shot past Morris but also past the Crawley goal.
Neither side could capitalise on what had been an open first half, meaning that the sides went into the break at one a piece, with it all to play for in the second 45.
Crawley began the second half as dominantly as they ended the first, and found the lead in the 52nd minute as Trialist A hammered in a long range effort to give the 70 travelling fans
Crawley began the second half as dominantly as they ended the first, playing around the edge of the Aldershot box for much of the opening exchanges, eventually finding the goal to go ahead through Trialist A, as his long range effort was too powerful for Ashby-Hammond.
Crawley were forced into another defensive error, this time by a relentless Aldershot attack, as they pressed until another loose pass found its way to an Aldershot attacker, this time Inih Effiong, who found the top corner perfectly from long range to level the scores once again.
Just moments after taking the lead, Aldershot pressured Crawley into another defensive mistake, this time leaving Inih Effiong with the ball on the edge of the visitor’s box, and his strike perfectly picked out the top corner to bring the scores to 2-2 after 55 minutes.
Aldershot came the closest to taking the lead in the 72nd minute, with Tommy Willard nipping in to steal possession from Crawley, before putting a dangerous ball across the box which was sent agonisingly over the crossbar and out for a corner, which lead to nothing.
With the game coming towards its conclusion, it looked destined for a draw, but Harry Panayioutou found a winner for Aldershot, pouncing on a defensive error to slot the ball past Morris in the Crawley net, adding a third and final goal for Aldershot in the 88th minute.
With just minutes left on the clock, Crawley failed to reply, meaning it’s a third win in three for the Shots in pre-season.
Aldershot XI: L Ashby-Hammond (G/K), A Davies, O Harfield, J Partington (C) (K Anderson, 77’), C Jordon (Trialist D, 60’), T Cordner, T Willard, J Harris, Trialist A (Trialist C, 60’), F Amartey (Trialist B, 60’), I Effiong (H Panayiotou, 60’)
