Aldershot Town ended the 2021/22 campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Wealdstone.
For the final game of the season, Mark Molesley made two changes to the side that earned a point on the road against Halifax. Mo Bettamer and Harrison Panayiotou, who made appearances off the bench last time out, came into the starting XI, replacing Lewis Kinsella and Mikael Ndjoli.
It was almost the perfect start for The Shots, who in the first minute of the game put together a brilliant move. One touch passing involving multiple Aldershot Town players led to Willard putting a cross in from the right-hand side, but Bettamer couldn’t quite reach it.
A couple of minutes later, Aldershot Town came close again. A great ball over the top from Berkeley-Agyepong picked out Daniel, and he connected well on a first-time volley, but it was just over the bar.
Some more good play by The Shots in the 11th minute saw Panayiotou come away with the loose ball, and he and Harris found themselves in a 2-on-2 situation. Panayiotou picked out Harris, but his effort was blocked behind for a corner, which in the end came to nothing.
Shortly after, Wealdstone had their first big chance of the afternoon. Browne tried to pick out Charles with an over-the-top ball, but Hall was quickly out and the two collided. The referee didn’t blow his whistle, and Umerah’s follow up was saved by Hall, who recovered brilliantly.
However, the resulting corner saw the deadlock broken, with McAvoy’s header finding the left-hand side of the goal.
The visitors then had another opportunity just a minute later. After a poor defensive header by Phillips, the ball fell nicely to Henry who struck it first time, but it sailed over the bar via a slight deflection. There were then a succession of corners for Wealdstone, but none of them threatened Hall’s goal.
25 minutes in, and The Shots came close to levelling things up. After Willard latched onto a loose pass, he played Bettamer through, and his low driven effort was only half dealt with by Wickens, who couldn’t quite keep hold of the ball. However, he got there just before Panayiotou and this time held onto it.
Just before the half hour mark, The Shots drew level in style. The ball fell to Jayden Harris, who dribbled past numerous Stones players and found himself in the Wealdstone box. He kept his composure, calmly slotting the ball past Wickens and into the bottom corner, completing a fantastic individual move.
Aldershot Town continued to put the pressure on, with Berkeley-Agyepong finding Bettamer. He had a go from around 25 yards out, but dragged it just wide of the target.
Just before half time, The Shots had a golden opportunity to take the lead. After getting into the area, Willard played a great ball across the box which found Bettamer who seemed destined to score, but his shot from a few yards out went over the bar.
The final chance of the half fell to Josh Umerah, who like Bettamer should’ve given his team the lead. After some good play from Rhys Browne on the wing, he found Cooper on the edge of the area. He didn’t get a clean connection, but it worked in The Stones’ favour as the ball found its way to Umerah, but his shot from six yards could only find the side netting, and brought a thrilling first half to a close.
The Stones had the first look at goal in the second half. A cross from Clayden tried to find Tavares, but the defensive header only went straight up in the air and came to Cooper, whose attempt went over the crossbar.
A few minutes later, the visitors had another opportunity, with Umerah shooting from a tough angle. His effort was heading into the bottom corner, but Hall got down well and denied a goal with a strong right-handed save.
On the hour mark, Umerah had another chance, this time from a closer and more central position, but it was well blocked by Lyons-Foster.
69 minutes in, and Wealdstone found themselves back in front. A cross from Clayden found Umerah inside the area, and after missing a number of opportunities earlier on, this time he found the back of the net.
Shortly after, Aldershot Town nearly found an instant reply. After being found by Berkeley-Agyepong, Ndjoli cut inside and shot from the edge of the box, looking to find the top corner, but it was saved onto the post by Wickens.
With five minutes to go, The Shots again came close. Berkeley-Agyepong played Panayiotou into the left side of the penalty area, but his shot flew over the bar.
Wealdstone could have sealed the win late on, but the effort from substitute Mascoll rolled wide of Ryan Hall’s goal.
A minute later, one of Aldershot Town’s substitutes, Alfy Whittingham, let fly from distance, but his half-volley couldn’t find the target and didn’t test Wickens.
In the first of the seven additional minutes, Willard had an effort from the edge of the box, and it looked to be curling in, but a last-gasp defensive header denied the forward from equalising.
Soon after, captain Lewis Kinsella tried his luck from way out, but his shot sailed into the East Bank.
In the final seconds, Wealdstone scored a third. Two substitutes combined, with Cooper playing Jackson through on goal, and he fired the ball past Hall.
This was to be the final kick of the game, and brought the 2021/22 campaign to a close.
Aldershot Town FC: 13 R Hall (G/K), 6 K Lyons-Foster (C), 9 M Bettamer (M Ndjoli 55’), 10 J Berkeley-Agyepong, 11 H Panayiotou, 18 M Sylla, 22 G Phillips, 23 J Harris, 26 A Saunders (A Whittingham 79’), 27 T Willard, 33 C Daniel (L Kinsella 55’)
Unused Subs: 21 B Shroll, 25 E Watts
Wealdstone FC: 1 G Wickens (G/K), 2 J Cook (C), 4 A Charles (C Cooper 29’), 9 J Umerah, 10 R Browne (I Jackson 55’), 11 D Sesay, 14 C McAvoy, 17 N Tavares, 19 C Clayden, 22 A Henry, 23 J Mundle-Smith (J Mascoll 77’)
Unused Subs: 15 E Hearn, 29 T Shrowder
