A James Henry double secured a win for Aldershot Town at the EBB Stadium as a good performance from the Shots had an unwarranted nervy end following a late Jake Bickerstaff goal that proved to only be a consolation.
The Shots Groundstaff and Volunteers deserve huge credit for ensuring the surface was playable and the game could go ahead but the wind and rain was making conditions far from ideal for a game of football and both sides struggled to take control of the game in the opening 10 minutes.
The first chance of the game fell to the visitors in the 12th minute as Joe Nuttall forced Marcus Dewhurst into a low save with an effort from outside the area.
This sparked a bit of life into the game and saw Aldershot launch a couple of attacks of their own in the following minutes. The first of those saw Ashley Akpan in space down the right and his first-time cross found Jack Barham who skipped past a trip and went down under a second challenge sparking protests for a penalty but the Referee’s only action was to yellow card Barham for his protests.
The Shots were creating chances but were unable to get a shot on goal as the visiting defence were standing firm. Jack Barham was the beneficiary of two great balls forward by Dan Ellison and Theo Widdrington but was forced wide and saw his shot blocked, before Josh Barrett also saw a shot blocked minutes later after being found by Akpan.
Akpan was beginning to become the focal point of the Shots attacking moves and it was no surprise that he was the creator of the opening goal. Finding space on the right, he delivered a fantastic cross to the far-post for James Henry to race in and turn in, in the 26th minute.
Altrincham pushed for an instant equaliser, but Rollin Menayese was equal to a dangerous cross into the box and able to clear the ball under significant pressure.
And just four minutes after he’d put the Shots in front, James Henry scored his, and Aldershot’s second. Breaking forward, he charged down a clearance after a heavy touch and suddenly found himself clear through on goal, showing great composure to find the bottom corner.
HALF-TIME
Having received treatment after a clash of heads in the first-half, Dan Ellison was forced off at half-time, seeing Dejan Tetek brought on in his place and Theo Widdrington moving into the centre of the back three.
James Henry was on the hunt for a hat-trick but was reduced to half-chances as he missed the target with an effort from outside the area in the 50th minute and couldn’t get the right connection with a header a few minutes later.
The Shots were managing the lead, the game and the conditions well, though and whilst not heavily threatening Ethan Ross in the Altrincham goal, were still causing the defence plenty of problems.
Ryan Jones was causing plenty of problems down the left as he was looking lively and beating his man on a number of occasions but seeing his crosses blocked. In the 72nd minute he looked like he had the ball glued to his feet as he broke into the box and played the ball to Jack Barham who saw his cross blocked.
Altrincham’s route back into the game was made more difficult as Tom Crawford was shown a second yellow card in the 78th minute.
What turned out to be the final Shots chance of the game came two minutes from the end as they turned defence into attack in a matter of seconds. An Altrincham free-kick caused problems as penalty box pinball ensued but they cleared their lines and Tyler Frost beat his man superbly on the halfway line, only to see his low-cross turned behind for a corner.
But as the game hit the 90th minute, Altrincham scored to give Aldershot a nervy end. A long ball forward was flicked on by Elliot Osborne and found Jake Bickerstaff who slotted the ball under Marcus Dewhurst.
The Shots held firm, though and despite a fair few nails being bitten around the EBB Stadium, didn’t look like losing their lead as they held possession in the Altrincham half to secure a valuable three points.
Attendance: 1882 (84 Away)
Shots lineup: 28. Marcus Dewhurst, 6. Theo Widdrington (C), 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 10. Josh Barrett (24. Maxwell Mullins, 83′), 11. Ryan Jones, 18. Olly Scott, 21. Ashley Akpan, 22. Jack Barham (23. Hady Ghandour, 83′), 25. Rollin Menayese, 27. James Henry (8. James Henry, 75′), 35. Dan Ellison (34. Dejan Tetek, 46′).
Subs not used: 16. Pat Nash, 2. Lachlan Byrd, 9. Kai Corbett
Altrincham lineup: 1. Ethan Ross, 2. Lewis Banks, 3. Eddy Jones, 4. Lewis Baines (C), 6. Elliot Osborne, 10. Alex Newby, 14. Matty Kosylo (8. Isaac Marriott, 69′), 16. James Jones, 19. George Wilson (20. Kahrel Reddin, 60′), 22. Tom Crawford, 24. Joe Nuttall (29. Jake Bickerstaff, 66′).
Subs not used: 5. Jake Cooper, 15. Liam Humbles, 23. Tylor Golden, 27. Louie Fallon.
