Aldershot Town fell to a 2-0 defeat after second-half goals from Regan Linney and Bevis Mugabi secured three points for Carlisle United at Brunton Park.
Tommy Widdrington made one change from his last Shots side in the Enterprise National League as Jed Meerholz came in for the suspended Ben Jackson.
There was an early chance for the home side as Junior Luamba found himself in space on the right side of The Shots’ box in the second minute, but Charlie Penman did well to throw his body on the line and make a crucial block.
The majority of the game in the opening stages was played in midfield with neither team getting much of a look at goal. Stephen Wearne broke towards the Shots goal in the 16th minute after a rare misplaced pass by Dejan Tetek, but Jed Meerholz did brilliantly to jockey the Carlisle midfielder and get enough of a block on his shot to make a comfortable save for Marcus Dewhurst.
But in the 25th minute, Dewhurst was called into action again for a save that was far less comfortable. Regan Linney broke into the box from the left wing and his curling effort was superbly stopped by the Shots’ ‘keeper.
An outrageous decision to not award the Shots a corner in the 32nd minute allowed Carlisle to break forward from their goal kick and Dewhurst was on form again to deny Linney with another fine stop with his feet. From the following corner, the ball fell to Linney and after working space to shoot, was denied by Dewhurst’s foot again.
Three minutes later, the frame of the goal denied the Shots from taking the lead. Twisting and turning on the left hand side of the Carlisle box, Josh Barrett worked room to deliver a cross and it was met by the head of Ryan Hill whose looping header beat Gabe Breeze but not the crossbar. The rebound fell to Kwame Thomas but he saw his close-range strike blocked to strong appeals of handball from the Aldershot attack.
HALF-TIME
It took less than two minutes for the home side to open the scoring after the break. Regan Linney found himself able to run at the Shots goal in space down the left and kept his composure to slot it past Marcus Dewhurst.
A few minutes later Carlisle broke and found space down their left wing again, but this time it was full-back Cameron Harper leading the charge and he blasted the ball high and wide.
Carlisle were finding joy breaking down what had been a firm Shots defence in the first-half on the counter and Junior Luamba had a third opportunity within the first 10 minutes of the second-half, but Dewhurst did well to get out quickly and turn it behind.
But as the game reached the hour mark, Aldershot had two brilliant opportunities to get level. Firstly, Josh Barrett’s low cross found Tristan Abrahams and though his clever backheel flick was blocked, it fell straight back to him and shooting on the turn, he was denied by a great block.
And a few minutes later, Abrahams’ replacement Hady Ghandour broke down the right and his low cross found Ryan Hill at the back-post after Kwame Thomas kept the defence in the middle busy, but Hill was denied by a superb save from Gabe Breeze.
With The Shots chasing a route back into the game, the affair was opening up and chances were coming thick and fast. In the 65th minute, Luke Armstrong’s deflected effort looked to be looping in to the far corner, but at full stretch, Charlie Penman was on hand to hook it clear.
Carlisle were able to double their lead in the 69th minute. Fresh off the bench, Harvey MacAdam played a ball across the edge of the box that found Bevis Mugabi and his first-time strike found the bottom corner.
Happy to settle for a two-goal advantage, Carlisle began to take their foot off the pedal and whilst the Shots were still pushing forward and pressuring the home defence, they were unable to get any chances on Gabe Breeze’s goal.
Georgie Kelly came close to scoring a third for the hosts late on as he rattled the post with a powerful effort, the Assistant Referee’s flag was raised however, and it would not have counted.
Though The Shots didn’t get the result they wanted, a huge commendation must go to the 158 Shots supporters that made the long journey north and were in fine voice throughout. Thank you for your exceptional support.
Attendance: 7039 (158 Away)
Shots lineup: 1. Marcus Dewhurst, 6, Theo Widdrington (C), 9. Kwame Thomas, 10. Josh Barrett (18. Kiban Rai, 88′), 14. Jed Meerholz, 15. Charlie Penman (17. James Henry, 73′), 19. Ryan Hill, 28. Archy Taylor, 30. Tristan Abrahams (23. Hady Ghandour, 60′), 32. James Clarridge, 34. Dejan Tetek (11. Ryan Jones, 73′).
Subs not used: 16. Pat Nash, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 24. Maxwell Mullins.
Carlisle lineup: 1. Gabe Breeze, 2. Archie Davies (37. Harvey MacAdam, 67′), 3. Cameron Harper, 4. Terell Thomas (C), 10. Regan Linney (7. David Ajiboye, 90′), 11. Junior Luamba (9. Georgie Kelly, 67′), 16. Stephen Wearne (8. Callum Whelan, 85′), 18. Jack Ellis, 20. Alex Gilliead (24. Josh Grant, 85′), 26. Bevis Mugabi, 29. Luke Armstrong.
Subs not used: 25. Harry Lewis, 5. Morgan Feeney.
