Crawley Town were the visitors for the Shots penultimate pre-season friendly as another League One side visited the EBB Stadium.
The game felt a lot more open and free-flowing than we’ll perhaps see during the competitive season, despite the scorching temperatures throughout the day and into the evening, and Ollie Bray’s pace fashioned a chance in the first minute.
His pass into the centre of the box was just in front of the on-rushing Josh Barrett and though the clearance fell straight to Cam Hargreaves, his half-volleyed effort was blocked.
Just two minutes later, Crawley had their first chance and perhaps should have taken the lead had it not been for van Stappershoef’s tall frame denying a fantastic volley from Max Anderson finding the top corner.
Aldershot had beaten Birmingham City with a fantastic performance in the 3-1 win but fell behind in that game and in the 10th minute of this game, found themselves behind again.
A clever ball forward set Rushian Hepburn-Murphy through on goal and though van Stappershoef raced out to try and beat him to the ball, the Crawley striker got there first and skipped past the Shots’ ‘keeper to finish into an empty net.
But their lead lasted just seconds as the Shots equalised immediately. Straight from kick-off, Kai Corbett found himself on the edge of the Crawley box with ‘keeper Joe Wollacott racing out and lobbed the visiting stopper with a very clever scissor-kick.
van Stappershoef was to thank again as he stopped Crawley from re-taking the lead in the 19th minute. Toby Mullarkey skipped into the Shots’ box from the right but saw his shot really well saved with the Dutch ‘keeper’s feet.
Ollie Bray was unfortunately forced off as he pulled up in the 24th minute but the Shots continued to push forward and in the 25th minute, a brilliant ball from Cam Hargeaves set Kai Corbett down the right, he cut in and forcesd Wollacott into a save and Josh Barrett’s first-time effort on the rebound was just wide.
And Barrett came very close again two minutes later as another first-time effort grazed the post. Ryan Jones created this chance as he drove forward and laid it off to Barrett to curl it from outside the box.
The Shots enjoyed a largely positive first-half and Kai Corbett came close to giving his side the lead on two occasions before half-time came, but Aldershot would have to settle with going into the break level.
HALF-TIME
The second-half didn’t burst into life like the first-half but Crawley did find themselves in front again after 10 minutes of action. A neat move by Crawley worked through the Shots’ defence and Ronan Darcy finished the move with a calm finish in the 55th minute.
Aldershot almost had a comical route back into the game not long after as Wollacott missed a pass back to him from his own defender and had to race back to stop an own goal.
Marcus Dewhurst replaced van Stappershoef in the Shots goal at half-time and matched his teammates great saves in the first-half with one of his own in the 69th minute. A low ball across the Shots goal looked set to be turned in by Ade Adeyemo, but Dewhurst made himself big and somehow denied him.
In truth, this was the last time either goal was threatened with any real conviction as a host of substitutions and, most probably, the hot weather caught up with the players and Crawley held out for the win.
The Shots will look back to this evening as gaining valuable minutes for their squad and can be encouraged by their spells of good play against a League One side.
Attendance: 799 (85 Away)
Shots lineup: 1. Jordi van Stappershoef (28. Marcus Dewhurst, 46′), 2. Lachlan Byrd (4. Luke Jenkins, 82′), 3. Ollie Harfield (5. Christian Maghoma, 62′), 7. Cameron Hargreaves (6.Theo Widdrington, 71′), 9. Kai Corbett (35. Joe Lewis-Evans, 71′), 10. Josh Barrett (23. Hady Ghandour, 62′), 11. Ryan Jones (26. George Milner-Smith, 87′), 14. Ollie Bray (20. Haydon Vaughan, 24′), 21. Ashley Akpan (33. Zion Nditi, 87′), 24. Maxwell Mullins, 34. Dejan Tetek (12. Keane Anderson, 71′).
