Aldershot Town continued their unbeaten start to pre-season preparations, beating local rivals Farnborough 2-1 in the Army Cup, the second of two games hosted at the EBB that day following a parallel fixture featuring the two teams’ women’s sides. Close-range strikes either side of the half from Tyrese Dyce and John Gilbert proved enough to dispel the visiting National League South side, who threatened a late comeback via Renny Smith.
It was a strong first 10 minutes for the shots who took control of the game quickly, holding the majority of possession and creating lots of good chances from the wings where Brody Peart and Toby Nelson continued to cause Farnborough problems. Gradually the shots started to lose control and the game became more end to end with both teams creating good chances but lacking the end product.
A driving run from Elijah Oladunjoye earned the Shots a free-kick in a dangerous position. Connor Lawless delivered an excellent ball into the area, but no one was able to apply the finishing touch. Farnborough responded with a chance of their own after winning the ball back in a dangerous area, allowing former Shots player Tyler Frost to break into space. He squared a dangerous ball across the six-yard box, where it was headed into the net, but the celebrations were cut short as the referee had already awarded a foul in the build-up, leaving the scores level at 0-0.
A majority of Aldershot’s chances in the first half came from set-pieces, and it quickly became a battle of the long throws, with both Elijah Oladunjoye and Farnborough’s Sam Barratt causing problems in their opponents’ penalty areas.
The winner of that battle soon became clear. The Shots opened the scoring from an Elijah Oladunjoye long throw from the right-hand touchline. The delivery found Brody Peart at the near post, whose flick failed to trouble the goalkeeper but instead fell kindly to Tyrese Dyce, who reacted quickest to head home from close range and give the Shots a deserved 1-0 lead.
HALF-TIME Aldershot 1 – 0 Farnborough
Two early changes were made for the Shots, with Charlie Patmore replaced by Nick Hayes and Michael Stickland making way for Kiki Oshilaja as Aldershot looked to manage the remainder of the game.
It was a slow start to the second half for both teams, with neither side able to create any clear-cut chances during the opening 15 minutes. Early in the half, Farnborough were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous area after the referee deemed Peart to have fouled a Farnborough player. The resulting free-kick was blocked by Peart and deflected out for a corner, but the delivery failed to find a Farnborough player resulting in a Shots goal-kick.
Some excellent play down the right-hand side led to a corner for the Shots. The delivery was whipped into the box and only partially cleared, falling towards the feet of Nelson, who produced a superb chest-volley. The effort initially troubled the backpedalling Lucas Thomas, but the Farnborough goalkeeper reacted well to keep the score at 1-0. As the clock reached the 60th minute, both teams rotated their XIs, with Hayes and Oshilaja the only players to remain on the pitch for the Shots.
A long ball over the top found Marcus Dinanga, who did well to take a touch and round the goalkeeper before attempting a shot from a tight angle. As the ball slowly rolled towards goal, John Gilbert charged into the box to follow up and fire home, giving the Shots a 2-0 lead.
Marcus Dinanga was sensational after coming on, breaking Farnborough’s offside trap for the second time in three minutes and forcing another save from the goalkeeper. Shots academy product Maddox McMillan also went close, striking from the edge of the box following a short free-kick routine and forcing Thomas into another excellent save.
The visitors would get one back late on, as an impressive half-volley from Renny Smith struck from the edge of the area found the back of the net to mark Scott Davies’ Side’s first conceded in pre-season. The goal, however, would prove inconsequential to the result, as the hosts held their narrow lead for the remainder of the game.
Full Time: Aldershot Town 2-1 Farnborough
Aldershot Town Lineup:
- Charlie Patmore (1. Nick Hayes 46′), 7. Tristan Abrahams, 12. Michael Stickland (5. Kiki Oshilaja 46′), 15. Kwaku Frimpong, 16. Jack Matton, 17. Tyrese Dyce, 20. Marcus Wyllie, 21. Brody Peart, 22. Toby Nelson, 23. Conor Lawless, 24. Elijah Oladunjoye
Line Up ‘60 Onwards:
- Nick Hayes, 4. Jacob Borgnis, 5. Kiki Oshilaja, 6. Dominic Odusanya, 8. John Gilbert, 9. Marcus Dinanga, 10. Basil Tuma, 11. Hakeem Sandah, 18. Nino Adom-Malaki, 25. Maddox McMillan, 26. Joel Johnson-Cole
Written by Flynn Boswell.
