The Shots trip to neighbours Fleet Town presented Tommy Widdrington with the first opportunity to give minutes to his first-team squad after a team of trialists and B Team youngsters beat Badshot Lea 4-3 last weekend.
With two completely different lineups for the first and second half, it was a good chance for the Shots coaching staff to see different combinations between their squad.
It usually takes a while for the sharpness to return when getting the first minutes back in the tank during pre-season but Aldershot’s first opportunity came after just three minutes.
A sign of things to come, Haydon Vaughan made a clever dart forward and was found well by Maxi Mullins and though his cross was cleared, the Shots broke forward again but Tyler Frost’s effort was over the bar.
Ryan Jones and Ollie Harfield were linking up well down the left and Jones showed great footwork to skip past two challenges and pick out Frost at the back post, but his square ball back across goal was cleared before it could reach Hady Ghandour in the 15th minute.
Five minutes later, Ghandour had an effort blocked after showing good feet in the box to find some space and though the ball fell to Ollie Turner on the edge of the box, his effort was safely wide.
But Aldershot would take the lead in the 24th minute via the penalty spot. Jones was brought down after a neat one-two between him and Harfield and Frost showed great composure to send the Fleet ‘keeper the wrong way and convert from 12 yards.
The lead didn’t last that long, however, as Fleet equalised in the 33rd minute with a powerful header from a corner.
But Frost ensured that the Shots regained their lead in the 39th minute with his second goal of the half. A low, left-footed strike from just outside the area made its way through a number of bodies and under the ‘keeper.
And Frost was able to complete his hat-trick before the half-time whistle! This time, he was on hand to finish a very nice Shots move from close-range in the 41st minute.
There was still time for Aldershot to hit the woodwork twice before the break. Firstly, Ghandour rattled the outside of the post from outside the area, before Ryan Jones skipped past four or five challenges with a brilliant run forward, only to be denied by the post.
HALF-TIME
Tommy Widdrington made 11 changes as a whole new Shots side took to the field for the second-half but it didn’t take long for this side to make their mark.
Kai Corbett scored a brilliant goal to introduce himself to the Shots supporters in the 52nd minute. A low and driven effort from around 25-yards out found the bottom corner.
With Josh Barrett scoring a sensational free-kick in our final game of the 23/24 campaign and Corbett boasting a highlight reel of free-kick goals from his Peterborough Under 21 days, it was a surprise to then see the two reject the chance to launch an effort at goal from 25 yards out in the 62nd minute.
Their clever routine, however, ended up in the back of the net courtesy of Trialist D, who turned his marker and finished well to score a fifth for Aldershot.
Marcus Dewhurst was called into action for the first time in the 72nd minute, but the new Shots stopper did well to save with his feet after Fleet had beat the offside trap.
Josh Barrett was looking sharp and was denied by the feet of the Fleet ‘keeper twice in a minute as he firstly looked to have found the bottom corner on the turn and then took it short from the resulting corner and showed good footwork to bring it inside and find space for a shot.
With 10 minutes to play, the Shots came close again as Luke Jenkins almost made an instant impact. He met Corbett’s free-kick but couldn’t get a complete connection with his header that ended up wide.
The last action saw Dewhurst called into action, but again, he came out on top in a one-on-one with a fine stop.
The Shots ran out 5-1 winners with some important minutes in the tank for the first-team squad.
Thank you to all at Fleet Town for their warm welcome and hospitality – all the best for this season!
First-Half Lineup: 13. Pat Nash, 6. Keane Anderson (8, Trialist A, 36′) 14. Trialist B (16. Trialist D, 30′), 15. Trialist C, 17. Ollie Harfield, 18. Tyler Frost, 19. Maxwell Mullins, 20. Haydon Vaughan, 21. Hady Ghandour, 23. Ryan Jones, 24. Ollie Turner.
Second-Half Lineup: 13. Marcus Dewhurst, 2. Ashley Akpan, 3. Olly Scott, 4. George Milner-Smith, 5. Luke Jenkins, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 8. Trialist A, 10. Josh Barrett, 11. Kai Corbett, 12. Theo Widdrington, 16. Trialist D (9. Ollie Bray 62’)
