The Shots welcomed Gateshead FC to the EBB stadium and faced a tough pill to swallow as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the visitors. The goal from Harry Chapman proved the difference in the end despite there being numerous opportunities to take points from the game.
John Coleman made four changes to the side that faced Wealdstone on Easter Monday, a throw of the dice from the manager in hopes of getting the one result needed to end the poor run of form. Theo Widdrington made his way into the starting eleven alongside Olly Scott and Dejan Tetek who will all be hoping to make a good impression. Hady Ghandour also returned for his first start since sustaining a hamstring injury several weeks ago. The wide pair of Brody Peart and Charlie Warren that had become a popular choice for the manager in recent games were both found on the bench.
KICK OFF
It was a positive start from the Shots as Theo Widdrington released a beautiful floated through ball on the volley out wide to Hady Ghandour, who beat his man and whipped in a great low cross that the goalkeeper did well to collect. The same pair quickly back at the heart of the action several minutes later as Hady found himself with the ball out left again, and swept it back towards Theo who let loose a strike that troubled the goalkeeper with its movement as it was just about beaten away for a corner.
The Shots dominated with positive play throughout the opening 10 minutes. A golden opportunity presented itself when captain Ryan Hill pushed a delicious through ball into the path of Callum Stewart, whose strike at goal was beaten away, again unconvincingly, by the goalkeeper back into the penalty area. The following scramble in the box couldn’t be turned home by anyone in red and blue, and the confusion resulted in an opposition freekick.
Despite the fantastic start, it was the visitors who managed to take first blood when the ball was given away cheaply in the Shots defensive third and found the feet of Gateshead Striker Harry Chapman, who let loose a low drilled shot into the bottom left corner. Aldershot 0-1 Gateshead.
Perhaps the grey clouds in the sky before the game had been a pre-warning of bad news as things got worse for the Shots when Hady Ghandour was substituted just 15 minutes in, seemingly because of the hamstring injury he had struggled with in recent weeks. Brody Peart came on looking for an immediate impact on the game, however Gateshead made it difficult for him to find any time on the ball.
Momentum seemed to slip for John Coleman’s side as they struggled to build any attacking momentum. That was until Dejan Tetek found some room on the right flank and looped a clever pass into Ryheem Sheckleford, who after a moment of hesitation decided to blast an effort at goal and forced the goalkeeper into action once again.
In the 43nd minute, another immaculate through ball found its way into the path of Ryan Hill who was deep in opposition territory and clean through on goal. After beating his man and taking a touch wide of the goalkeeper, the following shot at goal forced a good save and a further rebounded effort was unlucky not to hit the back of the net. Despite the score-line, it was a positive half from the boys in red and blue who were unlucky to go in at half-time with a 1 goal deficit. Aldershot 0-1 Gateshead.
HALF TIME
The visitors emphasised their ‘win by all means necessary’ mentality to start the second half, preventing the chances of a counter attack with a yellow card worthy foul on Dejan Tetek shortly after the restart. The blustery conditions also seemed to take more of a centre stage performance by making it difficult for the Gateshead defence to clear the ball.
58 minutes in, the Heed came close to doubling their deficit when an awkward cross was just about turned away by Coniah Boyce-Clarke, only as far as Billy Chadwick on the back post. It looked like a certain goal until Coniah made a fantastic save by stretching himself out across his goal and deflecting the ball with his legs.
Frustration around the stadium began to grow as the game approached the final 20 minutes. The frequent offside calls and petty fouls made it difficult for the Shots to build any kind of momentum, but the desire for an equaliser was there and the Shots continued pushing. Callum Stewart came agonisingly close when his headed effort came off the topside of the crossbar following a floated delivery by Theo Widdrington and a header back across goal from Cam Hargreaves. Another opportunity for Callum soon after saw him turn his way through the Gateshead defenders and get a shot away that was saved by the outstretched gloves of the goalkeeper.
With 10 minutes to go, the atmosphere was fired up as the Shots began to bear down on goal in waves of attack. A superb corner whipped in the way of Will Nightingale saw him rise above everyone else in the box and send a powerful header just over the bar, an effort that seemed worthy of a goal.
The Shots were almost caught out when Levi Amantchi was tearing down on goal down the right and slid a ball across goal to the back post, which was poked away at the last second by Ryan Hill. Moments later, it looked like man of the match Theo Widdrington had himself a spectacular equaliser when his curling effort into the top right corner was tipped away by Adam Desbois in goal. The number 6 had put in a quality performance with some clever passes, strong efforts on goal and impressive work rate throughout the afternoon.
It was an unfortunate result in the end for a Shots side that deserved more from the game. The attacking play was positive but just missing that final touch to put the ball in the back of the net, but with results going the right way in other areas safety was secured despite the scoreline, a silver lining in the afternoon’s events. The Shots now look to Southend on Tuesday for an awaited win in the Enterprise National League.
FULL TIME – Aldershot Town 0 – 1 Gateshead FC
Attendance: 2022 (100 away)
Aldershot Town Lineup: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 6. Theo Widdrington, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 19. Ryan Hill (C), 20. Callum Stewart, 22. Olly Scott, 23. Hady Ghandour (11. Brody Peart 16′, 9. Kwame Thomas 72′),, 25. Will Nightingale, 31. Ryheem Sheckleford (8. Tyler Frost), 33. Sam Inwood, 34. Dejan Tetek (24. Charlie Warren)
Unused Subs: 16. Pat Nash, 12. Keane Anderson, 15. Christy Grogan
Gateshead FC Lineup: 47. Adam Desbois, 3. David Ferguson, 6. Brad Nicholson, 8. Sam Bowen (11. Tyrelle Newton 68′), 17. Josh Home, 20. Fenton John, 21. Billy Chadwick (15. Levi Amantchi 79′), 22. Josh Anifowose, 28. Louis Storey, 29. Ash Boatswain (25. Ethan Moore 68′), 32. Harry Chapman (19. Mark Beck 87′)
Unused Subs: 10. Jacob Butterfield, 18. Joe Grayson, 31. Ben Williams
Referee Lineup: Niall Smith | Assistant Referees: Andrew Hickman, Damith Bandara | Fourth Official: Will Briers
