Aldershot Town got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, as late goals from Kwame Thomas and Ryan Hill saw them emerge 2-0 victors against Morecambe in front of a bumper away support at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.
It was all change in midfield as John Coleman made three changes from the side that fell short against Boreham Wood in midweek, with James Henry and Cameron Hargreaves returning to action alongside Ryan Hill, who reclaimed the captain’s armband after serving his two-match suspension. The Shots would kick off with a considerable backdrop of well-wishers, as 451 travelling supporters made the arduous journey to north Lancashire to honour the club’s 16th annual Tour of Duty.
A particularly blustery day on the west coast would see the wind favour the hosts in the first half, which almost bore fruit for the Shrimps after just 4 minutes, as an always swerving corner could only find the back of Ryan Hill’s head before clipping the bar, saving the skippers blushes.
Despite this early anxiety, the Shots would prove the more dominant thereafter, with Cameron Hargreaves and Christy Grogan both hitting the woodwork in quick succession. Brody Peart’s cunning reverse pass from left saw a late arriving Hargreaves’ first time finish hit the Myles Boney’s right-hand post, before a James Henry free-kick floated over the stand-in keeper and to the head of Grogan, who couldn’t believe he hadn’t scored.
Will Nightingale would be the next man in a yellow shirt to come close, as a free-kick from right was nodded down by the center half before bouncing back off a Morecambe defender, prompting a fierce volley towards the bottom left corner, flying just wide.
Morecambe’s strongest chance in the first half came via Chris Popov. The forward received the ball low from Lewis Payne from the right flank, managing to flick it high with his first touch before volleying from a tight angle just outside the six-yard area. The effort, despite certainly heading goalbound, was blocked superbly by an onrushing Coniah Boyce-Clarke, who made himself big at the crucial moment.
HALF-TIME
With the wind still causing problems for both sides, Miguel Azeez’ long ball from midfield travelled unnaturally after being caught up in the air, eventually being pounced on first by Paul Lewis inside the Shots’ defensive third. Lewis played Jack Nolan in short before the Shrimps’ top scorer unleashed a strike towards goal with significant power, but lacking in direction as Boyce-Clarke claimed comfortably.
Having dominated chances in the first-half, a nervy period for the visitors had many fearing Morecambe may cultivate an opener. A slip from Boyce-Clarke saw his free-kick find the feet of Nolan in font of the back line, and while Grogan and co. recovered well to prevent a one-on-one opportunity, the ball was held up well before finding substitute Ben Tollitt, who jinked his way through two defenders before getting his shot away from the corner of the area. Thankfully for the Shots, his effort towards the near post could only find the outside netting.
A tentative second 45 looked to be ebbing towards a bore draw, however, a tactical decision to switch the sides of wide-forwards Brody Peart and Charlie Warren would prove the catalyst for the games opening goal. With just three minutes of regular time remaining, Ryheem Sheckleford found Peart on the right hand touchline, with the 20-year-old taking one touch before looking up and producing a stunning cross towards the back post where a grateful Kwame Thomas was waiting to coolly tap home and break the deadlock for 1-0, prompting pandemonium from the away stand, who were fortunate to find themselves closest to the action.
Six minutes of added time may have spelled nerves for the Shots as they held on to their slenderest of leads, though shortly after the fourth-official lifted his board, Charlie Warren managed to break into the box on the left before a canny touch around his marker saw the forward clipped on his way through, an unfair challenge that was spotted by referee Gareth Rhodes who quickly pointed to the spot for an Aldershot Town penalty.
Captain and joint top-scorer Ryan Hill made no hesitation in stepping up to take, sending Boney the wrong way and slotting his pressure penalty coolly inside the right-hand post. After peeling off to celebrate in front of the nearby crowd, the Shots would hold out their clean sheet, picking up a crucial first win in seven, stretching their distance from the relegation zone to seven points.
Shots Line-up: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 11. Brody Peart, 15. Christy Grogan, 17. James Henry (6. Theo Widdrington 71′), 19. Ryan Hill (C), 20. Callum Stewart (9. Kwame Thomas 84′), 22. Olly Scott, 24. Charlie Warren, 25. Will Nightingale, 31. Ryheem Sheckleford (34. Dejan Tetek 89′)
Subs not used: 16. Pat Nash, 8. Tyler Frost, 27. Toby Nelson, 42. Matt Penney
Morecambe Line-up: 41. Myles Boney, 2. Lewis Payne (18. Ben Tollitt 84′), 5. Harlee Dean, 7. Gwion Edwards, 8. Miguel Azeez, 16. Liam Hogan, 17. Paul Lewis (32. George Thomas 84′), 24. Yann Songo’o (20. Mo Sangare 74′), 33. Timothy Akindileni, 36. Jack Nolan, 42. Chris Popov (23. Dan Ogwuru 73′)
Subs not used: 25. Alfie Scales, 12. Kyle Jameson, 28. Tommy Fogarty
