Aldershot booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Trophy with a brilliant 3-0 win over Welling United. Second-half goals from Inih Effiong, Ryan Glover and Ben De Lacy-Turner sealed a well deserved victory.
The Shots got off to a good start as Justin Amaluzor got a shot away within the first three minutes. The winger launched an effort from just outside the box which was saved.
But any signs that more than half a month without a game had not produced any rustiness by an early chance was dashed as the game fell into a severe lack of action for half an hour.
Welling looked up for a Trophy upset as they pressed the Shots defence hard and despite looking energetic, failed to materialise their efforts into any clear-cut chances with the offside flag cutting a number of their chances short.
The Shots similarly suffered with creating any real chances of note. They created a few promising attacking moves which failed to materialise into any shots until just before the break.
Ody Alfa, Inih Effiong and Amaluzor were able to get some shots on goal as the half-time whistle approached but the deadlock wasn’t in much danger of being broken.
HALF-TIME
Just as the first-half started, The Shots were able to get some early sights at goal. Half-time sub Harrison Panayiotou and Effiong both blasting first-time efforts over the bar.
Welling came the closest out of either side as Taylor Maloney saw his free-kick from a very wide angle hit the crossbar. Perhaps an overhit cross to the far post, a few inches lower and he certainly would have claimed it as deliberate.
The Shots came out from half-time with a point to prove and were piling on the pressure. Two quick chances saw Effiong’s close-range shot blocked after some great work from Ryan Glover before Panayiotou’s header was well saved.
But just moments later Aldershot found the breakthrough. Another fantastic ball in from the left by Ollie Harfield was met by Inih Effiong whose glancing header hit the base of the far-post before bouncing in off the hapless Kai McKenzie-Lyle.
The home side found their groove and confidence after opening the scoring and started playing some lovely stuff. Joe Partington began spraying passes across the pitch and the likes of Amaluzor, Glover and Panayiotou looked lively.
As the game drew to a close, Aldershot were in full control and continuing to play some great football and their confidence was rewarded with two late goals.
Another Ollie Harfield assist – this time from a corner – saw Ryan Glover rise highest and head home in the 88th minute before youngster Ben De Lacy-Turner was able to finish a comprehensive victory as he cooly finished into the bottom corner in the last minute of stoppage time.
Shots lineup: 1. Luca Ashby-Hammond, 2. Archie Davies, 3. Ollie Harfield, 4. Joe Partington (c), 5. Tyler Cordner (31. Ben De Lacy-Turner 89′), 7. Justin Amaluzor, 8. Frank Vincent, 9. Inih Effiong, 18. Ody Alfa (11. Harrison Panayiotou, 46′) 22. Giles Phillips (16. Corey Jordan 64′), 23. Ryan Glover. Subs not used: 35. Lloyd Thomas, 21. Ben Shroll, 33. Alex MacAllister, 34. Oliver Lahtinen-Kalsi.