The Shots returned to the EBB for a good Friday meeting with Sutton United. The game was somewhat of a feisty affair that bore witness to two red cards and some hearty tackles, a battle that could not be won by either side in the end as the game finished in a 2-2 draw.
John Coleman made no changes to the side that secured victory at Morecambe last weekend, however Hady Ghandour returned to the bench following a period of injury and Sam Inwood also featured in the dugout after his time away on international duty.
KICK OFF
The game kicked off with an early yellow card for Besart Toppolaj when Brody Peart was brought down for his tidy footwork. It was nothing malicious from the but it was a foul that prevented Brody from driving towards goal.
The Shots were not messing about today and opened the scoring within the first 5 minutes of the game. A dead ball down the left flank was dealt with poorly by the Sutton man at the front post and deflected into the feet of Callum Stewart. While not the cleanest of strikes, it was enough to get past the goalkeeper and find the bottom right corner. Aldershot Town 1 – 0 Sutton United.
The visitors did not take likely to the goal-scorer after putting the Shots one up, with the number 20 taking a clattering on the edge of the penalty area. Thankfully he picked himself up quickly and was back on the pitch in no time. The following freekick was unfortunately put over the bar by James Henry who decided to have a pop at goal.
A golden opportunity presented itself in the 16th minute when Cam Hargreaves showed off his impeccable work rate to latch onto a loose ball into the penalty area and was brought down by the defender. Captain Ryan Hill stepped up to the spot for the second game in a row and smashed it into the back of the net, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in the process. Aldershot Town 2 – 0 Sutton United.
Just when they thought they were two up and cruising, it took the visitors just 3 minutes to strike back, after some confusion in the six yard box saw the ball pop out to Lewis Simper who poked the ball past Coniah Boyce-Clarke from close range. Aldershot Town 2 – 1 Sutton United
Yet again Brody Peart looked lively, this time featuring down the right hand side as he twisted and turned his way around the Sutton defenders before delivering a low drilled cross into the box, which was scrambled away by the defender at the front post.
A quick free kick from Cam Hargreaves down the middle left Callum Stewart with half an opportunity. After taking a beautiful touch past the defender, he let loose a deflected shot that left the goalkeeper scrambling across his goal to make a save in the bottom right corner.
The action began to die down a little towards the end of the first half and the visitors enjoyed a spell of possession without the constant harassment of the Shots front line. All in all it was a solid first half, with a good defensive display despite the goal conceded as well as an impressive work rate to apply pressure that tested the Sutton defence.
HALF TIME – Aldershot Town 2 – 1 Sutton United
It was nearly a repeat of the first half as the visitors nearly found their equaliser within the opening minutes. Kwaku Donkor found himself with bags of space to run into along the right side before delivering a low ball that slipped past Will Nightingale. The subsequent attempt at goal from the Sutton attacker forced an excellent reaction save from Coniah Boyce-Clarke who pushed the ball away with his right foot from close range.
Callum Stewart managed to win the first corner of the half after some good running saw him get the better of his man and latch onto a loose ball from Will Nightingale, but his attempted driven cut-back ricocheted out. Soon after the number 20 was flexing his legs again down the left side, winning a second corner in similar fashion.
The first yellow card was awarded to Olly Scott, who had a worrying moment when he put in a late sliding challenge that on a different day could have seen red. The tackles were getting crunchier on both sides as the game started to get a bit nibbly in the final 20 minutes.
71 minutes in the ref pointed to the penalty spot yet again, this time giving the U’s a great opportunity back into the game. Number 8 Lewis Simper stepped up and gave Coniah Boyce-Clarke no chance from 12 yards with a good penalty. Aldershot Town 2 – 2 Sutton united.
Amidst the penalty ordeal, Olly Scott unfortunately received his second yellow of the game for bringing down the Sutton man in the box. The ref began reaching into his pocket fairly frequently in the last quarter, with Junior Eccleston soon having his name added to the book for an overenthusiastic challenge. Safe to say tensions were high around the stadium as both sets of players and fans alike knew the importance of three points today.
The Shots thought they had a match winner when a brilliant cut back on the right found Charlie Warren at the front post, whose close range strike hammered against the right post. The ball was scrambled away by the Sutton defence but only as far as Theo Widdrington, who let fly a curling right footed effort that ended up just wide to the right. Agonisingly close for the Shots.
The referee was waving his cards about all over the place, with Sutton this time on the receiving end of a red card when Charlie Bell was sent to the tunnel for a second yellow offence on Sam Inwood.
The man of the match was awarded to none other than Cam Hargreaves, who was yet again found in every corner and crevice of the pitch. It was a solid performance from the midfielder, who added an indirect assist to his tally for winning the penalty in the first half from his hard work.
In the end it was an unfortunate result that could have resulted in a big three points for the Shots, but with only a handful of games left to play it was an important point none the less in their road to secure safety. John Coleman’s men now look to Wealdstone on Monday to make it three games unbeaten.
FULL TIME – Aldershot Town 2 – 2 Sutton United
ATTENDANCE – 3034 (438 away)
Aldershot Town Lineup: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 11. Brody Peart, 15. Christy Grogan, 17. James Henry (34. Dejan Tetek, 10. Josh Barrett 91′) 19. Ryan Hill (C), 20. Callum Stewart (9. Kwame Thomas 91′), 22. Olly Scott, 24. Charlie Warren, 25. Will Nightingale, 31. Ryheem Sheckleford (6.Theo Widdrington 59′)
Unused Subs: 16. Pat Nash, 23. Hady Ghandour
Sutton United Lineup: 1. Jack Sims, 8. Lewis Simper, 14. Edon Pruti (C), 18. David Ogbonna (40. Ronny Ruiz’), 23. Jayden Harris (51. Toby Byron 61′), 25. Jake Taylor, 26. Junior Eccleston, 34. Brandon Njoku 9. Davide Rodari 91′), 37. Charlie Bell, 39. Besart Topallaj, 50. Kwaku Donkor
Unused Subs: 13. Chris Haigh, 36. Dan Urpens, 47. Dubem Eze, 52. Danny Cashman
Referee Lineup: Robert Massey-Ellis | Assistant Referees: Stuart Butler, Thomas Staten | Fourth Official: Dean Treleaven
