Aldershot fell to defeat at the Lamb Ground as newly promoted Tamworth came out 3-2 winners in a game that ran until the 110th minute.
With this afternoon’s game coming just 48 hours after kick-off in our 4-1 win over Oldham Athletic on Saturday, Tommy Widdrington made six changes to that side.
Things didn’t get off to the best of starts for the Shots as Tamworth took the lead in just the eighth minute. It was clear from the off that the home side would be playing for set-pieces and it became obvious why when Jordan Cullinane-Liburd headed in a corner.
To add to their threat from set-pieces, Tom Tonks had a Rory Delap-esque giant throw which caused the Shots defence plenty of problems from within 40-yards of their goal.
It took until the 20th minute for the Shots to really threaten Jas Singh’s goal as they took a while to grow into the game, but Hady Ghandour forced the Tamworth ‘keeper and skipper into parrying the ball behind for a corner.
The Shots couldn’t capitalise from the corner and instead, Tamworth broke forward on a dangerous counter attack but Cameron Hargreaves had tracked the run superbly and won possession back.
Five minutes later, Theo Widdrington picked out the run of Jack Barham with a brilliant ball over the top as the Shots striker forced Singh into save with an effort from outside the area.
But Barham made no mistake in the 32nd minute as he marked his first start for the Shots this season with a goal. Dejan Tetek feinted and slipped through two Tamworth defenders to drive forward and with a little chip over the next challenge, he found Barham who slotted it past Singh to level the game.
Tamworth had a good chance to regain their lead three minutes later from another set-piece. Cullinane-Liburd was booked for shoving Marcus Dewhurst to the floor as we waited for a long throw to be taken but no free-kick was given and a corner came out of the throw: Chris Wreh laid the ball off in a prime position for a Tamworth attacker to finish, but a combination of Dewhurst, Lachlan Byrd and Rollin Menayese made a crucial block.
A couple of chances came the way of Aldershot before the break but neither Hargreaves or Olly Scott could test Singh and the sides went into the break level.
HALF-TIME
Tamworth scored an early goal in the second-half just as they did in the first. Nathan Tshikuna headed the ball into the path of Chris Wreh who was able to apply the finish and regain his side’s lead in the 50th minute.
Tshikuna then provided some individual brilliance to double his side’s advantage just five minutes later. As he drove towards Aldershot’s goal, he unleashed a brilliant effort from 25-yards out that found the top corner and gave Dewhurst no chance.
Tyler Frost was brought on in the 65th minute but lasted just seven minutes after landing awkwardly after a strong challenge and receiving lengthy treatment, in what was the second forced substitution after Maxwell Mullins was forced off just after half-time.
The lengthy stoppage killed the momentum for a short while, but Tshikuna was still looking dangerous and forced Dewhurst into a brilliant save with his feet in the 84th minute.
An incredible 17 minutes was added on and two minutes into those, Aldershot had a golden opportunity as Olly Scott’s fantastic cross was headed over by Ashley Akpan at the back post.
Kai Corbett had been introduced earlier on and skipped past a couple of challenges but could only blast his effort over the bar as he broke into the box as we entered the eighth minute of added time and just a minute later, he was unable to make a proper connection as he was off-balance after a brilliant move by the Shots.
Aldershot had a glimmer of hope in the 104th minute as James Henry found the back of the net once again. Lining up a free-kick from just outside the edge of the box, he found the top corner with a powerful effort that Jas Singh had no chance of saving.
But it was not enough for the Shots as despite pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Tamworth held firm and picked up all three points.
Attendance: 1563 (387 Away)
Shots lineup: 28. Marcus Dewhurst, 2. Lachlan Byrd, 6. Theo Widdrington, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 18. Olly Scott, 21. Ashley Akpan (11. Ryan Jones, 90+11′), 22. Jack Barham (27. James Henry, 78′), 23. Hady Ghandour, 24. Maxwell Mullins (17. Aaron Jones, 52′), 25. Rollin Menayese, 34. Dejan Tetek (8. Tyler Frost, 65′)(9. Kai Corbett, 78′).
Subs not used: 1. Jordi van Stappershoef, 20. Haydon Vaughan.
Tamworth lineup: 1. Jas Singh (C), 4. Tom Tonks (23. Kai Lissimore, 84′), 7. Kyle Finn (24. Jack Moore, 90+5′), 11. Luke Fairlamb, 12. Chris Wreh (27. Miracle Okafor, 90+6′), 15. George Morrison, 17. Jamie Willets, 18. Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, 19. Tom McGlinchey (16. Ben Acquaye, 82’), 20. Nathan Tshikuna, 26. Haydn Hollis.
Subs not used: 9. Daniel Creaney, 21. Leon Phillips, 22. Beck-Ray Enoru.
