Aldershot Town 0 – 2 Truro City
It was not the end to the season that the Shots would have hoped for as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of relegated side Truro City. A double for striker Kieran Wilson was the difference between the two sides, with the Shots coming close on numerous occasions but remaining unable to find that final magic touch.
It was John Coleman’s final game in charge after successfully keeping the Shots safe from looming relegation, with the boss making four changes to the side that faced Brackley the weekend before. Brody Peart returned to the starting lineup alongside Olly Scott, while James Henry looked to bow out with a final start in front of the fans at the EBB and Joe Lewis-Evans was given an opportunity to show the crowd what he could do.
KICK OFF
The Shots started bright with some early sniffs at goal. Theo Widdrington did well to intercept a forward pass in the middle of the pitch before striding forward and releasing a 25 yard strike that sailed just over the bar. The new Shots centurion looked hungry for a goal to round off his individual efforts this season and almost had one inside 10 minutes.
The Shots kept pushing early on, and some tidy footwork from Ryheem Sheckleford allowed him to slide a sidewards ball into Cam Hargreaves who was free in the box. The midfielder let loose and his strike took a slight deflection that took it just wide of the right post.
The visitors were content with a more direct approach, looking to get their strikers in behind quickly and catch the Shots defence off guard. But the boys in red and blue continued to look like the more threatening side, this time with Brody Peart’s gliding past his man to deliver a dangerous low cross that was awkwardly scrambled behind by the Truro defender.
Truro were very fortunate to get away with what looked like a certain goal. Matt Penney whipped in a delicious cross that reached Brody Peart at the back post, whose initial effort fell back to him. He set it back towards Cam Hargreaves who was denied only by a brave close range header from the defender to put the ball over the bar.
Despite being by far the better side in the opening half hour, it was the visitors who opened the scoring first, something that was established as a running theme in recent games. A long ball forward and a miscommunication between defence and goalkeeper left Boyce-Clarke on the floor outside his penalty area, allowing Kieran Wilson to roll the ball into the open net. Aldershot Town 0-1 Truro City.
The goal seemed to startle the Shots side as momentum fizzled out at the end of the first half. A final chance fell the way of Theo Widdrington following a fantastic cross from Lewis-Evans on the left flank, with Theo stretching to get on the end of it. Unfortunately the connection was not quite there and his effort was off target, but it was a positive move from the Shots to round off the half.
HALF TIME
It was a slow start to the second half for the Shots, which unfortunately proved to be costly when another long clearance and a slight mishap at the back left striker Kieran Wilson clean through on goal. Boyce-Clarke got a hand to the strikers effort but it wasn’t enough to keep it out the net. Aldershot Town 0-2 Truro City.
Joe Lewis-Evans continued to be a bright spark, sending in another pin point cross to find James Henry who couldn’t quite find the angle to beat the goalkeeper. The young winger put in a decent shift all afternoon, giving the Shots fans a glimpse of what the future generation might have in store.
Truro were clearly desperate to hold on and get their first win in months, and would do so by any means necessary. Tyler Frost looked to break away on the counter which was swiftly put to a halt when he was clattered by two Truro players.
The biggest opportunity of the game fell to Cam Hargreaves following some brilliant play by Ryan Hill, who broke past the defender to the by-line and cut it back to Cam on the penalty spot. The following side footed effort whistled closely over the bar. The Shots looked keen to reduce the deficit however just couldn’t get the ball over the line.
Ryan Hill was awarded man of the match to make it a hat-trick of honours for him. It was a solid performance from the captain who kept battling until the very end, but it was just not quite enough to change the outcome of the game. The Shots will now enjoy a summer break as they look to rest, reset and go again next season, with the hopes of pushing on up the table in the Enterprise National League.
FULL TIME
Attendance: 2350 (112 away)
Aldershot lineup: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 6. Theo Widdrington (24. Charlie Warren 59′), 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 11. Brody Peart (8. Tyler Frost 46′), 17. James Henry (4. Luke Jenkins 86′)), 19. Ryan Hill (C), 22. Olly Scott, 25. Will Nightingale, 26 Joe Lewis-Evans (34. Dejan Tetek 59′), 31. Ryheem Sheckleford, 42. Matt Penney (10. Josh Barrett 68′)
Unused subs: 16. Pat Nash, 12. Keane Anderson
Truro lineup: 24. Aiden Stone, 2. Zac Bell, 3. Connor Riley-Lowe (C) (12. Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain 75′), 5. Tom Harrison, 15. Luke Jephcott, 18. Freddie Issaka (16. Tylor Love-Holmes 68′), 20. Ryan Law, 21. Max Kinsey, 23. Ben Starkie (29. Harry Kite 82′), 26. Tom Dean (32. harry Charsley 82′), 31. Kieran Wilson
Unused subs: 30. Will Howard
Referee Lineup: George Laflin | Assistant Referees: Peter Lowe, Nick Blogg | Fourth Official: Andy Bennett
