Aldershot Town succumbed to a 3-2 loss to Woking amidst an eventful and typically fiery Surrey-Hampshire derby at the Laithwaite Community Stadium. Brody Peart’s stunner halved an early two-goal lead brought on by headed efforts from Joseph Gabode and Harry Beautyman, while Theo Widdrington’s late effort wasn’t enough to undo Beautyman’s 53rd-minute penalty, eventually proving the game winner.
John Coleman named four changes from the side that started the previous weekend’s loss to York City, with Dejan Tetek, Sam Inwood, Callum Stewart and Josh Barrett coming in for Cameron Hargreaces, Jed Meerholz, Christy Grogan and a suspended Ryan Hill, with Theo Widdrington taking the captain’s armband in Hill’s absence.
The early kickoff reigned in the weekend’s National League proceedings, of which the Shots would forge the first chance. A neat one-two between Ryheem Sheckleford and Charlie Warren allowed the latter to race down the right flank before whipping a cross towards the path of Josh Barrett in the area. The forward chested down before volleying powerfully goalwards, blocked only by the head of Aaron Drewe and away to safety.
The hosts would target their prowess from set pieces from the offset, and this strategy bore fruit on the twelve-minute mark. Jamie Andrews’ corner flicked on by Olly Sanderson towards the backpost, where Joseph Gbode was able to nod home despite a strong palm from Coniah Boyce-Clarke, opening the afternoon’s scoring.
The Cards would double their lead soon after, with another corner from Aaron Drewe finding the head of captain Harry Beautyman, who rose well to make it 2-0.
A scrappy exchange on the left-hand touchline eventually saw Olly Scott and Brody Peart link up to blindside Gbode and begin an Aldershot attack. Peart layed through his Scott who in turn squared the ball to Callum Stewart with his back to goal, the frontman took two touches and, with Barrett calling for it on the edge, played a clever reverse pass to the unmarked Peart who unleashed a fabulous curling effort from the corner of the area and into Will Jaaskelainen’s top-right corner to halve the deficit.
Hearts were in mouths as Matt Ward’s interception on the halfway line caught the Shots defense cold, with the wide-man sprinting down on Boyce-Clarke’s goal. However, an terrific display of speed from Olly Scott allowed the fullback to recover the space, putting in a fantastic tackle in the area to block Ward’s eventual effort.
HALF-TIME
The second half would begin controversially, after Gbode’s flick on would bounce towards Ward inside the area with only Sheckleford by his side. The Cards’ number 11 backed into Sheckleford, and after going going to ground was awarded a penalty, which despite Boyce-Clarke guessing the right way, was converted well for 3-1.
This daylight would only last the best part of quarter of an hour, as a period of pressure from the away side eventually resulted in a second for the Shots. A scramble in the box saw two efforts from Sam Inwood blocked and cleared, though the subsequent passage of play would allow Josh Barrett to receive the ball on the right, before firing a powerful low cross towards four waiting yellow shirts, the sharpest of which being skipper Theo Widdrington, who prodded home from close range before sprinting back towards the center-circle.
More controversy followed as Woking thought they had scored their fourth. Substitute Tariq Hinds sprinted to try and beat Boyce-Clarke to a long ball 30-yards from goal, and while the goalkeeper reached it first, the pressure forced an awkward clearance, allowing Olly Sanderson to volley the ball slowly into the net. However, the assistant referee adjudged Hinds to have been in an initial offside position, chalking off the goal to the frustration of the home supporters.
While chances in the final section of the game were sparce, Charlie Warren produced a shot on target after benefitting from a spirited surge forward by Sheckleford. A nervous home crowd would be eventually be relieved by the final whistle, giving Woking the spoils this time around.
Shots lineup: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 6. Theo Widdrington (C) (12. Keane Anderson 68′), 10. Josh Barrett (9. Kwame Thomas 83′), 11. Brody Peart (8. Tyler Frost 68′), 20. Callum Stewart, 22. Oliver Scott, 24. Charlie Warren, 25. Will Nightingale, 31. Ryheem Sheckleford, 33. Sam Inwood, 34. Dejan Tetek.
Subs not used: 16. Pat Nash, 15. Christy Grogan, 27. Toby Nelson, 42. Matt Penney.
Woking lineup: 22. Will Jaaskelainen, 2. Aaron Drewe, 3. Caleb Richards, 4. Chin Okoli, 5. Timi Odusina, 6. Jamie Andrews (16. Tunji Akinola 70′), 7. Harry Beautyman (C) (8 Dale Gorman 88′), 11. Matt Ward, 23. Timmy Akinola (25. Jake Forster-Caskey 70′), 26. Joseph Gbode (14. Tariq Hinds 53′), 30. Olly Sanderson.
Subs not used: 13. Craig Ross, 20. Sam Ashford, 28. Kian Pennant.
