Aldershot Town made it 13 points from a possible 15, as yet another impressive away performance saw the Shots emerge 2-1 victors against Yeovil Town on Tuesday evening. Olly Scott opened the scoring for what was only his second National League goal, with Sean Patton heading home the winner in the second half to undo Terrell Works’ excellent equaliser.
John Coleman made three changes to the eleven that started the side’s 1-1 draw with Tamworth, the experience of James Henry and Will Nightingale coming in for Christy Groghan and Keane Anderson, while new signing Brody Peart made his full debut for the side, starting on the right of a front three in place of the injured Charlie Warren.
The Shots took no time at all to make their attacking intentions clear, five seconds to be exact. Receiving the ball from kickoff, Ryan Hill’s long punt forward was headed down by Peart, dropping invitingly for Henry to hit on the half volley 25-yards from goal, his effort sailing just centimeters high of the crossbar.
With the ball seldom leaving the Glovers’ defensive third in the opening section, the visitors would eventually let the pressure tell in the 7th minute. Once again picking the lock down the right channel, a through ball from Hill found Sean Patton, allowing the young forward to square teasingly across the Yeovil area. With the ball dragging just behind a loaded penalty area, a late arriving Olly Scott was first to meet it on the edge, unleashing a powerful first time strike into the bottom right corner to open the scoring.
James Henry looked most likely to double the lead, producing two shots on target in quick succession, each saved well by former England U20 goalkeeper Jed Ward. However, despite dominance, the hosts would level matters midway through the first half. A defensive mix up forged a rare attack for the Somerset side, resulting in Fulham loanee Terrell Works curling in a beautiful effort from range, leaving Coniah Boyce-Clarke no chance and making honours even.
Despite the setback, Shots continued to control the fixture, with Henry unlucky once more not to grab his fourth of the league season. Superb dribbling from Hady Ghandour allowed the forward to cross low into the player-coach, who jinked past his marker before letting off a powerful left-footed strike, which was once again denied well by the keeper.
HALF-TIME
Jed Meerholz almost marked his return to the side with a goal after quick feet from Ghandour allowed Olly Scott to square into a busy penalty area. The midfielder reacted quickest and poked a first time strike which hit both glove and near-post before ricocheting back into the grateful grasp of Ward.
Exemplifying an outstanding all-round performance, a powerful sliding tackle from Scott down the left-hand touchline almost developed into an assist, falling perfectly into the path of Patton. With the shooting angle closing quickly, the Irishman struck first time with his left, clattering against Ward’s near post and out for a goal kick.
Patton would eventually see his second in Aldershot colours, however, after putting his body on the line to score a deserved second. A wicked deflection from a Ryan Hill cross courtesy of Jake Wannell almost found the back of the defender’s own net, before the resulting corner was nodded down into the path of Patton. The forward’s initial volley clattered against the bar and bounced high, though with several green shirts raising a leg to clear from the rebound, Patton dove bravely to head home into an empty net, with the resulting impact denying a chance to celebrate with his travelling supporters. 2-1 Shots.
The Glovers would enjoy their brightest spell of the game in the closing portion, earning a procession of corners to raise the heart rate of Coleman and co. However, the two goals would prove enough to leave Somerset with all three points, seeing the Shots leapfrog their opponents in the table, ending the evening in 14th place.
Shots lineup: 41. Coniah Boyce-Clarke, 7. Cameron Hargreaves, 11. Brody Peart, 14. Jed Meerholz, 17. James Henry (42. Matt Penney 85′), 19. Ryan Hill, 22. Olly Scott. 23. Hady Ghandour, 25. Will Nightingale, 29. Sean Patton, 33. Sam Inwood.
Subs not used: 16. Pat Nash, 4. Luke Jenkins, 15. Christy Groghan, 27. Toby Nelson, 30. Tristan Abrahams, 31. Ryheem Sheckleford, 42. Matt Penney.
Yeovil lineup: 1. Jed Ward, 5. Finn Cousin-Dawson (26. Kyle Ferguson 86′), 6. Jake Wannell, 8. Luke McCormick, 11. James Daly, 14. Brett McGavin, 18. Troy Perrett (2. Joy Mukena 66′), 21. Harvey Greenslade (29. Tahvon Campbell 75′), 27. Declan Skura (10. Ryan Jones 75′), 28. Dakarai Mafico (19. Josh Sims 45′), 38. Terrell Works.
Subs not used: 22. Matt Gould, 23. Jonathon Page.
