Aldershot were subject to late heartbreak as Lennell John-Lewis scored a 93rd minute equaliser to cancel out Aaron Jones opener just before half-time.
Aldershot made one change from their 2-0 defeat to Ebbsfleet United midweek as Josh Stokes returned to the starting XI in place of Theo Widdrington.
The action got underway early on with Aldershot looking very keen to get an early goal. In just the second minute, Ollie Harfield sent a warning to the York defence as he popped up on the left unmarked and hit the side netting.
Just two minutes later, the Shots hit the target as they edged closer to that early goal, but David Stockdale was equal to Jack Barham’s low-effort as a strong hand turned it wide.
Levi Andoh drove forward in a rare trip forward by York as he forced Jordi Van Stappershoef to get down and save fairly comfortably from an effort from outside the box.
Most of the game was played in York territory and the Shots were dangerous with every attack – of which there were many within the first half hour. Two goalmouth scrambles within a couple of minutes left the Shots wondering what they had to do to find the back of the net.
Firstly, in the 20th minute, Barham was in the thick of the action again. He narrowly missed the ball when unmarked and looking to head in from close-range but with play recycled, Tyler Frost launched a shot towards goal which hit his teammate Barham. And two minutes later, some last-ditch defending from York saw the ball fail to find the target again.
York changed shape to match Aldershot’s, which saw the constant barrage of Shots attacks lessen but they finally found the opener in the 41st minute. Aaron Jones won the ball back, played a one-two with Barham, and found the back of the net with a great finish into the far-corner.
Van Stappershoef had little to do in the first-half but had to be on high-alert just before the break as Olly Dyson launched a powerful, long-range effort towards his goal. The Dutchman did well to react and tip palm the ball over the bar, though.
HALF-TIME
York certainly came out for the second-half a different side and were keen to put a disappointing first 45 behind them.
Lennell John-Lewis was introduced at half-time and was involved from the off. In the 54th minute, he headed wide. Dipo Akinyemi then fired an effort over form outside the box a minute later.
Akinyemi was involved again not long after as he forced Van Stappershoef into another smart save. This time, making himself big and denying the striker from close-range.
As the second-half wore on, Aldershot managed to get back into the game and create a few chances of their own. Tyler Frost saw a free-kick hit the wall, before Kwame Thomas saw an effort blocked with 15 minutes remaining.
Ryan Glover was introduced with just over 10 minutes to play and his fresh energy saw him instantly with a sight at goal. A neat bit of play from Ollie Harfield played Glover in, he cut inside onto his right but blasted his shot over the bar.
With nine minutes added on at the end of the game, Aldershot were forced to hold on for longer than they wanted and their hearts were broken in the 93rd minute when Lennell John-Lewis was able to poke the ball home from close-range.
But, despite broken hearts, the Shots pushed forward for a winner and came so close to getting one in the 97th minute. Ollie Harfield provided a beautiful ball across the face of goal but it was millimetres out of the reach of Kwame Thomas in the middle who had the goal gaping in front of him.
Shots lineup: 1. Jordi Van Stappershoef, 2. Haji Mnoga, 3. Ollie Harfield, 4. Cian Harries, 5. Coby Rowe, 7. Stuart O’Keefe (C) (21. Ethan Burnett 18′), 8. Tyler Frost, 9. Lorent Tolaj (39. Kwame Thomas 59′), 10. Josh Stokes (11. Ryan Glover 78′), 17. Aaron Jones, 22. Jack Barham. Subs not used: 18. Olly Scott, 24. Maxwell Mullins.
