It was a difficult afternoon for Aldershot Town at the Hive Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as the visitors were second best against a Barnet side that secured Football League promotion, winning 4-0 on the day.
In their final away game of the league season, Tommy Widdrington made a series of changes to the eleven that begun their Easter Monday clash with Woking.
Barnet predictably piled pressure from the off, after an Anthony Hartigan free-kick deflected inches wide of Marcus Dewhurst’s right-hand post. The resulting corner saw a point-blank header from Danny Collinge blocked well, though in contesting for the second ball, Dan Ellison was adjudged to have fouled his marker, resulting in a penalty to Barnet.
Mark Shelton stepped up to take the spot kick, confidently placing it into the bottom right corner to rapturous cheers from the home support, who had secured the early opener they had been hoping for.
The Bee’s almost doubled their lead shortly after, with Shelton marauding down the left hand side of the penalty area before fizzing a testing low-ball into the danger-zone. Thankfully, Ellison was equal to it, clearing to safety.
The Shots, while certainly up against it, were not without chances of their own in the opening portion of the match. With the ball bouncing up kindly, Josh Barrett struck a venomous half-volley on the edge of the area, commanding a decent save from Owen Evans. The resulting corner saw Theo Widdrington unlucky not to score, having jumped highest for a close-range header, the ball trickled just wide.
Back up the other end, Barnet striker Callum Stead carried the ball aggressively towards the 18-yard-box before unleashing a powerful low strike. Looking destined for the back of the net, only the post came to Aldershot’s rescue.
A further refereeing decision went the way of the hosts towards the 20-minute mark. With a corner swinging in from the right, Will Armitage was purported to have pulled the shirt of his marker, resulting in a booking for the defender, and another penalty for the league leaders. With Shelton stepping up once more, the midfielder nestled the ball into the left side-netting to score again. 2-0 Barnet.
Lee Ndlovu produced a couple of chances towards the half-hour mark, however a fine save from Dewhurst, followed by an assured standing tackle from Ellison, denied the forward on both occasions.
Shots’ best move of the half came shortly before the whistle, Dejan Tetek’s tackle-cum-interception allowed the Serb to begin a counter attack. With Barnet’s back-line retreating quickly, a lofted through-ball to Josh Barret was distributed quickly to Jack Barham, whose left-footed strike was saved by Evans at the near-post.
HALF-TIME
The second 45 took a while to get going. However, the Bees would take advantage of their first opening of the half. Rhys Browne found Mark Shelton in a central position 25-yards from goal, who, on a hattrick let fly with a right-footed effort. The shot was blocked, though Dewhurst had committed, leaving the onrushing Callum Stead to tap the ball home for a Barnet third.
With the home supporters now seemingly confident of their status as champions, Barnet continued to attack. Ndlovu found the ball bouncing at his feet from the corner of the penalty area, and although his shot was mishit, the sliced strike became a tempting cross into the six-yard box. It was Stead again who met the header, and while Dewhurst’s perceived save prompted gasps of disbelief from the Barnet faithful, the referee pointed to the center-circle, implying the ball had been caught over the line. 4-0.
With only pride left to play for, the Shots successfully managed to quell the onslaught. The game devolved into being contested largely in the middle of the park, while both sets of players, and supporters, awaited the final whistle.
Aaron Jones became the third Shots player to go into the referee’s book shortly after the 70th-minute mark. An unfortunate turn into the path of Calum Stead saw a lengthy stoppage in play, eventually leading in the forward being bandaged and substituted.
For the final ten minutes, the happenings around the ground became more interesting than on the field. As Barnet supporters waited patiently to rush the pitch, the fixture ebbed to conclusion.
Attendance: 4990 (174 away)
Shots lineup: 28. Marcus Dewhurst, 6. Theo Widdrington (32. Emmanuel Maja 57′), 8. Tyler Frost, 10. Josh Barrett (39. Kwame Thomas 58′), 17. Aaron Jones (C) 9. (Kai Corbett 79′), 22. Jack Barham (14. Ollie Bray 69′), 27. James Henry, 33. Luca Woodhouse, 34. Dejan Tetek, 35. Dan Ellison, 36. Will Armitage (24. Maxwell Mullins 79′).
Subs not used: 1. Jordi van Stappershoef, 12. Keane Anderson.
Barnet lineup: 13. Owen Evans, 3. Ben Coker (21. Billy Clifford 82′), 4. Danny Collinge, 8. Rhys Browne (17. Zak Brunt 69′), 9. Lee Ndlovu (14. Dom Telford 85′), 10. Callum Stead (12. Harry Chapman 78′), 15. Ryan Glover, 18. Anthony Hartigan, 19. Mark Shelton, 22. Adebola Oluwo, 25. Nik Tavares.
Subs not used: 40. Giosue Bellagambi, 23. Joe Grimwood, 32. Jordan Cropper.
