Aldershot Town will go into Saturday’s semi-final in winning form, after to a 2-0 victory over AFC Fylde on Tuesday night. A closely fought encounter was decided by goals at the end of each half courtesy of James Henry and Josh Barrett, strengthening their pursuit of climbing further up the Vanarama National League table.
Tommy Widdrington made a litany of changes to the side that started Saturday’s loss at Rochdale, the most notable of which being the Kwame Thomas leading the line from the off for the first time since his return.
Levi Laing started the game well, though his foul just outside the area gave Nick Haughton a great opportunity to test Marcus Dewhurst from a dead-ball. The eventual effort beat the wall with serious curve, though sailed past the left-hand post and into the East Bank.
Aldershot’s first attack of some substance saw James Henry linking up with Kwame Thomas. The midfielder found the ball at his feet in the box, and played a neat one-two with his new teammate no more than 12-yards from goal. Unfortunately for Henry, Corey Whelan was quick enough to cut the ball out, preventing a certain opener.
Marcus Dewhurst saw his gloves dirtied on the 12-minute mark, Gavin Massey’s surge into the box resulted in a venomous strike, stinging the palms of the Shots stopper, who parried away for a corner. He was tested once more shortly after, Jon Ustabasi’s effort dealt with in similar fashion.
Aaron Jones was aggrieved to receive the game’s first booking, as his attempt to get the ball on the right-hand touchline was adjudged to be a high-foot at the expense of Owen Evans.
The Coasters began to look the more likely to score, particularly after Nick Haughton’s left footed effort came agonisingly close to beating a rooted Dewhurst at his right-hand post, rolling just wide. However, a moment of quality up the other end arrived with impeccable timing…
Keane Anderson sprayed an intelligent first-time ball out left, allowing Kai Corbett to make the most of his dribbling ability and putting his marker on the floor. Shots’ number nine then found James Henry, who continued his vein of goalscoring form, as a deflected effort dipped into the top-right corner. 1-0 Shots.
HALF-TIME
Fylde started the second-half strong, as a series of charging runs from runs from Tyler Roberts down the left caused serious problems for the Shots’ back-line, who did well to quell the threat each time.
A mix-up in midfield allowed Fylde and Roberts in at goal once more, however, with a one-on-one appearing inevitable, an incredible recovery challenge from Keane Anderson once again protected the fragile lead.
Up the other end, Kai Corbett continued to take from his bag of tricks, beating two men down the left en route to the touchline before putting in an extremely dangerous low-cross that required action from the visiting keeper, Ben Winterbottom.
James Henry looked to make it four goals in three games towards the hour mark, as two good chances in quick succession came his way. The first, the result of an inch-perfect long pass down the channel from Theo Widdrington, saw him unable beat the last man, though his second provoked anxiety from Winterbottom, as a ferocious left footed effort from the corner of the box went centimeters wide of Winterbottom’s far-post.
In what many will agree was his best performance in an Aldershot shirt thus far, Levi Laing topped off a fine evening’s work with an incredible goal-line clearance. As Ashley Boatswain managed to loft the ball over the head of Marcus Dewhurst, the ball looked desperate to trickle into the host’s net if not for an acrobatic clearance over the bar at the last-ditch.
Moments before coming off, Kai Corbett almost finished a fine outing of his own in perfect style, is in-cutting run from left allowed him to strike low from the edge of the area, demanding a remarkable fingertip save from Winterbottom.
An admittedly uneventful second-45 looked to be ebbing to conclusion, before Josh Barrett found himself on the end of a mishit clearance from the Fylde defence. Shots’ top scorer chested down and struck with aplomb to put the result to bed.
Attendance: 1460 (23 Away)
Shots lineup: 28. Marcus Dewhurst, 6. Theo Widdrington (7. Cameron Hargreaves 86′), 9. Kai Corbett (22. Jack Barham 83′), 12. Keane Anderson, 17. Aaron Jones (C) (10. Josh Barrett 83′), 24. Maxwell Mullins, 27. James Henry (11. Ryan Jones 71′), 33. Luca Woodhouse, 35. Dan Ellison, 38. Levi Laing, 39. Kwame Thomas.
Subs not used: 1. Jordi van Stappershoef, 36. Will Armitage, 37. Tariq Uwakwe.
AFC Fylde lineup: 31. Ben Winterbottom, 2. Dan Sassi, 3. Owen Evans (29. Danny Ormerod 81′), 4. Harry Davis, 8. Ethan Mitchell, 10. Nick Haughton, 11. Jon Ustabasi (18. Lincoln McFayden 72′), 15. Will Hugill (40. Joe Riley 72′), 17. Corey Whelan, 20. Gavin Massey (19. Ashley Boatswain 72′), 21. Tyler Roberts (23. Bryce Hosannah 82′).
Subs not used: 33. Charlie Clark, 6. Adam Long.
