Aldershot

 

Had the Shots won this game and in particular after that stellar first-half performance that was unrecognisable from Tuesday, the headline I mentally prepared would have been “happy days are here again”.

And the northern tithead in the home end who got himself ejected would have been an icing on the cake memory, something to take home with as well as the three points that should have been ours.

The fact that they weren’t ours was down to our own profligacy and while not finishing a team off when we should have, the chances we gifted them showed that we could so easily have lost this game.

So that is why, writing this on another two-hour journey home, “the luck of the draw” seems to make perfect sense.

Away fans might reflect that they should have been put to bed first half and so to come away from this with a point was lucky.

Shots fans, well, works both ways doesn’t it. When you think back to those two first half chances we gave Halifax and the second half performance that was slightly lacking in intensity, the visitors did gain the ascendency and you knew the goal was coming.

When it duly did, I feared the worst and so did much of the East Bank in that we would again throw a game away but thankfully we have a point towards a fair few that we will need to be collecting now.

I’d been saying for a while to start Alfy Whittingham and he duly showed great promise today. He later tweeted to say he was disappointed not to get the three points. He said that the fans were magnificent and I agree though some bloke on ShotsWeb reckons there was NO atmosphere…

They put in a great shift and here are some clips from earlier…

 

 

I thought it was the best game Mullings has has played so far and while I am yet to be convinced fully, we all know that we must give these players time to bed in and perhaps once that goal for Shamir does happen, both he and the team can bring about improved positivity in attack.

It’s a results business but at the same time, you must look for positives from each game and the rip-roaring start and that first 45 minutes was such an improvement, it would be harsh to take that away from them in criticising them too much.

Overall I thought Halifax were poor and were simply allowed back into the game and take a share of the spoils. They were flimsy and found us difficult to handle first half but totally fair play to them, they got their major chance and took it.

But yet another set-piece goal concede must be a huge concern; looked a bit of a free header to me but I’ll have to wait for the goals to be available; once they are they will be added to this post along with audio, video and pictures.

For now I’m not feeling too flat, disappointed we didn’t get the win today but in all fairness, did we really deserve three points?

That cross put in near the end that was so close to being a tap-in!

No Alive And Kicking today but top marks to whoever it was decided to bung on Laid by James at half time – epic tune!