I2:15pm
Wasn’t taking any chances today with rail engineering work disruptions and a bus journey between Basingstoke and Woking. I’m on that now but the rain is still incessant. Someone on the forum said that the pitch looked fine… but that was two hours ago.
14:10pm
Slow burner this so far as the crowd but they’re all in the boosters. Fair few away fans around too. What will we get? Somewhere around 2400 I reckon but would be delighted with more. This is what it’s all about anyway, Saturday afternoon, Aldershot, rain or shine.
14:33pm
A few more in.
THE GAME
Once everyone was packed in and we didn’t know it then but we were part of a crowd looking towards 3000, the noise was brilliant, even from the Hartlepool fans who gave as good as they got. Jeff will be pleased.
We’re not because I’m afraid this was very much “back down to earth” and curiosity always did kill the cat. Curiosity, yes that. Curious to know why the ref (Ryan Atkins) was either from Cleveland or had been chucked some dough from Stelling but he was nothing but a Fraggle all afternoon, clueless and gave us absolutely nothing decision-wise.
And curious to know why he gave a penalty that looked well outside the box. Quite a few in the South Stand thought the same when I mentioned it second half; they’d had a better view than home-enders.
No issue with the result but second half we were poor and Searle finally threw in the towel taking off Chislett and Berkeley-Agyepong.
And Walker MOM? Have a word. Saved a penalty that was diabolical and then… oh dear, let’s not even go there. Initially it looked like an own goal. It’s been credited to Holohan. From where I was it looked like Mitch came for the ball and it bounced under him. Kabamba… that was just salt in the wound.
I’ve made this 3-minute video of some of the second half action but dubbed some of the first 15 minutes audio from the first half… sounds like the south stand have never been in such fine voice!
Maybe 3-0 flattered the visitors a bit but it’s a reality check ahead of our FA Cup game at Bromley. Wasn’t what I expected today, I think even a few of us may have been shocked by being beaten so easily. But we all know it, this team have enough about them not to worry about relegation and actually, I’ll settle for that.
Full reports and photos to be added as soon as they become available. As for waiting two days for ATFC to put out the video of the goals, I’m not bothered in the slightest! Sat on Woking station now where lo and behold, there IS a train running back to the south-west coast.
Elsewhere today, Halifax, Yeovil and Bromley were all beaten, all six Sutton United fans had to turn back when their game at Fylde was called off and Chorley have drawn 0-0 for the third game in a row…
ATFC MATCH REPORT
Dreadful writing by the way. Need to learn the difference between past and present tense, whoever wrote this (also it’s Mohamed not Mohammed)…
Aldershot Town fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to manager-less Hartlepool United as they look to impressive an extended crowd on national Non-League Day at the EBB Stadium.
The game started off in the worse possible way for Aldershot Town, with Josh Hawkes capitalising on a quick counter-attack.
After an early penalty decision that was controversially waved away from referee Ryan Atkin, Hartlepool pounced and took the early advantage in what was their first attack of the game.
A through ball down the left-hand side set Josh Hawkes through on goal and after some tight pressure from Kodi Lyons-Foster, the forward does well to cut inside and just about squeeze his effort just past Mitch Walker and into the back of the net.
However, the home side respond with a great counter-attack of their own in the 14th minute with Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong played through by Ethan Chislett however, Aldershot Town’s joint top-scorer sees his effort go just wide of the mark.
The home side continued to add pressure and two quick-fire chances for both Berkeley-Agyepong and Shamir Mullings from a corner, saw Aldershot still searching for that equalising goal.
Things could’ve gone from bad to worse after Atkins is at the centre of things again, after awarding a controversial penalty to Hartlepool following Lewis Kinsella’s challenge on Ryan Donaldson that looked to have been outside the area.
Never-the-less, goal-scorer Hawkes steps up to take it but his effort is fantastically saved by Walker who goes to his left-hand side and saves from the midfielder.
There was still time in the first-half for Berkeley-Agyepong to try his luck with a glancing header just inside the area in the 43rd minute but his effort was once again well-saved by Killip.
This ended what was an entertaining first-half with plenty of chances for both sides, with both teams looking to come out in the second-half with the early pressure.
The second-half started in the same frantic fashion with Chislett’s opportunity to equalise in the 50th minute, brilliantly halted by Peter Kioso with a last-ditch challenge just inside the area.
Aldershot Town continued to press for that equaliser with early chances in the second-half for both Mohammed Bettamer and Berkeley-Agyepong respectively, but neither were able to level proceedings.
A few half-chances continued to emerge for the Shots, but despite their relentless pressure, Hartlepool did well to keep the home side at bay for a majority of the second-half.
Despite the Aldershot Town pressure, the away side were then able to find themselves a bit more breathing room, following a nice interchange between Luke James and Nicke Kabamba, that allowed fellow substitute Gavin Holoman to tap in from a couple yards out.
There was time for the away side to deal a final blow to an Aldershot Town side who gave everything going forward as Holoman was able to play in Kabamba for a third and wrap up what was ultimately a disappointing result for Aldershot.
The Shots will be looking to get over the frustrating defeat to Hartlepool as we look to our FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round encounter with Bromley next Tuesday.
Aldershot Town: 1 M Walker, 2 R Tinkler (C), 25 M Hunt, 6 K Lyons-Foster 3 L Kinsella, 34 J Powell, 7 A Santos, 21 J Berkeley-Agyepong (Eyoma 84′), 20 E Chislett (Shields 84′), 19 M Bettamer, 9 S Mullings (Rance 75′).
Unused Subs: Whittingham, Finney.
Hartlepool United: 1 B Killip, 2 P Kioso, 5 F Kerr, 4 M Raynes, 3 M Kitching, 8 N Featherstone, 15 G Mafuta, 7 R Donaldson (C) (Kennedy 90′), 11 J Hawkes (Holoman 75′), 23 G Toure (James 65′), 9 N Kabamba.
Unused Subs: Richardson, Cunningham.
Match Attendance: 2768 (188 away fans)
And from Hartlepools’ perspective…
An early Josh Hawkes goal put the visitors ahead before the midfielder missed a penalty in the first half after Ryan Donaldson was fouled on the edge of the area.
Aldershot had chances to get back into the game but didn’t take them as substitute Gavan Holohan and Nicke Kabamba punished them late on to confirm an important 3-0 win to start life after Craig Hignett with a bang.
Oh and apparently our drummer is shite. Which one though? Poolies! Sound like a right load of fuckwits.
One of the world’s shortest books.
calling-the-shots.com 