Aylesbury brought an end to fellow playoff challengers Sutton Coldfield Town's nine-match unbeaten run with an impressive, dominant display at The Meadow.
With the return to action of Kevin Mealor and Mark Boyce, United showed a balance to their line-up which had been sorely missed during the defeat at Bury Town, and they had their opponents on the back foot from the outset.
Just five minutes into the action they fashioned a glorious chance when Mealor beat his man to the bye line before cutting the ball back for Nathan Graham. He had little time to adjust and the result was a toe-poked effort which Chris Gemmell managed to claw at on the goal line.
Midway through the first half United came desperately were denied taking the lead in bizarre circumstances when Glen Hawkins met Mead's corner with a flying header, which was kept out on the line by a combination of knee and hand by Sam Wilson.
A penalty to Aylesbury was the outcome, and Wilson was duly dismissed for his efforts, but Graham's penalty lacked quality and Gemmell saved to keep his lead intact.
The pressure remained as United proceeded to force a further three corners in succession to add to the original, the second proving most telling as the ball came all the way across for the waiting Ben Stevens whose shot was turned round the post by Gemmell.
Sutton's sole chance of the first forty-five minutes came as a result of Aylesbury's first drop in concentration, when a deep free kick was guided towards Ed Booth who found himself unmarked but couldn't connect, the ball eventually hitting Carl Kavanagh and going behind.
Gemmell was the visitors' saviour again on thirty-four minutes when, after great approach play, Graham made space for himself in the box and cracked a fearsome effort just inside the post, only to see the opposing keeper produce a flying save and tip the ball wide.
The duel resumed a minute later and Graham was denied again, this time getting in behind the backline but his low effort was turned wide by Gemmell on his near post.
As the minutes ticked by it remained a mystery how Aylesbury hadn't turned their utter dominance into a goal. A Stevens cut back was scrambled behind, then on the stroke of the interval Kavanagh had a headed goal disallowed for pushing, as United were forced to accept a scoreless opening half.
Half-time: Aylesbury 0-0 Sutton Coldfield
The second half resumed in much the same vein, and early on a quickly taken free-kick was rolled into the path of Graham, but his shot was straight at Gemmell and deflected away.
With some evident frustration beginning to creep into United's play, the opening goal finally arrived just in time. The excellent Mealor surged away down the left flank and powered into the box before going for goal and finding the net with the help of a heavy deflection. 1-0
The goal relaxed Aylesbury to an extent, and they continued to keep up the pressure on their visitors. Butler struck a dipping volley just over the bar before Glen Hawkins somehow contrived to miss the best chance of the game when he headed wide from four yards out when all alone. The finish did no justice to the great work done by Graham and then Stevens who delivered the cross.
With nothing to lose, Sutton went for broke, making all three of their substitutions and sticking three men in attack. It nearly paid dividends as they proceeded to have their best spell of the game and some rare attacking threat.
Twice in a ten minute spell they hit the woodwork through Ed Booth. First he rose to meet a corner and rattled the top of the crossbar with his header. Nine minutes later he got ahead of the stranded Tom Vincent and made firm contact but struck the base of the post.
It was so nearly an equaliser which would have been totally unjust on Aylesbury, but it wouldn't have been the first time this season missed chances have come back to haunt the team.
This time things were to have a different ending though, and the Ducks added a second goal with a classy counter-attacking move. The ball was worked from one end of the pitch to the other in a blink of the eye, Graham playing a one-two with Stevens. The latter's return pass was measured to perfection, allowing the striker to gallop free and fire past Gemmell. 2-0
Sutton had a further effort and once again went close when Junior Brown's header dropped onto the roof of the net, but the match belonged to Aylesbury.
The third came with the last kick of the game in farcical circumstances. Michael Batchelor returned to the field after receiving treatment, but instead of quickly taking up his position in defence, he strolled back on and, positioned 40 yards behind his defence, he played Nathan Graham onside as the Aylesbury man alertly took full advantage of the situation and ran onto a through pass. His initial shot was saved by Gemmell, but he collected the rebound and played in Hawkins for the easiest goal he'll ever score. 3-0
The third was a fair reflection on United's dominance, and another strong home performance. The Ducks now need to go to Marlow and find the consistency away from home that's been missing all season.
