Aylesbury?s seven-match unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end by lowly Oxhey Jets who defied the odds to win 2-0 and double their points tally for the season.
The Ducks were without the ill John Mulholland and unavailable Leon Gordon meaning a recall for Mark Toms and a full debut for Joey Acheampong in attack, whilst Lea Coulter was once again only fit for the bench.
Oxhey themselves had plenty of injury problems, with a reported total of six reserve team players drafted into their squad for the match.
United should have been ahead in the third minute. Baines flicked Perks? long kick on and the on running Acheampong lobbed ex-Aylesbury keeper Sam Styles but put the ball wide of the target.
It seemed at the time to be a good omen for the game ahead, but unfortunately Aylesbury struggled to impose themselves from that point and once Oxhey had later scored two goals in two first half minutes it looked a long way back.
Oxhey took a few minutes to settle, but once they did looked far from a side occupying a bottom three position as they looked confident in possession and passed the ball well.
On 11 minutes they had their first effort when Lee Armitt came inside from the left and his shot was deflected just beyond the far post. He then repeated the trick from the opposite flank but fired straight at Perks. Perks had to be alert again to grab a shot from Chris Killer moments later.
Aylesbury were making little headway but they went close when Clay?s free-kick delivery was met by Baines, Styles diving to make a routine enough claim of the ball.
On balance of play Jets had just about shaded proceedings, so their 25th minute lead was just about deserved. Some good link up on the edge of the box saw the ball played into Armitt?s feet, and he went for goal with a delicate chip which struck the underside of the bar and found the net. 1-0 Oxhey
Things got even worse for United as less than two minutes later they were further behind. The Ducks were caught sleeping at a quickly taken short corner played by Lomas into Killer. His ball into the box found Lewis Putman whose run across the defence had gone untracked and he had the simple task of heading home. 2-0 Oxhey
It seemed the only joy Aylesbury were getting was from set pieces, as another dangerous Clay ball into the box found the diving head of Garcia this time, but it was easily claimed by Styles.
Oxhey remained the dangerous force, with Armitt particularly prominent as he pulled a low shot across goal having been played in, then eventually shooting wide as United were unable to clear their lines two minutes later.
Full of confidence he then tried his luck with a free-kick but skied an effort which even cleared the safety fencing behind the goal.
Half-time: Oxhey 2-0 Aylesbury
The travelling Ducks fans were hoping some half-time words of wisdom from Tony Joyce would inspire a better second half performance from their side, but although there was an improvement, the rousing comeback they were seeking never materialised.
Instead, it was the home team who had the early chances as a nice move involving O?Mara, Grace and Putman nearly saw Garcia put the final ball through his own net. Armitt then had another shot held by Perks as a free kick was levered down into his path.
Aylesbury finally created an opening just prior to the hour mark, when Acheampong fashioned himself a shooting opportunity in the area but his effort went wide of the target.
Three minutes later Paul Edgeworth should have done better when played in for a one-on-one with Styles, but in trying to dribble around the stopper Styles managed to scramble the ball away. It rebounded back for Acheampong but he could only place his finish wide.
Still the chances kept falling for Oxhey and a fierce strike from Lomas was excellently caught by Perks, before a ball in from the left was horrendously miscued by a nervy looking Gordon but Perks was off his line quickly to smother Armitt?s attempt.
As the game entered the final twenty minutes Aylesbury began to push forward more and more as they looked for a way back into proceedings. Edgeworth cracked a decent effort just wide of the post, before a Toms shot from inside the area was superbly cleared off the line from Garcia?s head down at a corner.
Again the Jets defended resolutely to deny the Ducks when Clay?s corner found the unmarked Edgeworth but his shot was blocked on the line which caused an almighty scramble before the ball was eventually hacked away.
It just wasn?t happening for Aylesbury, and Tony Joyce let his frustrations boil over which lead to his dismissal from the dugout by Mr Reid the referee.
With Aylesbury pouring forward in the closing stages they were leaving gaping holes at the back, and Oxhey could easily have capitalised on the break had they been a bit more composed in the final third, but in the end the best chance they had was an ambitious strike from Lee Grace which flew wide.
In stoppage time substitute Jimi Emefuna had two headers off target, whilst Acheampong was denied by a great save from Styles. Even Perks got involved ? having gone up for a corner he headed well over the bar as United kept trying until the end, but their abject first half display was ultimately what cost them.
