1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | 15, 65m | |
9 | 14, 60m | |
10 | ||
11 | ||
BENCH | ||
---|---|---|
12 | ||
14 | 9, 60m | |
15 | 8, 65m | |
16 | ||
17 | ||
MANAGEMENT | ||
M |
1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | 12, 82m | |
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | 16, 46m | |
7 | ||
8 | ||
9 | ||
10 | ||
11 | ||
BENCH | ||
---|---|---|
12 | 3, 82m | |
14 | ||
15 | ||
16 | 6, 46m | |
17 |
After Ben Baines? 7th minute opener it looked like the Ducks might be in for an easy evening against a Borough side in rapid decline after a strong start to the season which had seen them amongst the early pacesetters up in third place.
But in the end the Ducks were relieved to hear the final whistle, and had Hillingdon not been so erratic in front of goal they could easily have claimed a point or more.
Aylesbury began the match playing some decent football and inside the first five minutes Garcia was played in after a nice passing move but got no purchase on his shot which was easily claimed by Derek Lewis.
The opener arrived three minutes later when Coulter and Acheampong combined to great effect down the right with the latter putting in a great ball which Baines missed at the first attempt, but was afforded time to retrieve the ball, swivel, and fire into the net. 1-0 Aylesbury
Garcia had a shot blocked and Coulter a long-range effort easily caught as United kept up the early pressure. They came closer still through Daniel Jones who was mightily unlucky to see his free-kick hit the top of the bar from 25-yards.
Hillingdon still weren?t able to get to grips with the game and Garcia made a driving run through the middle but could only loft a left-footed shot over the bar.
The visitors did create their first chance on the quarter hour mark when Aaron Silcott drilled a shot wide after a low cross was dummied by Hawkins and then laid back to him. That was quickly followed with a header wide from Gary Meakin?s teasing free-kick delivery.
The lack of usual aerial dominance Aylesbury enjoy was a recurring theme of the night, with towering striker Ollie Hawkins matching the inches of Mulholland and regularly beating him to the ball, and with Baines and Coulter struggling to link up in their usual manner it was a largely disjointed performance from United.
But it was the Ducks who continued to have the better chances without making the most of them. An attempted chip from Jones was easily plucked from the air by Lewis, and a near post effort from Acheampong was scrambled behind after he had ghosted past two men in the box.
Mulholland released Coulter with a fine pass but his shot was blocked by Lewis, before Baines really should have put the game beyond doubt. He was gifted a gilt-edged chance when Lyall slipped leaving him a free run on goal, but Lewis got across to save well.
Borough were having to defend hard and a great defensive header from Ryan Wharton averted another well placed Acheampong cross on 32 minutes but it remained 1-0 at the break, as Sillitoe clung onto a low free-kick from Hillingdon five minutes from the interval.
Half-time: Aylesbury 1-0 Hillingdon
Hillingdon lost defender Liam Fowler to injury at the break and replaced him with their top scorer Aaron Lansiquot as they went for broke. The result was an entirely different second half with Aylesbury spending much of the time on the back foot.
With just two minutes gone Mulholland?s inadvertent header presented Barkley Miguel-Panzo with a full sight of goal but his attempted lob of Sillitoe was easily caught, whilst Lansiquot had a low shot go all the way across goal seconds later.
Another easy chance went begging for the visitors on 50 minutes when a deep cross was headed back across goal by Hawkins where the waiting Ethan Hughes slotted wide from close range.
The Ducks were having to live on scraps and their best chances came on the counter-attack, with one such move forcing Lewis to make a save from Acheampong, beating the ball away on the near post.
Just prior to the hour mark Aylesbury came as close as they would all half, but ironically it was a Hillingdon man with the ?effort? when a long ball downfield caused panic at the back, and Lyall, in attempting to head back to Lewis, send the ball past his stranded custodian and narrowly missed the goal.
Borough were soon back on the attack, peppering the United goal with efforts. Miguel-Panzo flicked a header wide when well placed, Lansiquot fizzed in a low shot which was eventually cleared, and as Sillitoe hesitated for once when coming off his line a low shot was smothered. On each occasion the visitors should have done better.
Aylesbury introduced Craig Townsend in an attempt to add some more steel to the midfield and Mickey O?Farrell replaced Ben Baines in attack.
It was O?Farrell who played a part in setting up Garcia for a great chance when he fed the midfielder after good work from Coulter, but Garcia saw his shot from 6-yards saved by Lewis? legs.
This was United?s time for squandering chances, with that one wasted before Edgeworth miscued a volleyed shot horribly which ended up hitting O?Farrell after Acheampong had put it on a plate with another magnificent cross.
It meant that instead of the result being settled, there were more nervous moments as the game entered the final ten minutes.
In the 87th minute Hawkins won the ball in the air but guided his header wide, and in stoppage time Ryan Phillips hit a free-kick over the bar as Aylesbury survived, just.
It was a hard fought win with several close calls, but another win it was and an unprecedented third successive clean sheet despite personnel changes in the defence once again - making it 332 minutes since Aylesbury conceded a goal.