AFC Wimbledon Youth 1 Aldershot Town 4
West Surrey Premier Elite - Sunday 30 April 2006
AFC Youth went into their last game of the season without the services of the injured Sam King and Matthew O'Brien, but otherwise were at full strength. After an hour of evenly contested football, AFC collapsed against an excellent Aldershot side who were well suited to the physical side of the game. As the smaller players wilted under the physical pressure, three goals were conceded in the last 15 minutes, and it could have been more as the Shots poured through the midfield in large numbers with their very direct style of play.
The first half was very tight with no more than five or six shots on target throughout the entire half. The first chance did not arrive for 11 minutes, when Jack Malin played a ball out wide to Charlie Dennis, whose run and pass picked out Sonny Russell, but the resulting 20-yard shot passed narrowly over the bar. Three minutes later the Shots broke through down the left flank to send a forward racing into the penalty area. It was a clear-cut chance, but the late arrival of Jack Malin was sufficient to make the forward shoot far too hastily, and the ball went wide of the target. The subsequent exchanges saw both sides looking to gain the upper hand and a midfield battle ensued, with Tee-Jay Ryan, Sonny Russell and Charlie Dennis all prominent for AFC. Troy Murray showed good movement and worked hard up front for the hosts, but he lacked the physical support to trouble an impressive Shots' rearguard. The game was certainly fast and very physical, with a Shots' defender eventually cautioned for a professional foul on Timi da Silva after the AFC winger swept down the right flank. AFC then enjoyed some good pressure, and on 28 minutes Timi da Silva received the ball in space, but he shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area. Two minutes later Sonny Russell went very close, and then on 32 minutes Luke Ewing sent a good shot just wide of the target. The remainder of the half saw the play switch from end to end, but both defences looked very solid, with Scott Fullerton having a very good game for AFC.
The second half started fast and physical. The Shots' style of play was very direct, with several strong runs emanating from the midfield, and so the AFC defence had plenty to deal with in the final third. However, the game remained evenly matched with AFC continuing to threaten with their passing game, but the final pass often went astray, or players were muscled off the ball at the business end. The midfield sometimes resembled a battleground. Paul Nicholls was hacked down from behind with the referee unsighted, and this was followed by a bad foul on Charlie Dennis, but the perpertrator escaped with only a strong warning. After 56 minutes the Shots opened the scoring with a very well-taken goal. The visitors broke through down their right midfield, and the ball was struck into the path of a Shots forward. Fifteen yards out, the forward just beat James Snishko and Nick Greaves to the ball, by poking it between them and into the unguarded net. On 62 minutes AFC equalised when a great ball from Sonny Russell split the Shots' defence. Timi da Silva collected the ball, cut into the area, and shot past the advancing keeper. Soon after equalising AFC began to wobble as several players began to tire up the hill under the physical onslaught. In particular, the smaller AFC players, who had battled hard from the off, now struggled bigtime against quicker and physically larger opponents, who pressured the ball very aggressively. On 65 minutes, a Shots player powered through two challenges down the right midfield, and then fired an unstoppable shot past Nick Greaves from twenty yards. It was a terrific solo goal, but it has to be said that the defence failed totally to close him down. Despite the sterling efforts of Tee-Jay Ryan and Sonny Russell, it was now becoming one-way traffic as the Shots powered through the midfield in numbers, brushing aside challenges at pace, especially in the wide-midfield positions. The home defence was put under a lot pressure, and with James Snishko off form, it lost all composure. Jack Malin was quick and strong enough to break down several attacks, but his repeatedly poor distribution immediately put his team back under pressure. On 71 minutes Nick Greaves' made a fantastic save to tip a long-range free kick over the bar. From the resulting corner, the Shots made it 3-1 with a spectacular angled volley from the edge of the goal area. The visitors continued to surge forward in numbers, and a couple of attacks saw Jack Malin and Nick Greaves completely outnumbered in the penalty area, but each time the danger was averted with a timely interception by the centre back. Three minutes from time, Aldershot scored a fourth to complete a fully-deserved victory. Once again, the goal came from a very strong run through their right midfield, that saw the AFC defence outnumbered. An Aldershot forward received the ball in space to fire an unstoppable shot past Nick Greaves from well inside the penalty area.
It was a highly impressive second half performance by Aldershot, whilst AFC have a number of problems to solve. The absence of Sam King did not help because he is well suited to the physical game, but the reality is that the best team won because they were faster and physically stronger in nearly every position. The way in which AFC collapsed in the second half was not good enough, and if they have any ambitions of collecting silverware next season, it is obvious that the team will have to be strengthened. For this reason, trials are being held over the next month, with apparently 60% of the present squad playing for their places.
Reporter's man of the match: Scott Fullerton
Team: Nick Greaves; Scott Fullerton, Jack Malin, James Snishko, Charlie Dennis; Paul Nicholls, Sonny Russell, Tee-Jay Ryan, Luke Ewing; William Taylor, Troy Murray. Sub: Timi da Silva, Matthew Braben.