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Phil Moore's
A rearguard action was needed within seconds of kick-off. Brading goalkeeper Steve Lawton was forced into action, saving a Aldershot strike and fending off an awkward backpass that led to a wasted indirect free-kick inside the 18-yard box. Aldershot 's manager and fans were far from happy either, berating their players for making some sloppy unprofessional mistakes to create goal scoring opportunities for Brading. Aldershot 's ex-Premiership player and Jamaican World Cup international Marcus Gayle went off with a knee injury after a quarter of an hour. Moments later the home side had broken the deadlock thanks to a header from Rhys Day. In the 22nd minute, there was controversy over Aldershot 's second goal; a quick free-kick found Danny Hylton who took the ball of Steve Lawton before shooting into an empty net. Brading Town players protested, Lawton shaking his head in disbelief at why the referee had not judged the challenge to be a foul (pictures: top & bottom left). At the end of the first half, Aldershot fans were full of pride as their team had gone into a 4 – 0 lead.
The early stages of the second half saw Brading put up more of a fight after Aldershot had missed a close range sitter. Danny Hatcher crossed from the right for Dave Greening to head in Brading's first goal of the game in the 53rd minute: 4 – 1. Brading Town mounted a valiant defence against their superior opponents who crushed any signs of a rebellion in the 69th minute when man-of-the-match Ryan Williams completed his hat-trick with a 30-yard chip. Three minutes later it was 6 – 1 but Brading Town still had some ammunition left. Aldershot let their guard down in defence after 77 minutes when an under-strength header allowed Dave Greening to score his second goal of the afternoon. 6 – 2. Aldershot were on target twice in the last five minutes to complete an 8-2 victory.
The crowd of 635 at Aldershot's Recreation Ground should also give a financial boost to Brading Town
Brading Town goalkeeper Steve Lawton said, "The first ten minutes were great but once the goals started flying in, it wasn't too enjoyable. I've missed out playing here (Aldershot) a couple of times in the past due to holidays...so for me personally it was a wonderful experience. I'm still learning, even at my age there are things I can work on. I've enjoyed my day here. The fans were brilliant and gave us great support...and we'll bounce back."
Post-match comments:
Brading Town goalkeeper Steve Lawton said, "The first ten minutes were great but once the goals started flying in, it wasn't too enjoyable. I've missed out playing here (Aldershot) a couple of times in the past due to holidays...so for me personally it was a wonderful experience. I'm still learning, even at my age there are things I can work on. I've enjoyed my day here. The fans were brilliant and gave us great support...and we'll bounce back."
Brading Town goalscorer Dave Greening said, "It's good to score a few more goals. That's 30 now for the season so I'm quite happy with that from a personal point of view but from a team point of view it's not good coming here and conceding eight despite the gap in leagues."
For highlights of the match, click on www.solent.tv and visit the Solent Tonight link dated Monday February 05. The coverage starts just short of halfway along the progress bar.
For highlights of the match, click on www.solent.tv and visit the Solent Tonight link dated Monday February 05. The coverage starts just short of halfway along the progress bar.