Tuesday evening will provide another tough test for Shots manager Dean Holdsworth when his side face relegation strugglers Barnet at the EBB Stadium and while both sides will be seeking a return to winning ways having suffered defeat at the weekend, Shots midfielder Peter Vincenti said The Shots won’t be taking their visitors lightly.
”We’ll have to be careful,” he told the Premium Shots following Saturday’s defeat at Gillingham. ”We’ll treat them with the respect that they deserve.
"We’re progressing as a side and we’ll go into the game wanting to get all three points and the lads are taking to what the manager says and we’ll keep doing that. There is still a lot to work on and there is still a lot to come from us."
The Shots enter the match in 14th place in League Two with 32 points from 26 games, while Barnet are 23rd with 25 points having played two games more.
Shots Team News
Vincenti’s thoughts were echoed by the Shots boss on Monday afternoon and speaking to the Premium Shots ahead of the match, the boss told us: ”There’s no room for complacency and the most important thing is that we build on our home form, we’ll take nothing for granted and hard work will get us everywhere because the ability is there.
”The last two back to back wins weren’t by luck, they were there because of the effort and ability of the players and we’ve got to make this a massive team effort and get the fans to enjoy it and they play their part as much as the players and that’s really important.
”We’ve got to go out there tomorrow night and from the word “go” come out of the traps really quick and get on the ball and be on the front foot and play in a positive manner and I think that will get us a good result.”
While giving nothing away, Holdsworth suggested that he could freshen up his side following defeat against the Gills as he continues to emphasise the importance of the squad over the team.
Although John Halls has resumed training following his long term injury, he is still working to gain match fitness so is unlikely to feature and the boss will also be waiting to see how Wade Small is feeling following a bout of sickness which saw him substituted shortly after the half time break at the weekend and Alex Rodman’s impressive 25-minute debut makes him a strong contender for a place in the starting line-up.
Shots from: Jamie Young, Jordan Clement, Ben Herd, Simon Grand, Luke Guttridge, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Anthony Charles, Ben Harding, Danny Hylton, Manny Panther, Aaron Morris, Peter Vincenti, Clayton Fortune, Jermaine McGlashan, Jack Randall, Wade Small, Alex Rodman, Reece Connolly and Tim Sills.
The Opposition
It’s not just The Shots who saw the need to have a change of personnel since the last time the two sides met on New Years Day, victory for The Shots at Underhill saw previous manager Mark Stimson, dismissed from the club immediately afterwards with Paul Fairclough taking over the caretaker role at the club.
Fairclough’s bid to steer the Bees away from relegation to the Conference has begun with almost immediate effect, and although his side suffered defeat under his first game in charge (away at Stevenage), the team responded well and victory at Bradford City followed before draws at Underhill (against Shrewsbury Town) then away at Macclesfield Town and Port Vale prove that the London based side really are ready to put up a fight.
Despite a home defeat against Southend United at the weekend which saw his side remain in the relegation spots, Fairclough signalled his intention to succeed, telling the media: ”There were some very good performances out there so I’m not going to let the result drag me down and I’m not going to allow the players to be dragged back down to where they were.
”The team was in decline and we’ve arrested it but that’s all we have done.
”They say that goals change games and we should have scored in the first few minutes.
”I cant account for goals like the second one – it was, dare I say, schoolboy stuff and that crushed the players. I’m not going to let this result unravel all the good work that has gone on over the last four games.
”After the goal, the possession we had was pretty big but pretty ineffective. We made their centre-half’s look like the besting the world because we kept sticking it on their heads – that’s not how we have been playing recently.
”We’re under pressure now there’s no question about it.”
Barnet striker Steve Kabba returned to training today [Monday] but is unlikely to feature before the sides trip to Northampton Town at the weekend
Barnet from: Jake Cole, Liam O’Brien, Tom Coulton, Joe Devera, Jordan Parkes, Mark Hughes, Darren Dennehy, Anwar Uddin, Rossi Jarvis, Glen Southam, Steven Kabba, Glenn Poole, Ricky Holmes, Charlie Stimson, Sam Cox, Danny Kelly, Reece Yorke, John Dunleavy, Mark Marshall, Clovis Kamdjo, Izale McLeod, Daniel Leach, Izale McLeod, Charlie Taylor, Tom Coulton, Mauro Vilhete, Tommy Fraser and Elliot Johnson.
Taking Charge
Chris Sarginson will be taking charge of the match and will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Tony Mason. Steve Cook is the fourth official.
Weather Forecast
The BBC weather forecast for the match given as patchy heavy rain during the day with highs of 8°C changing to clear skies with highs of 0°C as night falls.
Ticket News
Tickets for the match are set at:
Adult seats: £19, terrace: £17.
Concession (Over 60s, Military and students (both on production of ID cards only) seats: £15, terrace: £13.
Under 16s seats: £8, terrace £6.
For information on Family and Disabled ticket prices, visit www.theshots.co.uk
The match is not all-ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day.
There are also 39 Premium Seating tickets available for the match at a cost of just £39 + VAT each.
Other News
- BBC Radio Surrey
Supporters unable to make the match can hear live coverage from the match on BBC Radio Surrey (on 104.6 fm) which is brought to you by the regular team of Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town Media Manager Steve Gibbs.
Supporters are reminded that there is no internet coverage of this match.