John Grant, Andy Sandell and Scott Donnelly bore the Boxing Day gifts, but perhaps it was the Barnet defence who were ultimately the most generous of all.
Yet it was the visitors who had started sharpest, their physical gameplan and aerial threat unsettling the Shots’ back four without actually drawing a save from Jaimez-Ruiz.
Hitherto, Aldershot had lacked spark, but when, on 36 minutes, the lively Jackson again skipped past Gillet, the verve returned to their play in an instant. Jackson’s low cross through the six yard box appeared to be turned into his own net by Ishmael Yakubu but a rejuvenated Grant was close enough to lay a striker’s claim on the faintest touch.
O’Flynn’s volley flew inches wide of the far post, but that was as close as The Bees got, and Jackson again set-up Grant before half-time to also go close. Cole made a superb save to keep out Donnelly’s floated free-kick just after the break, and soon it was 2-0: Barnet allowed Grant to collect a lofted pass on the left side of the penalty area and, with ample time to turn, he bent a sublime, tight-angled shot across the goalkeeper into the far corner.
Aldershot were in complete control, and Sandell punished a foul on Ben Herd by placing a 20-yard free-kick into the far top corner to confirm Barnet’s seventh consecutive away defeat. Kevin Dillon was able to rest a few key players, with one eye on Hereford, but almost immediately rued his decision to withdraw 2-goal Grant, when Yakubu climbed all over Hinshelwood in the penalty area.
Instead of giving Grant a chance to complete the Club’s first hat-trick in over two years, it was left to Donnelly, with a confident stutter-step penalty, to complete the scoring.
Hylton made a typically dogged and dynamic impact from the bench as Aldershot pushed until the final whistle, and he maybe should have added a fifth, but this was a surprisingly comfortable victory which saw The Shots reach Dillon’s six-game target with a match to spare. Any positive result at Hereford will be a bonus, but Aldershot have to travel west with some optimism.