With worrying echoes of twelve months ago, Aldershot Town were utterly powerless to prevent Barnet from earning their first win in 15 matches.
Abject for the second week in succession, The Shots this time received exactly what their performance deserved. Simply by being sold and well-organised at the back, and with a bit of pace in attack, The Bees proved too much for the visitors, who foundered on Gary Breen’s offside trap. Either side of half-time, Aldershot had threatened to rouse themselves into something approaching the free-flowing team which had won the reverse fixture so comprehensively on Boxing Day, but otherwise this was a display lacking cohesion, guile and intelligence. Both teams missed great chances in a cagey first half – Grant and Morgan should have done better with free headers; Jake Hyde and O’Flynn narrowly failed to convert Jarrett’s teasing centre – but having spurned three consecutive opportunities to capitalise upon a dominant re-start, Aldershot faded horribly. Morgan was found marauding down the right and saw an angled drive parried for a corner. When Sandell’s resulting volley, from the edge of the box, was blocked, the ball eventually fell to Bozanic. His angled shot was also well saved by Cole and Charles scooped the rebound over from six yards. With that, Barnet took control. Adomah countered impressively, breezed past Sandell and crossed for Micah Hyde to power a free header into the net from 4 yards, with Henderson, Blackburn and Charles all stranded in indecision. Aldershot failed to respond, and Barnet increased their lead on 66 minutes, when Soares was caught in possession on the edge of the box and O’Flynn punished him with a neat finish. Dillon tried to shake the lethargy with a double substitution – Hylton and Hudson for Grant and Soares – but Hudson’s snapshot, which fizzed wide, was the sum total of Aldershot’s resurgence. Finally, with O’Flynn seemingly fourth favourite to reach another deep cross from the left, his deft header still somehow managed to beat two defenders and goalkeeper as it looped into the net. Whilst not yet a replica of last season’s meek capitulation, Dillon needs to arrest this alarming slump, in both form and results, if Aldershot are to maintain a realistic Play-Off challenge.