Tragedy For Scott As The Shots Draw Another Blank

Another excursion to the north resulted in disappointment for the faithful followers of Aldershot Town as they failed to score for a fifth successive match.

In a dull game the major incident involved a serious injury to Ryan Scott, who was later confirmed to have broken both tibia and fibula in his right leg. The resultant attention to Ryan's injury extended the agony for the fans by a further six minutes as teams up and down the country waited to hear the result from Moss Lane. Had Altrincham taken any of their many chances created throughout the game it would have been Stafford Rangers dropping out of the Conference National rather than Altrincham.

Following the recent poor performance against Halifax and Cambridge we were hoping rather than expecting a more robust display from the Shots. Unfortunately our hopes weren't realised.

Altrincham had to take all three points to avoid the drop so they would inevitably be the team doing all the pushing, and they looked like they were going to overrun the Shots from the start. They had several really good chances in the first half but a combination of really poor finishing and the inevitable great saves from Nikki Bull proved to be their downfall.

Had Kirk Hudson pushed home from three yards instead of spooning the ball over in the last minute we would at least have had something to cheer, but the team received a decent ovation at the end.

One noticeable absentee from the group receiving the plaudits was caretaker manager Martin Kuhl - perhaps a sign of the upcoming decision from the Board?

Nikki Bull took his own, extended, applause which fuelled the rumours of his imminent departure even further.

A record crowd of 2005 for Moss Lane didn't seem to create the kind of atmosphere you would expect for such a vital game. The fact that children had been let in free for the day probably meant that there were no more die hard supporters there than usual. The main and family stands were quite full, but the terraces to one end and down one side had plenty of room.

About 200 Shots fans were present for the final act of our disappointing league campaign, including the RBA bedecked in their Anthony Charles wigs. Anthony very kindly agreed to be photographed with some of them after the game, and the resultant picture can be seen on the official website at http://www.theshots.co.uk/NewsPage.ink?nid=28494

So ends another campaign in the brief history of Aldershot Town. Ultimately a disappointing season in terms of reaching the play offs and to be honest more poor performances than good ones come to mind.

Opinions are divided - inevitably - on the quality of the squad already signed up for next season but we all know we will be back at the Recreation ground next August full of hope for another push for the Football League.

To all Strays - and other fans - have a good summer and see you all then.

Ancient Shot