The Mighty, Mighty Aldershot

After a long string of scoreless games by the (sometimes) Mighty Shots and a sudden change of three wins on the trot (which, for some unexplained reason, a radio reporter insisted on repeating as ‘on the bounce’), we went along to the Rec (I’ll never be able to call it the EBB Stadium) to see them play Southend last night.

It was always going to be a tough game. Southend (or Sarfend as Nicktor insists on calling them) were top of the League 2 table at the beginning of the game and known for their tough physical game. On the other hand, Aldershot were sitting in 17th position and have had a lot of players transferring in and out since Christmas. We’ve lost some talent (and some rubbish) and the new guys are still settling in.

As usual, Nicktor picked me up on his way home from work, then (after coming in to change and say hello to the poodles, who actually went out to his car to say hi when he pulled up) we went to the heaving Crimea for a pre-match pint.

I feel I have to comment on the lack of ales at the Crimea the last few times we’ve been. Last night the only choice was Hobgoblin – a nice enough choice, it should be said. This is fine but I noticed there was a lot of brands of that sissy fizzy stuff which all tastes the same. Which is odd. Real ale tastes different, depending on the brewery; lager (generally) all tastes the same…actually that’s not exactly correct because most of the ‘popular brands’ taste of nothing, making them tasteless.

There was a huge crowd in the pub meaning that Nicktor had to expertly elbow his way to the bar. He successfully came away with a couple of pints and we went outside, to escape the heat and overwhelming smell of football supporters. Possibly the former was largely created by the latter.

After a leisurely beer and discussion about the Cansfield’s recent trip to the frozen north and Nicktor’s future acquisition of a ridiculously expensive lens for his camera, we strolled across the road to the Rec.

It looked like it was going to be a big crowd. Lines of shuffling Shot’s shirts patiently waiting along the footpath, dribbling through the many turnstiles. It’s a lovely, warming sight at a cold February Tuesday night match. Mind you, standing in one of the queues isn’t exactly warming as the cold rises from the concrete, through your two pairs of socks and runners.

We spotted Bill in the queue ahead of us and suggested he come back and join us – he just laughed as he entered the ground. We were a little way behind him.

For this game, in order to bring in a bigger crowd, the club had decided to only charge half price for all tickets. It’s a shame they have to do this when the tickets aren’t that expensive anyway. I guess the hope is that the extra people that come to a half price match will keep coming back because it was such a good night out. Well, if this is the case, they couldn’t have picked a better match.

A highlight of the evening was the new electronic scoreboard at the west end of the pitch. As Nicktor said, it’s good having a ground with spectators on only three sides because you only need the one scoreboard. This is a recent acquisition and is sponsored by Domino’s Pizza. I mention that because Domino’s appears to be sponsoring quite a few things at the club.

One of the oddest sponsor mentions has to be the new one for substitutions. Previously, the announcer would come over the tannoy and let us know who the two players were. For instance, he might say:

The substitution for Aldershot is Wilko Risser coming on for Peter Vincenti.

Nice and clear and simple. The crowd cheers and applauds the outgoing player then cheers and applauds the new player in the hope he’ll score heavily. Instead of this, tonight it went something like this:

The substitution for Aldershot, sponsored by Domino’s Pizza, is Wilko Risser coming on for Peter Vincenti.

It made us wonder whether the club gets more money for each substitution, which may force the manager to make all his substitutions in order to get the club the maximum cash. Someone suggested perhaps the players get a pizza as they leave the ground. If this is so, we may see hungry players begging to be substituted throughout future games.

Actually, Bill was very excited that Wilko came on, even if it was late in the game. He’s a Namibian International and it’s fair to say we don’t have that many international players at Aldershot.

The game started at a furious pace with Aldershot pouring on the pressure from the kick off. It was very exciting for us on the Slab as most of the first half action was down our end with the Shots threatening to score but not quite completing any moves once they reached the box.

A lot of the problem could be laid at the Southend defence which was strong and very tall. In fact, almost all of Aldershot’s corners were deflected by one of two tall heads rising above the attack. While there was a lot of corners, the first goal came from open play.

After only 12 minutes of play, Adam Mekki drove the ball towards the goal, taking a deflection off a Southend player on the way through, wrong footing the goal keeper, and it was in the net. Huge cheers rang out around the game. A good clean, worked goal.

After the goal, you’d have thought that Southend would apply some pressure and try to get an equaliser before half time but it didn’t really happen and the players went back to their dressing rooms with Aldershot one to the good.

Nicktor had decided to blip the new scoreboard but wanted it to indicate the Shots in the lead. For him, 1-0 was pretty good so he snapped away during half time before it had a chance to change…and not in a good way. We only had ten minutes to wait after the restart.

Adam Mekki burst through the defence, on his way to the goal, forced wide by the pass. The Southend goalie went out to grab the ball. Unfortunately for the goalie, he missed the ball and brought Mekki down in a clattering heap just inside the area. The referee didn’t hesitate. He pointed directly to the spot, brushing aside the fruitless buzzing of the opposition.

Coolly and calmly, Josh Payne put the ball on the spot, took a few steps back, waited for the whistle and slammed the ball into the back of the net. A perfect penalty, delivered with confidence and skill. When you see a perfect one, it makes you wonder why the overpaid superstars miss them. OK, they can’t be easy with the pressure and expectation but even so, the guy is aiming for a pretty big target with just a skinny goalie to beat.

So, 2-0 against the top of the league and we didn’t look like losing. We still played well, passing the ball, defending the sudden onslaught which was Southend’s desperate bid to take something from the game. As Nicktor said, it was surprising they didn’t play as hard during the first half.

The new scoreboard ticked (actually it’s electronic so it doesn’t ‘tick’ as much as change colour but I think ‘tick’ lends a more dramatic air to the proceedings) up to 90 minutes and we looked like taking a wonderful victory. Then the fourth official held up his board to signal an extra four minutes of added time.

Which reminds me…according to Bill, the clock at the Emirates Stadium, home to Arsenal, his ‘other’ team, counts down rather than up. The match starts off at 90, runs down to 45 then, after half time, starts again, all the way to zero. I wonder how many others do this? I also wonder who Bill would support in the unlikely event that the Shots played the Gunners.

But back at the Rec in the dying minutes of the game…Southend started piling on the pressure only to be constantly rebuffed by Aldershot’s desperation to hang on to their hard fought lead. There was one rather sticky moment but the final whistle echoed around the game, followed by an almighty cheer. We’d won.

Nicktor took a shot of the full time result which he assured me would be his blip. I only had my phone with me and the photograph is rubbish so I’ve stolen a copy of his. I’m sure he won’t mind.

On the way home, we listened to Surrey Sport and the post-match interview with Dean Holdsworth (the Shot’s manager), just to bask in his reflected glory. I wonder why they bother interviewing the managers straight after a game. They are rarely coherent and just want to get to the dressing room to enjoy the celebrations. Their answers are generally short and nonsensical or merely repetitive. Still, they insist on doing it and we always have to listen.

Paul Sturrock, the Southend manager had this to say about his team’s performance:

There are certain words in football that are used quite regularly about a performance. I think gutless is the word I would have to use (this time).

Back at the house we watched a best forgotten movie called The Descent which should be re-titled Stupid Girls Go Underground and Die, followed by two episodes of Sorry before bed. We also drank some strange European alcohol from Prague and Finland, both of which made us glad we lived in a country that has whiskey and beer. Speaking of foreign alcohol…the best bit of The Descent was when Nicktor jumped and spilled his all over himself.

All in all, another memorable Nicktor Night.