TROJANS II 0, ALDERSHOT & FARNHAM 3

ALDERSHOT & Farnham, still unbeaten at the top of Hampshire 1, but closely tracked by Bournemouth, made it four games without conceding a goal with this strong display against Trojans.

A&F, playing in an unfamiliar white strip that Gucci would have approved of, could not afford any slip-ups on a wet and windy day in Eastleigh.

Trojans set up defensively, deploying four through midfield in an attempt to prevent A&F from dominating play.

Their two forwards worked hard to close the visitors down, but A&F were experienced enough not to get rattled and good communication from the backs allowed them to react and move the ball laterally to attack down the wide channels.

Several chances resulted as the forwards got to the baseline and pulled the ball back.

The breakthrough goal was elusive, though. After a left-flank attack, Mark Hinton carried the ball into the D?before passing to Max Long whose tightly-angled deflection went across the face of goal with no-one able to get the vital touch.

Then Ollie Yelland dived to deflect a power-hit from Max Heaphy, only to be denied by a crunching tackle from the keeper that could have been adjudged to be a foul.

But something had to give as the A&F forwards and midfield maintained a high tempo and with Trojans again under pressure, a turn-over from the press by Ian Metcalfe and Kevin McCafferty resulted in a short corner and Hinton’s flick found the net for the first goal.

The press was causing Trojans problems, but some of A&F’s tackles left a little to be desired and Rob Jervis picked up a green card for one right in front of the referee.

Farnham scored an important second goal before half-time. Another Hinton short-corner flick found its way to Metcalfe who found the net with a deft touch.

A&F almost scored straight from the start of the second half and then defended efficiently as Trojans fought back with a brace of short corners.

The visitors put the game to bed when McCafferty was taken out inside the D. Chris Edwards stepped up to take the penalty flick and although the keeper guessed correctly, he was beaten by the sheer velocity of the shot.

Trojans pushed more men forward, but A&F stuck with their system and discipline to keep another clean sheet.

Aldershot & Farnham host Weymouth this Saturday.