ALDERSHOT TN 0, HARROGATE TN 2

THE extent of the rebuilding job Gary Waddock has on his hands became starkly clear with this abject home defeat at the hands of promoted Harrogate on Saturday.

The Aldershot manager made a raft of signings after the departure of several key players during the close season, but there was not much cohesion or team spirit in evidence and, despite the midweek win against Dagenham, very little self-belief.

Four points from a possible 15 is bad enough, but there hasn’t been much in the way of entertainment either and after a lively first 20 minutes, as the Shots progressively ran out of ideas and resorted to pot shots that were fielded by fans high in the East Stand, the muted atmosphere and muttering inside the EBB Stadium told its own story.

Harrogate, now unbeaten in five games, were solid in defence and possessed fast, mobile midfielders, and they also had all the breaks going, including a Lewis Kinsella own goal that put the lid on victory.

Both sides could have scored early on. Harrogate defender Callum?Howe made a vital clearance when Shamir Fenelon drilled a cross into the goalmouth and, at the other end, Jake Cole got his body in the way of George Thomson’s close-range shot.

It might have been different if Aldershot had accepted their best chance of the game in the 20th minute. Regan Booty’s corner found Dan Holman stealing in unmarked on the far post, but the striker knocked the ball wide of a yawning goal.

Nothing else happened in the first half, other that the game became increasingly tetchy, with the youthful fourth official getting it in both ears from the two benches and both sides convinced that referee Alan Dale had something against them.

A particularly turgid spell, where the lack of quality contrasted sharply with the pristine playing surface, was finally broken in the second half by a marauding run by centre-back Howe, ending with a thumping shot that was brilliantly flicked over by Cole.

Aldershot were stung into some better play, but it was the Yorkshire side who took the lead on 58 minutes. Dominic Knowles, fairly or otherwise, wrestled the ball away from Kinsella on the right and with home fans and bench howling for a foul, broke almost to the byline before cutting his shot past Cole and into the far corner from a seemingly impossible angle.

It was to be a wretched afternoon for the usually reliable Kinsella. Six minutes later, Thomson clipped a cross over from the left and the left-back guided the ball into his own net.

Aldershot could only respond with hopeful, hopeless, shots from distance, bringing groans from the home supporters and hoots of derision from the noisy 45 travelling fans.

It could have been three, Cole saving bravely in a one-on-one with substitute Aaron Williams.

Truly, a day to forget for Aldershot who will need to raise their game several notches for the trip to Ebbsfleet this Saturday and then the Bank Holiday Monday home meeting with Sutton United, currently fourth in the National League table.

Aldershot: Cole, Bernard, Kinsella, Lelan, Fowler, Fenelon, Howell (Rowe 69), Booty (McDonnell 83), Berkeley-Agyepong, Rendell, Holman (Wanadio 68). Subs (not used): Gallagher, Smith.

Harrogate: Belshaw, Burrell, Langmead, Howe, Kitching, Thomson (Kerry 71), Emmett, Falkingham, Leesley, Muldoon (Williams 69), Knowles (Agnew 77). Subs (not used): Cracknell, Parker. Booked: Agnew.

Referee: Alan Dale.

Attendance: 1,774 (45 away).

• “I thought it was quite even in the first half. We didn’t do enough to win, but there were one or two circumstances behind that,” said manager Gary Waddock who declined to criticise the referee directly.

“We had a fantastic opportunity from a corner – take that and the game is different. We had a good spell in the second half, but we came out of that a goal down.”

• In the Herald’s Letter to the Editor section, long-time Aldershot FC supporter Colin Stagg of Bentley has paid tribute to former Shots coach and caretaker manager Cliff Huxford who died aged 81 earlier this month.

Huxford, who played 278 games for Southampton as a wing-half, was appointed caretaker after the sacking of Jimmy Melia in 1972 and managed to keep Aldershot out of the re-election places in Division Four with a 4-0 win at Stockport on the last day of the season.

The following season, with Tom McAnearney as manager, Aldershot gained their first ever promotion.

Mr Stagg also reminds Shots followers that Alan Gilzean, the legendary Spurs and Scotland forward, who also died recently, spent a brief spell on loan (from Dundee) at Aldershot in 1959 and scored goals for the A team before going on to rather greater things.