ALDERSHOT TN 6, GUISELEY AFC 0

GUISELEY AFC were brushed aside in almost contemptuous fashion on Saturday as Aldershot set a new standard in prolific goal-scoring.

In 90 years of football in the town, no Aldershot side has ever won its first three games in a national division and scored 11 goals in the process. However, if the Shots had registered double figures in this 90 minutes alone, few would have argued.

“It was a good day all round and I’m very pleased with the first week of the season,” said a typically understated Gary Waddock. “Three points, a clean sheet, and the Goals For column is also important. The level of play was very good and we were clinical in our finishing.” But the manager was still phlegmatic in his overall assessment: “It’s only our third game, we’ve got a long, hard league campaign and nobody should get carried away.”

Yet this was Aldershot Town in the sort of ruthless mood that Waddock had called for prior to the game. They could have been a couple of goals up even before Matt McClure scored a superb opener on 21 minutes.

As Guiseley threatened to fashion their own shot, the indomitable Manny Oyeleke launched a counter-attack from which McClure, picking the ball up just inside the opposition half, broke forward to send a 25-yard curling shot in off the far post.

Lacking any degree of creativity and penetration, the West Yorkshire side rarely troubled goalkeeper Jake Cole and, aside from Frank Mulhern’s looping header which was ruled out for offside, managed just two tame efforts on target all afternoon.

On 38 minutes, McClure hooked Shamir Fenelon’s deep cross back into the goalmouth for Callum Reynolds to head his first goal for the club, and when, five minutes later, Jim Kellermann lashed a shot into the roof of the net after Guiseley failed to deal with debutant Chris Arthur’s cross, the Shots were rampant.

There was still time for Fenelon to bundle in a fourth before the break as Bobby-Joe Taylor again exposed the visitors’ defensive frailties.

And with James Rowe drilling a low 20-yard drive inside the near post after more good play from Oyeleke, Aldershot had scored four in 15 minutes either side of half-time.

McClure completed the scoring on 74 minutes, his deft movement followed by a towering leap to nod in another fine cross from left-back Arthur.

Aldershot had apparently effortlessly become the only National League side to win its first three matches.

Although missing two key players, the injured Bernard Mensah and Will Evans, Waddock’s squad have already built upon last season’s over-achievement to suggest that they are more than capable of once again challenging at the top of the league.

The manager was, of course, quick to point out the potential perils of peaking too soon.

“I said to the lads, you’ve got a problem, because you’ve set a standard and you’ve got to maintain that. But we always want more and if I’m being ultra-critical, we could maybe have added one or two more goals.”

Aldershot: Cole; Alexander (Arnold 61), de Havilland, Reynolds, Arthur; Kellermann, Oyeleke; Fenelon (Gallagher 69), Rowe (Rendell 73), Taylor; McClure. Subs (not used): Smith, Okojie. Booked: De Havilland.

Guiseley: Maxted; Brown, Williams, Atkinson, Lowe, Hurst, Hatfield, Rooney (Odejayi 49), East, Mulhern (Thompson 62), Molyneux (McFadzean 78). Subs (not used): Lawlor, Purver. Booked: Atkinson, Rooney, Brown.

Attendance: 1,938 (inc 34 away).

Referee: Sam Allison.