ALDERSHOT & FARNHAM 9, SALISBURY II 0

ALDERSHOT & Farnham carried their unbeaten run into 2017 with a nine-goal rout of struggling Salisbury 2nd XI.

The teams had played out a closely-fought draw in the earlier Hampshire 2 fixture and this result shows how far A&F have progressed under the guidance of player/coach Ian Jennings.

It was Jennings who set the pace with an early goal, slotting home from the top of the area after a short corner.

George Rooke and Ian Metcalfe were linking well down the right and Metcalfe completed one of these combinations with a defence-splitting pass to Jackson Brown who found the bottom corner.

Salisbury were in no mood to roll over and were unlucky to have a short-corner goal disallowed for height.

This was the last clear scoring opportunity for the visitors, though. With debutant Ben Green providing a useful outlet out from defence, A&F moved through the gears and netted three more goals before half-time.

Jennings got his second after another smart short-corner routine and Brown bagged his brace with a superb solo effort.

Metcalfe put away the fourth and the fifth was a landmark strike for captain Phil Rushmere who scored his first goal for A&F after nearly a decade with the club.

The Aldershot & Farnham attackers continued to flood forward after half-time. Rooke beat two defenders down the right before drilling the ball hard across goal where the onrushing Johnny Groves scored at the second attampt.

Felix Evans, another debutant, was full of running in midfield and his ability to collect the ball and slalom past defenders created chances for the forwards. A surplus of zeal earned him a green card, but continued pressure resulted in a flurry of short corners for A&F.

Jennings converted two of them into goals and hit the bar from another. Brown, through on goal, was brought down by the onrushing keeper who was sent to the sin-bin and Chris Edwards placed the ball past the stand-in custodian to complete the rout.

This Saturday, second-placed Aldershot & Farnham travel to leaders Bournemouth II. With both sides unbeaten, it should be a fascinating encounter.