Aldershot Town FC

Football: Straker strikes to break Shots goal duck

By Jon Couch
January 30, 2012

DEAN HOLDSWORTH told of his huge relief as Aldershot Town finally broke their goal duck with a crucial derby victory at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

Without a goal for 575 minutes, all eyes were on a striker to end the drought. Instead, however, the Shots had a Straker to thank – left-back Anthony Straker scoring his first two goals of the season to hand the Shots their first win in seven matches and ease the growing pressure on his manager.

“We’ve suffered of late and I’ve learnt so much as a manager over the last four or five weeks," Holdsworth said.

“About football, about desire and about commitment from individuals and players and it’s good when you’re having a good time – everyone wants to give you a pat on the back and come to the game and the last month has been tough for everybody.

"I’ve learnt that the importance of confidence is to keep doing the right things and believing in what we do is right.

“It’s been a long time coming and it was a fantastic atmosphere that our fans got and we gave them the result and the performance that they wanted.

“The players did their jobs today. We got the rub of the green today, but I thought we deserved the result by a country mile."

In greeting their former manager Terry Brown in the opposite dug-out before kick-off, the travelling Shots fans were in full voice from the start.

And they had even more to sing about on 12 minutes when Straker found room down the left, played a neat one-two with Guy Madjo before planting a left-footed strike inside the near post, aided by a slight deflection off Mat Mitchel-King.

AFC Wimbledon, however, had won their last three games and drew themselves level on 28 minutes when Sammy Moore's fierce 25-yard free kick flew past Ross Worner, again benefitting from a slight deflection off Ben Herd in the wall.

Loan defender Sonny Bradley might have put the Shots back in front, and then almost let in Jack Midson at the other end, only for Worner to save his bacon.

But on 70 minutes the Shots did eventually find a way through - a sweet move from left to right culminating in Danny Hylton threading a ball through down the left channel and Straker firing a sweet cross-cum-shot from the angle keeper beyond Seb Brown.

The Dons had a strong penalty appeal turned down in injury time after debutant striker Stefan Payne looked to bring down Christian Jolley in the box, but the Shots held on, much to their manager's relief.

ALDERSHOT: Worner, Herd, Straker, Collins (Morris 46), Jones, Bradley, Vincenti, J Payne, Mekki (S Payne 80), Hylton (Panther 88), Madjo. Subs: Clement, T Brown.

Ref: P Tierney. Att: 4,634.

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