Aylesbury United 0-2 Barton Rovers

Report by James Knight

It was a Wednesday night walk in the park for Barton Rovers as they returned to Bedfordshire with all three points. Both halves lacked real attacking quality from either side but ultimately Rovers did just enough in the final third to win this game and move up to 11th place in the table whilst Aylesbury United sit in 20th place. Most of the half chances that the Ducks during the game were from corners and set pieces but were just lacking that dangerman in the final third to get on the end of the crossed chances and get anything from this game.

Aylesbury United begun as the better team going forwards, doing well to work the ball through the midfield and especially down the flanks thanks to the tricky nature of Rocko Tamplin and Wil Turner either side. Turner made short work of the Rovers full-back for the whole game and was able to begin runs on the break by winning possession and dancing through their midfield. There was a worrying sign as Finlay went down with what seemed to be some kind of head injury after an off the ball clash with Josh Rodrigues and had to take a minute on the sideline. Speaking of injuries, Kian Henry, suffered a knee injury and was carried off by two of his colleagues as United were forced into their first change in the 27th minute, allowing Jake Bewley to enter the contest, best wishes Kian.

Every break Aylesbury United earned all came down our left-hand side, because of Wil’s ability in tight spaces to get the pass or turn right to beat his opponent; this time the cross was blocked by the Rovers defensive contingent. Shortly after, Bakary Daffeh had a go from distance, but it never really lifted off the floor; despite that the keeper parried the shot away, Fin gave chase, but the keeper was able to reclaim it. Following this pressure, Tamplin was played in down the right-hand side, before striking a great ball towards goal, but Paddy Boylan in the visiting goal managed to parry it out for a corner, which sadly for the Ducks was cleared at the near post by the first man.

The first goal of the game fell to the visitors in the 39th minute; after a aerial challenge in the penalty area, the ball went out of play, to be awarded as a corner, which was hotly contested by the Ducks. The delivery saw the ball bounce around in the penalty area, before falling to Rawn Seale, who smashed it into the goal. 0 - 1

The Ducks responded well, attacking down the flanks; Fin went on a great run beating two Rovers defenders in the process, before getting his shot away but the shot ricocheted off of the Rovers centre back before rebounding off Fin, at the concession of a goal-kick to Barton. There was an opportunity for another half-chance before the break as a corner was flown in by Reeves which met the feet of Sonny French who in turn was able to find Chase Matthew in space at the edge of the box, but his shot was saved by the keeper.

After 3 added minutes, it was half time. The football in the first period was not very convincing from the Ducks, as the chances and half-chances that they got just were not taken well enough for fans to think that they were still in the game going into the break. Although Barton’s goal was their only real chance of the game, with Jack Hopwood barely troubled in the Duck’s goal. The Ducks had work to do in the second half to get anything from the game. For the first ten minutes of the second half, United seemed to be playing with more confidence and intent, and the chances were coming thick and fast but ultimately, the lack of a traditional striker really hurt them. Fin had a throw in shortly after the restart which found Jake Bewley who couldn't finish his dinner; Wil had another great counterattack after winning the ball in transition and found Fin in a position to put a cross in but again, couldn’t find a team mate to convert the chance. The Ducks had two corners very quickly, the first was sent in by Fin and was put behind for the second, while the second corner was cleared away and kept in-play by the Rovers defence before that little attacking spark was extinguished...

The deficit was doubled in the 54th minute. A Barton midfielder had a great run into the final third after making short work of the Aylesbury midfield, before the ball was fed to Izzy Hilaire 25 yards out, who struck an unerring half volley from the right-hand side into the far bottom corner leaving Hoppy no chance. 0 - 2

The response was quite lacklustre; the players seemed to be lacking any real confidence now that the opposition were two goals to the good, there was not really many more Aylesbury United chances to follow. Frankie Bircham received a yellow card on 77 minutes for a rough challenge, as frustrations were beginning to show for the home team; shortly after, Michael Buckmaster also received a yellow for a similar tackle, but the resulting free kick collided with the wall.

As the game approached the final stages, the Ducks made 3 changes and one big opportunity for the opposition encapsulated the last ten minutes; the changes saw James Bone, Aaron Onginjo and Chase Matthew replaced by George Cleveland, Marvin Emmanuel and Pooya Karimi. The chance for the visitors saw George Joyce have a powerful shot that deflected off the bar, shortly before the referee blew his whistle to close the match.

A disappointing night for Aylesbury United, as they struggled massively to find a danger man in the final third especially from corners and set pieces. The opposition never really got out of third gear despite their keeper making a couple of saves. Another disappointing defeat and another couple of additions to the injury list for the Ducks, as both Henry and Onginjo looked to have suffered nasty injuries. The play up until the final third was tidy and effective, however, in the attacking areas, the players could not find anyone in the box time after time and the better finishing that came from the away side was the difference in this game. Work to be done.

Attendance: 155

Aylesbury United: Hopwood, Henry, Onginjo, Matthew, Daffeh, French (C), Turner, Bircham, Reeves, Tamplin, Bone

Subs: Emmanuel, Bewley, Karimi, Brown, Cleveland

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