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Aylesbury United were beaten at Bell Close for the first time in over a month, as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Willenhall Town.

Both sides played out an evenly fought contest, but whereas the visitors took the chances on offer, Aylesbury were lacking any cutting edge up front.

The Ducks started brightly and Kevin Mealor had a header held by Dean Coleman from Liam Smyth's corner in the opening minute. Ten minutes later Daniel Mead tested Coleman again with a driven effort, which had to be tipped wide by the former Walsall stopper.

Coleman's searching kicks were a threat to United's tentative looking backline, and one such delivery found its way through to Kyle Perry who had a shot held by Tom Vincent, with the recovering Liburd applying strong pressure.

Leon Gutzmore should have done better in the 18th minute, following good work down the right by Ben Stevens who delivered a telling low ball, which Gutzmore tried to dive onto but the ball squirmed through to Coleman.

Another diving header was Aylesbury's next chance, this time Mealor on the end of cross from Smyth, but heading just wide.

Willenhall had a great chance to open the scoring when another long ball wasn't dealt with, finding its way to Nathan Barnes-Homer, but he slashed his effort well over the bar.

The game was turning into an eventful affair, as a flowing counter-attack from Aylesbury saw the ball moved quickly to Gutzmore, then Melisi, who slid in Stevens, who could only fire into the side netting.

Then at the other end United suffered a close shave when Vincent lost the ball under pressure, but as it was returned goalwards he had a defender to thank for clearing off the line.

Four minutes later the Ducks came as close to scoring in the first half as they would get. Melisi slipped the ball through to Gutzmore, who easily outmuscled Rapinder Gill before crashing a shot against the inside of the post.

The remaining ten minutes of the first half saw Willenhall begin to assert sustained pressure on United's goal, and they almost scored in a pinball like moment when the ball took three quick ricochets in the area before being scrambled away.

It was only temporary respite for Aylesbury though, as the Reds soon took the lead. A long-ball caught out Nathan Liburd, who was dispossessed inside the area by Barnes-Homer - who proceeded to fire the ball home past the helpless Vincent. 1-0 Willenhall

Barnes-Homer had another chance just before the interval as he ran onto a long-ball, but his final shot lacked any power and Vincent could easily gather the ball in.

Half-time: Aylesbury 0-1 Willenhall

The game was much more sedate after the interval, as Aylesbury struggled to lift their game to match the cries of the vociferous home supporters assembled in the Riverside Stand.

As a spectacle the game wasn't helped by Willenhall scoring a goal early in the half. Poor defending from Aylesbury allowed the ball to be returned into the area having not been cleared, and Craig Milligan fired the ball low and hard into the net. 2-0 Willenhall

Coming back from two-goals down was a huge ask for Aylesbury, who had struggled in front of goal all afternoon.

Yet they gave themselves a way back into the match when Ben Stevens scored his first goal for the club, diving onto Smyth's pinpoint delivery to head home. 2-1 Willenhall

United stepped up their search for another goal, but continually found the going difficult in the final third. Mealor did well, beating three men before squaring the ball for Smyth, who snatched a shot over.

Willenhall's Kyle Perry then wasted a good opportunity, blazing over the bar after the ball dropped to him inside the area.

'New' signing, former Aylesbury youth teamer Gareth Linnard, who played his last game for the club 5 years ago, came on to replace the tiring Stevens for the final 15 minutes. He picked out Smyth with a searching ball, but the midfielder's swerving shot was easily held by Coleman.

Melisi and Butler both had efforts in the closing stages of the game, but the comeback the United faithful had been hoping for never truly materialised and Willenhall hung on for their third win in a row.