Aylesbury bounced back from their crushing defeat by Nuneaton with a big win against Cambridgeshire opponents Soham Town Rangers.
The first half was a complete mismatch as the visitors were simply unable to cope with United's attacking pace, and the Ducks could and should have added to their two goals in the opening period.
Soham had made a bright start to the game, even being so bold as to dribble for goal straight from the kickoff. But the tables were soon turned and Mealor headed Swonnell's pinpoint delivery straight at Lea Jordan after just three minutes as the visitors were given an early indication of what was to come.
Just three minutes later the scoring was opened. Nathan Graham sprang free of a labouring defence before rolling the ball past the advancing Jordan to net a well taken goal. 1-0
Aylesbury came under some pressure immediately following the goal. Roly-poly forward Darren Jimson twice threatened, firstly with a shot from close range which was comfortably fielded by stand-in keeper Steve Smith. Moments later he tried to pick his spot with a curling effort, but placed the ball well wide.
Graham was having a field day up front, his pace obliterating the defence time and time again. With just shy of twenty minutes gone he broke free before picking out Marsh in the area, who chipped the keeper and doubled Aylesbury's lead. 2-0
Again Soham asked questions of the Ducks rearguard, and United had a let off when Mead's clearance fell straight at the feet of Jimson, but his shot from all of five yards was easy for Smith to field.
The remainder of the half was spent by Aylesbury looking for a way to grab a third before the interval. Mealor had a drive held after being released by Matt Butler, and Marsh should have done better when he cleared the crossbar with a shot after Graham's pace had again carried him away and allowed him to play in his teammate.
Visiting keeper Jordan had sustained a foot injury in attempting to clear the ball on the half hour mark, and as the half wore on was struggling to get across his goal. But he made a good double save ten minutes from the break, as first he kept out Graham's half-volley with his feet, after the striker had once again sprinted free. The rebound came back to Hawkins, but the end result was the same.
Jordan was Soham's hero again on the stroke of half-time when he, maybe more through luck than judgement, managed to keep out Marsh's free-kick with his legs. Mealor followed up and seemingly managed to defy the laws of physics by crashing the ball over from near under the crossbar.
Somehow it remained at 2-0 going into the interval, but not for a lack of trying on Aylesbury's part.
Half-time: Aylesbury 2-0 Soham
Soham were markedly improved in the second half, and Smith had to be alert inside the opening seconds when Adam Weston tried an early shot, Smith behind it all the way. The stopper was having a good game having been drafted in as a replacement for the injured Tom Vincent.
The away side introduced Kentoh Gray after five minutes of the second half, and with his first touch he tried an ambitious shot from range which flew well over the bar.
Aylesbury's third came something against the run of play, but was fully deserved on balance of the game as a whole. Marsh dribbled his way into the box before being clipped from behind for a clear penalty, which he fired home into the bottom right corner. 3-0
Midway through the half United had another strong penalty appeal turned down, Graham on the end of a fantastic passing move which climaxed with the ball being clipped into his path. Just as he was about to pull the trigger he was bundled to the ground, but getting two penalties from a Southern League referee in one night looked as unlikely as a Soham comeback.
With their three-goal advantage Aylesbury were entitled to ease up a little, but what followed was an unfortunately sloppy period during which time they let Soham back into the match.
On 65 minutes Shawn Richards beat the offside trap to go clean through, but with the whole goal to aim at and only Smith to beat, he produced a woeful finish which was both high and wide, and drew groans of desperation from his teammates.
The goal Soham craved did arrive ten minutes later, and in a similar attack as the offside trap was sprung, and Jimson squared for Richards who was left with a chance that proved impossible to miss from six-yards out. 3-1
A nervy few minutes followed as Aylesbury struggled to regain their composure, but all Soham could muster was another wayward long range effort from Richards and a similarly bad attempt by Scott Johnson after the ball was only cleared as far as him.
Instead, it was the Ducks who had the best of what chances remained, and substitute Craig Henney came agonisingly close to his first goal since October when he raced onto a ball over the defence but poked his finish just outside the post.
Marsh capped possibly his best game in a green and white shirt by claiming the match ball two minutes from time. A superb ball into his path found him on the left flank, from where he cut inside and dribbled towards goal, before striking a shot which just sneaked inside the near post. 4-1
That was the last meaningful action of the game and Soham were sent on their two-hour journey home on the end of an excellent Aylesbury display which exorcised any ghosts which may have remained after the Nuneaton game.
