An 87th minute goal condemned Aylesbury to defeat in their first home match of the new season, as newly promoted AFC Dunstable left Bell Close with all three points.
Dunstable had started life in the Premier Division with a bang and 6-0 thrashing of Hanwell on the Saturday, so this always looked like a tough encounter, but Aylesbury were boosted by the return from holiday of Ben Baines as Enzo Silvestri made way for him.
It was the Ducks who settled quickly, and for the opening third of the game it was Aylesbury who were the better side, though they had little to show for their efforts.
In the 7th minute Micky O’Farrell saw a shot deflected behind for a corner kick, from which Tom Barnett fired well over. O’Farrell was looking sharp in the early stages, and two minutes later he produced a sharp turn and cross where Stacey Field should have done better than heading wide from close range.
It was O’Farrell again in the thick of the action seconds later when he ghosted past his man on the counter attack but saw his low cross-shot gathered in on the near post.
Aylesbury were then presented the perfect opportunity to take the lead when Baines was bundled over in the box trying to get on the end of Field’s delivery for a clear penalty. O’Farrell stepped up, but his spot kick was too close to Nick Gardner and saved, yet a tap on the rebound which dropped straight to him would have sent it into the unguarded net. Unfortunately, the Ducks’ forward struck the ball with all the power he could muster and skied it well over the crossbar.
As United tried to regroup following that miss, Dunstable had their first meaningful shot on goal from Courtney Massey who tried a long range half-volley, but he couldn’t keep it down and the ball sailed out of the stadium.
A couple more half chances came the way of Aylesbury, with O’Farrell striking a decent effort from 25-yards which just fizzed over the target, then Baines turning well but only shooting straight at Gardner.
As the half had gone on, Dunstable had been increasing in confidence and their passing game had become more and more evident as their passes began to find their targets.
Yet the goal which opened the scoring was still something of a bolt from the blue. Craig Butler received the ball 30-yards from goal in acres of space, and as he wasn’t closed down chanced his arm with a long range strike which crept past the despairing dive of Sillitoe and nestled in the bottom corner. 1-0 Dunstable
A minute later and it could easily have been two. Sillitoe lost the flight of a right wing cross but just did enough to keep the ball away from Jon Barnett, who was waiting to head into the empty net.
Dunstable’s lead only lasted six minutes though, as Aylesbury managed to haul themselves level before the break. The ball dropped to Warren Garcia in the box after a throw-in, and he volleyed in superbly off the post. 1-1
Half-time: Aylesbury 1-1 AFC Dunstable
The second half started in end to end fashion and continued as such until the final whistle, providing plenty of entertainment for the neutrals amongst the healthy crowd.
Dunstable had the first effort when BJ Christie struck a powerful left-footed effort but the angle was always against him and it flew behind the goal. At the other end three minutes later Baines also shot wide following a blocked Field shot which came about from Barnett’s free-kick.
Bustling forward Christie was at the heart of most of the visitors’ attacks, and it was he who produced a good turn and shot from a throw-in which wasn’t very far away as it travelled all the way across goal and wide.
A deflected chipped pass over the defence then put Christie in but somehow Sillitoe got fingertips on his shot from 6-yards out, which was enough to take the sting off its pace allowing Mulholland to scrape the ball off the line at the last second.
Daniel Jones, continuing in his makeshift left-back role, then also had a great chance from 6-yards out when, having played a neat one-two with Baines, he received the ball back but could only stab it wide under pressure.
The free flowing second half was only disrupted by a couple of bouts of handbags, following a late and a heavy challenge by Dunstable’s James Potter and Aylesbury’s Tom Barnett respectively, following which four players entered the referee’s notebook.
Mulholland and Baines both had chances for the Ducks, but as the game entered its final third, Aylesbury were looking ever more tired whereas Dunstable continued to grow in stature and exhibited a freshness United just couldn’t match.
Aylesbury introduced Vinny Shrieves and Enzo Silvestri but were unable to turn the tide which suggested only one side were capable of finding a winner.
Potter slammed a shot into the side netting after being set up by some good trickery and a pass from Massey, then, following another sustained spell of pressure which yielded two corners, Massey himself saw a shot from a tight angle deflected behind by Jones.
Christie had another shot on the turn fly wide when a clever free-kick was rolled into him, catching the Ducks cold, and as the 85 minute mark passed it looked like Aylesbury had done enough to secure a draw.
The visitors had other ideas though and took home all three points with their late goal. Substitute Lee Hayward, quite possibly with his first touch, rode his way to the byeline before squeezing in a shot which squirmed past Sillitoe to the goal-line. Despite Jones’ best efforts – he crashed the ball into his own net in any case – the linesman was already flagging to signal the goal and it was game over for United. 2-1 AFC Dunstable
With only seconds remaining on the clock, Aylesbury were unable to force another chance and left the field dejectedly.
The Ducks will now have to pick themselves up quickly as attention is turned to the FA Cup and the Sunday visit of Bracknell Town. If they have genuine hopes of success this season, they need to produce quality performances for the whole 90 minutes, as opposed to this game where the levels dropped off badly as the match went on.
