In their first game after a frustrating weather-affected two and a half weeks, Aylesbury produced a good performance to see off Hatfield Town and move up to sixth in the league table.
With Sam Slatter missing, young defender Joe Donaldson was granted his full debut, whilst there were places on the bench for Warren Garcia – returned after a brief spell at Aylesbury FC – and Mark Toms who has resumed playing for the club after a spell out of the game.
Whilst the scoreline was comprehensive, the match wasn’t entirely one-sided, with the game not entirely safe until Lewis Hallford scored a brilliant third. Indeed, had Hatfield not wasted a string of more than clear-cut chances then the night’s complexion could have been different.
Both sides had chances in the opening exchanges with Joey Acheampong getting away from the defence without being able to get a clean shot away, before Field went for goal with a curling effort a minute later but couldn’t beat Sam Lacey in goal.
At the other end midfielder Terry Caswell bustled his way towards the penalty area but could only produce a weak effort at the end of it, as did Carl Webb who did well to play a neat one-two in the box but his finish was poor.
Aylesbury took the lead in the 16th minute when Field took full advantage of some woeful defending by getting goal side of the hapless Richard Cooke from a long defensive punt, and got just enough of a touch on the ball to divert it past the confused goalkeeper and defender and see the ball trickle over the line. 1-0 Aylesbury
A procession of home chances followed the opener with Marcus Sawyer lashing a volley over the bar, Ben Baines seeing a looping header hacked away, and Jack Wood slamming a shot wide having been teed up by Acheampong after the referee played a smart advantage with Hallford fouled in the build up.
The Ducks then had the first of a number of let offs as sloppy defending let in Webb who skewed a shot badly wide as the ball dropped to him in the box.
Instead of being level, United doubled the scoring a minute later. Good work by Acheampong on the byeline ended with the ball popping back to Sawyer who drilled home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area. 2-0 Aylesbury
On 28 minutes came Hatfield golden opportunity number two. A fine ball dinked over the defence presented Ashley Gumbs with a clear sight of goal, but he made a mess of the shot allowing Sillitoe to save.
Aylesbury were finding the going very easy whenever they came forward against a Town defence reluctant to tackle or close the ball down. Good football produced another chance when Sawyer broke down the left and crossed for Hallford who met the ball with a diving header but could only direct it wide.
Acheampong nearly scored another special goal as he bulldozed his way goalwards but had his effort plucked out of the air by Lacey.
Field then went close to adding to his tally when a defence splitting pass from Edgeworth set him free to round the keeper, but his shot lacked power and was cleared off the line.
A mad minute followed as first Webb made another complete hash of finishing when, presented with just Sillitoe to beat, he miss-hit his shot and the Ducks keeper was able to catch the ball from his grounded position.
Immediately on the counter Wood then wasted an equally as good a chance for his side when he hit the crossbar from six-yards after another great run from Acheampong to set him up.
Half-time: Aylesbury 2-0 Hatfield
Content with their advantage, there were worries amongst the home supporters that Aylesbury would be complacent in the second period, but as efforts from Acheampong and Sawyer came in the opening minutes it was clear that United were looking to increase their margin.
A third goal was needed to kill the Hatfield threat once and for all, as they squandered further opportunities through Dray who fired wide inside the box, and Gumbs whose first touch denied him a decent opportunity as he pushed himself too wide with the ball.
Lacey made a good stop to deny Acheampong when one-on-one after a brilliant run and pass from Baines set him away. A minute later and a superb team goal was denied only by the linesman’s flag after a move down the left resulted in Field meeting Jones’ cross with a flying header into the net.
Field then missed his second open goal of the evening as he raced onto a ball over the top, pushed it past Lacey and looked to have done everything right with a strong shot, but this time he was unlucky as Cooke got back excellently to clear.
Aylesbury didn’t have to wait long for the third, a typical masterstroke from flying winger Lewis Hallford. Cutting inside from the right, under no pressure at all, he calmly picked his spot and placed a 25-yard arrowed drive into the far corner giving Lacey no chance. 3-0 Aylesbury
Gumbs’ game continued to go from bad to worse as, from a suspiciously offside looking position, he ran clean through only for a remarkable save by Sillitoe to keep him at bay. Then, Donaldson presented him with an absolute gift of another one-on-one, only for an awful finish which left Sillitoe an easy claim.
Sillitoe had to do a bit better soon afterwards with a Caswell free-kick which was well placed into the corner, but the Ducks stopper was able to turn the ball around the post at full stretch.
It was an off night for both sets of strikers, as Field missed the target again from another one-on-one situation having robbed Grant Macree, putting the ball just over the bar.
The game drifted to a slow close as United introduced all three of their substitutes: Melford Simpson along with the aforementioned Garcia and Toms.
In stoppage time Hallford went close when he had a shot deflected just past the post by Macree, whilst the unfortunate Field completed his hat-trick of efforts cleared off the line when his looping header was scrambled away at the death.
A very welcome three points for Aylesbury on a night of many missed opportunities by both sides, hopefully the sharpness in front of goal will return once the regular games restart.
