After easily scoring five against Tring two days earlier, Aylesbury found the going difficult against a well organised but unambitious Harefield United, ultimately being held to a 1-1 draw.
Aylesbury handed a debut to deadline day defensive signing Bill Morgan, formerly of Leighton Town, Hemel Hempstead and Leverstock Green, who slotted in at right back. Steve Hatch also returned to the team, with the defence reshuffle seeing Shane Wood move to left back, and Greg Williams move back into midfield. Louis Austin was unavailable whilst Joey Acheampong dropped to the bench.
The Ducks started well with Williams striking a long range effort over the bar, before they forced four successive corners. All were taken, inswinging, by Paul Edgeworth, with the third met by Hatch and then Baines before being headed behind, and from this set piece Hatch was afforded a free reign but saw his header clip the outside of the post on its way wide.
On the quarter hour mark the hosts finally showed some attacking intention when Daniel Fleming drove forwards but placed his long shot well over the bar.
It was Aylesbury who should had the best chance of going in front, however, when Field’s touch off presented Hatch with a clear sight of goal but his shot was too close to Craig Garrett who smothered the ball.
Soon afterwards, Edgeworth and Zac Reynolds combined with the latter drilling just wide from 25-yards, and ten minutes later Butler volleyed wide from the edge of the area as the ball dropped to him.
With such little notable action it was no surprise when the half came to a goalless close, but not before Paulo Cicero had a shot down for Harefield, and Ben Baines lofted a shot wide for Aylesbury after the goalkeeper cleared the ball straight to him.
Half-time: Harefield 1-1 Aylesbury
The game was in desperate need of a goal, and Aylesbury duly obliged, going ahead five minutes after the restart. Hatch sprayed a fine ball into the path of Field, whose low ball into the six-yard box was turned home by Ben Baines. 1-0 Aylesbury
With the goal came an almost tangible release of pressure on the Ducks and they pressed hard for a second, Field going close straight away when his shot was spilled by the keeper, but nobody was on hand to score the rebound.
On 53 minutes Reynolds won a corner kick from which Hatch’s header was blocked on the line, and in a remarkable passage of play his poked attempt from the rebound was also stopped, as was a third follow up attempt by Edgeworth as Harefield clung on in the game.
Four minutes later and Aylesbury spurned another great chance to double their lead as a cross was headed back across goal by Field where Edgeworth stole in but nodded wide from close range.
It already looked like the misses would come back to haunt Aylesbury as Harefield suddenly perked up and Ryan Egan wasted a good opening by shooting straight at Jack Sillitoe following a corner kick.
Aylesbury had another good opportunity when Reynolds’s flighted pass was turned back across goal by Edgeworth, but Field struck his shot into the ground where it bounced up for Garrett to easily catch.
The Hares were now having their best spell of the game, as Shane Wood misplaced a clearance to Fleming who placed his shot wide, before the hosts had a strong penalty shout waved away when Hatch tangled with Fleming inside the box as the Harefield player tried to cut inside him.
An equalising goal, very avoidable from Aylesbury’s point of view, arrived with fifteen minutes remaining. Shane Wood chose not to ‘play safe’ and find touch, allowing Jake Girt to rob him and centre where fellow substitute Lee McManus turned the ball in scrappily. 1-1
Aylesbury tried to respond by introducing Joey Acheampong, and he was involved immediately by flicking the ball on for Field who was could only fire wide across goal from a tight angle.
After a gruelling programme of recent matches the Ducks unsurprisingly ran out of puff in the closing stages of the match, and, apart from two late free kicks, Harefield’s goal was untested in the final minutes as it ended a goal apiece.
