Aylesbury United’s first match in the town since 2006 was not the triumphant homecoming their fans were hoping for as they were, for the second time of the season, beaten 3-1 by Aylesbury FC.

Whilst the scoreline was the same, unlike the previous meeting, this game went the way of the formbooks as the Moles extended their unbeaten run to nine matches, whilst United suffered a eighth defeat in their last eleven games.

Having missed the weekend’s heavy defeat at Barton Rovers, the Ducks had Paul Edgeworth and Liam Smyth returning, but had to contend without unavailable duo Jason Blackett and Bill Morgan, and on the other side the hosts were missing star striker Danny Burnell, hospitalised with severe concussion.

United could have been ahead as early as the first minute when Joey Acheampong’s early shot was beaten away by goalkeeper James Weatherill, but on the whole the opening was a scrappy affair with little by way of clear cut chances.

In the sixth minute the Brian Haule and Gareth Price partnership which was to be a prominent feature of the match linked up for the first time, with Haule levering the ball down for Price who could only shoot over on the turn.

It was a half chance at best, and the Ducks responded with a similar effort as Greg Williams – one of four players in the starting elevens to have played for both clubs – crashed a volley well over the bar, before Price followed suit at the other end on fourteen minutes.

Aylesbury United had been shading the game at that point, but a goal out of nothing just past the first half’s midway point suddenly gave the hosts the initiative. A well judged pass over the defence gave Jamie Rudd a shooting chance, and although Jack Sillitoe made a good save, the ball rebounded to Rudd who hooked it home. 1-0 Aylesbury FC

United’s already fragile confidence was then completely destroyed as FC grabbed a second within two minutes. The ball was helped on into the path of Price who used his pace to break free and finished coolly into the bottom corner. 2-0 Aylesbury FC

Despite the sudden flurry of activity, the game still hadn’t evolved from its scrappy nature, with the bumpy playing surface making any decent football near impossible for both sides.

Keith Williams fired in a well struck effort from range that was dived on comfortably enough by Weatherill, and Sillitoe was able to catch a Haule header at the other end just as easily from a deep free kick though he was beaten moments later when the ball broke for Simpson but he curled wide of the goal.

The Moles extended their lead with a goal a minute from the interval to seemingly put the game out of their namesake’s reach, a through ball setting Price scampering clear where he produced a clever dinked finish to score past the advancing goalkeeper. 3-0 Aylesbury FC

If there was to be any hope of United salvaging anything from the night then an instant response was needed, and the Ducks were gifted it when referee Mr Moore awarded a penalty as Jack Wood was taken out by Ollie Hogg trying to get on the end of a set piece. Paul Edgeworth stepped up and rifled home a penalty to give the greens a lifeline. 1-3

Half-time: Aylesbury FC 3-1 Aylesbury United

Tony Joyce opted for a half time defensive shake up as Shane Wood came into the centre of the backline as a substitute for Lee Grace, with Steve Hatch moving to right back.

The second half started with another early chance for Acheampong, created by Edgeworth bringing the ball down for him, but Weatherill was quick to make himself big and charge down the shot.

Chances were again at a premium though, and aside from Simpson and Price making a mess of good openings – Simpson slipping at the crucial moment and Price choosing to pass instead of shoot, there was little to speak of.

Simpson should have added a fourth after sixty-three minutes when he was played in with the defence wide open again, but he blazed over.

On the whole the game was played in a good spirit, the only flashpoint when Brad Wadkins came flying into a challenge that the referee deemed reckless and showed a straight red card for, leaving Aylesbury FC to play a quarter of the game with ten men.

United tried hard to raise their game, but with some tired legs clearly evident struggled to make headway and, in truth, created few chances for comeback.

Greg Williams went close when he launched himself at a near post corner, ending up in the net himself but sadly not with the ball as the home team defended well.

A clever reverse pass from Stacey Field then released Keith Williams who fired in a low drive that narrowly missed the target, and Edgeworth headed a free kick from substitute Daniel Jones wide as the Ducks continued to probe for a way back into the game.

Weatherill was off his line quickly in the closing stages to beat Acheampong to the ball, and in the last minute a well struck shot from Hatch had to be beaten away in what was the home stopper’s biggest test of the second half.

As the game entered stoppage time, a quick breakaway gave substitute youngster Ken Feyi the chance to add further gloss to the scoreline, and although he rolled his shot wide of target the home faithful were soon able to celebrate full time, their double over the Ducks and a further closing of the gap between the sides in the league table.