As so often in his Aylesbury career, captain Jack Wood lead the way by heading the decisive goal as the Ducks were victorious in Hampshire by the slimmest of margins against managerless Petersfield Town.

Wood was playing in an unfamiliar left back position owing to Jake Bewley’s delayed arrival, but was in the right place to head home Reece Cameron’s corner and finally give United the lead as the first half drew to a close.

It was a well deserved lead after what had been a controlling half from Aylesbury, who took the game to their hosts early on with Bruno Brito looking lively and testing goalkeeper George Hill as early as the first minute. He then crashed a fifth minute shot over the bar from the first corner of the game, before Hill was forced to claw Brito’s own set piece away on his line moments later.

The opening goal should have arrived in the eleventh minute, with Brito involved again. Hill’s poor goal kick was seized upon by the Portuguese, who quickly played it through for Taylor Collins who rounded the goalkeeper but found the ball running away from him and with the angle worsening could only screw wide of the open net.

On a hard and bumpy surface, Aylesbury continued to try and play good passing football. Midway through the half they unpicked the Petersfield defence with a neat move that ended with a slick one-two from Jordon Frederick but his shot went wide across goal.

The Ducks kept up the pressure without further clear cut chances, although Brito twice tried his luck in the space of a minute with a curling volley that flew just wide before an attempted bicycle kick was also off target after another Cameron corner was helped into his path by Ryan Kinnane.

Three minutes from half time, and with their sixth corner, Aylesbury finally made the breakthrough. Good work from Cameron saw his cut back turned behind, and from his delivery Wood rose highest to head in his first of the campaign. 1-0 Aylesbury

Half-time: Petersfield 0-1 Aylesbury

Unlike their visit to Love Lane six months earlier, there was no Sonny French to score an outrageous direct-from-kick-off effort for Aylesbury on this occasion, but Brito tried for an early goal when he fizzed in a low shot that bounced awkwardly behind off a surprised-looking Hill.

Although Cameron and Collins both had chances, the latter’s the clearest as the ball dropped to him on the edge of the box but was smashed over, the Ducks were struggling to find the same fluency of the first half.

One good move involving the two Cs of Cameron and Collins saw another, Coulter, hook a shot over the bar, but a minute later and Petersfield finally had a shot on goal when Alex Miroy took aim from distance but placed his long shot well wide.

They followed that up with a tame shot from the Rams’ hat-trick hero from their midweek win over Farnborough, Daniel Simmonds, and the home side were clearly having by far their best spell of the match as they forced a corner kick that substitute Connor Hoare headed wide.

Ducks boss Glyn Creaser tried to stem the flow with two some fresh legs up front, as Vijon Syaed Sentain replaced Bruno Brito up front.

Sentain was quickly involved as he tried to get on the end of another Cameron corner kick, but merely succeeded in distracting Wood jumping behind him, who got contact on the ball but was able only to head it down and over the bar.

In the last minute of the game, Collins came agonisingly close to a reward for his eager running throughout the match. Cameron helped the ball on for his strike partner who nipped in ahead of the keeper, lobbing the ball towards goal where it cruelly came back off the crossbar.

A second goal would have been no more than United deserved, but they had to make do with just the one and a very welcome clean sheet, whilst two wins from the first three games of the season represents an excellent start by the team.