Aldershot & Farnham 3, EUHC London 1

ALDERSHOT & Farnham recorded a much-needed win against bottom side EUHC London Gamblers in their final Hampshire/Surrey 2 league game before the winter break.

The home side always had the game under control, but when Gamblers did pull it back to 2-1 midway through the second half there was a sense the game could go either way.

But Scott Perry, in the final game of his five-week cameo for the club, slotted home to seal the points.

Aldershot & Farnham had a 1-0 lead at half time thanks to a precision drag flick from Perry just inside the right upright, but they will feel that they should have had a more substantial lead as, after weathering a good start by Gamblers, they took control and enjoyed a good amount of possession.

Too often, though, the midfield tried to force the ball through central areas and with the forwards also not offering enough depth inside the circle, it was too easy for the Gamblers defenders to manage.

On the occasions they did get the ball wide and in behind the Gamblers back line, they opened up chances and for a better final ball would have surely scored one or two more. One point when the final ball from such a scenario was on the money, Aaron Buchanan missed an open goal.

The message was clear that this should be the method of attack in the second half, especially through Jonny Groves or Rob Jervis on the right.

The teenage partnership of Joe Whelan and Jamie Weston in the A&F central defence looked assured throughout, with Whelan making a couple of smart tackles.

Weston scored a drag-flick via a deflection off a trailing stick of a running defender to make it 2-0, before Gamblers broke for their goal which came from a ball from the left that Ed Rushmere ended up putting into his own goal in a desperate attempt to intercept the pass.

Ian Metcalfe could have made it 4-1 shortly after Perry had scored the third. Despite close attention from two Gamblers defenders, he managed to squeeze through a gap to fashion the chance but he put a poor effort straight at the visiting goalkeeper.

Aldershot & Farnham: Cobbold, Hammond, Whelan, Weston, E Rushmere, Jervis, Thompson, P Rushmere, Perry, Metcalfe, Groves, Powell, Long, Buchanan.