WOKING 1, ALDERSHOT TOWN 2

HAVING outplayed Woking in thrilling style on Boxing Day, Aldershot completed a festive double over their most local rivals with a performance which owed more to grit and determination than free-flowing football.

But the Shots’ display in the lunchtime match at Kingfield on Sunday was, in its own way, equally impressive and the result sent the 1,117 travelling fans home in bouyant mood.

Jake Gallagher slid in to poach an injury-time winner as Gary Waddock’s side had to display redoubtable desire and strength to overcome a much-improved and much-changed Cards team and earn a second derby victory in the space of six days.

It advances Aldershot to seventh in the National League table, four points off the play-off places.

“We’ve shown a team spirit that can take us forward for the rest of the season,” suggested assistant manager James Rowe, undertaking media duties. “Credit to Woking for their response, but the way we’ve come back right at the end was fantastic. I thought we grew stronger as the game went on – we’ve stood up to their challenge and gone toe-to-toe with them, and our thoughts are always to be positive. We wanted to keep pushing, even in stoppage time.”

For long periods, this was a scrappy and feisty game, any rhythm stifled by a slew of cheap free-kicks on a heavy pitch.

But from kick-off it was evident that the Cards would put up much tougher opposition than they had in the earlier meeting and it was a busy game for referee Adrian Quelch who showed six yellow cards, four to the home side.

On just eight minutes, Jake Cole stood strong to block Fabio Saraiva’s drive as the visitors failed to clear their lines.

At the other end, Bernard Mensah shot wide after breaking forward to meet Shamir Fenelon’s pull-back and Dion Conroy fired a free-kick inches past the post when some Shots fans thought he had scored.

Woking were the better team for much of the first half, but it was Aldershot who eventually broke the deadlock on 63 minutes.

Anthony Straker’s deep cross found Scott Rendell rising above former Shots loanee Nathan Ralph to squeeze a header inside the post.

It was Rendell’s fourth goal in two games, following his superb hat-trick on Boxing Day.

The lead lasted just two minutes, however. Ralph earned redemption by sliding a fine pass through the visiting defence for Max Kretzschmar to chip in the equaliser with an angled shot over the advancing Cole.

As heavy rain returned with a vengeance, Fenelon sliced a shot wide and, in the 90th minute, Anthony Edgar allowed Cole to make a vital save on the edge of his penalty area, the substitute hesitating fatally with a great chance to lob the winner.

It was a moment which was to prove costly for Woking.

In the 91st minute, Aldershot took a quick throw-in down the left and Straker embarked upon an enterprising, overlapping run.

Getting the ball back from Mensah, Straker’s cross was met by Idris Kanu whose scruffy shot towards the far post deflected off the chest of a defender and was bundled in by the sliding Gallagher.

The ball had crossed the line by a matter of inches and the goal was perhaps hard on a valiant Woking.

But Aldershot’s wild celebrations, both immediately and at the final whistle, demonstrated what this victory meant to players and supporters alike. Perhaps more crucially, it also suggested what is possible in 2017.

After a debilitating and dispiriting run through November and early December, the Shots again showed that they have the quality to challenge for a play-off slot. Consistency, however, must be their New Year’s resolution and they will be targeting a third straight win when they host 19th-placed Southport this Saturday.

Woking: Poke; Jones, Saah, Thomas, Ralph; Lewis, Kretzschmar (Sutherland 75), Ferdinand, Murtagh, Saraiva (Edgar 71); Ugwu. Subs (not used): Hall, Caprice, Kandi. Booked: Saraiva, Ralph, Ferdinand, Sutherland.

Aldershot: Cole; Alexander, Reynolds, Conroy, Straker; Mensah, Gallagher, Benyu (Kellermann 77), Kanu (Evans 90); Fenelon (McClure 71), Rendell. Sub (not used): Smith. Booked: Alexander, Kanu.

Referee: Adrian Quelch.

Attendance: 3,224 (1,117 away).