A 26% probability of the Magpies following up Bank Holiday Monday's pleasantly surprising and historic win over Barnet with another three points at the Wreck, according to 'National League Data Analyst', which was significantly better than one's chances of being able to access Ticketmaster on Saturday morning; a large part of me wishes that tickets for Oasis' reunion tour had gone on general sale the previous day when I was still in Crete and so could've easily justified to myself not wasting time and bandwidth queuing for a queue
Latterly, Aldershot (A) has meant pre or post-match beers with my old colleague and good mate CJ, who lives close to the ground, but he was away visiting his grandmother this time (or that's what he told me!); so, as I was only just back from an enjoyable 11-night holiday, and Macleod (M) had a ruby wedding anniversary to attend in the evening, I offered to drive us and left the house with Arsenal one up vs Brighton at half-time in the early Premier League kick-off
Declan Rice's absurd second yellow dominated the airwaves, while news of Southend United's tinpottery made us laugh during the 45-minute journey to Hampshire; I parked close to Redan Road cemetery, which proved convenient as unlike our recent visits it transpired we were to access the ground via the woods and the East Bank entrance – problematic for those Magpies with mobility issues (it would've been nice for them to have been pre-warned, of course, but Aldershot gonna Aldershot)
Early goal for the home side was a sign of things to come – a decent finish from James Henry, but some worryingly passive and disjointed defending from those wearing purple; thankfully, Reece Smith had their right-back on toast (at least in the first half), and a mazy run set up Tristan Abrahams for 1-1
Recent reports on Joshua Johnson have been positive, so it was a big blow when the young midfielder seemingly pulled a hamstring (or thigh muscle) before the break and hobbled off, heavily strapped, to be replaced by Bradley Keetch; our injury list – featuring some predictable names – continues to lengthen, with two four said to need operations so presumably out for some time (in addition to the usual suspects being perpetually "two weeks away")
Shots' defenders carelessly allowed Abrahams to cut onto his left and equalise for a second time, but that was sandwiched by two more soft goals conceded by Alan Devonshire's men, with the first – 2-1 to them, 57 minutes – being the most frustrating and not just because it came with the contest evenly poised: Kevin Lokko – who, it's fair to say, didn't have his best game – losing possession in our half
Hady Ghandour blew Macleod (M) a kiss after being called Gandalf when frivolously appealing for a throw-in or a foul in front of the 107 away fans (on the open terrace rather than in one of the stands, which was a shame), then later scored Aldershot's fourth following more ponderous defending – the second time in as many visits that we've conceded four at the Wreck; ex-Farnborough man Lokko pulled one back (we thought Abrahams had himself a hat-trick, although the centre-half seemingly got a touch to the striker's free kick), but the Magpies never seriously threatened another equaliser (not helped by Aldershot's third, fourth, and fifth substitutions, in the 93rd, 94th, and 95th-minutes, killing any flow)
Our league position (22nd) leaves much to be desired, but it's noticeable that the other three sides in the relegation places have considerably worse goal differences than us (-10, -9, and -9 vs -3); we play all of them – at Tamworth and Boston; vs Ebbsfleet – in September
Time for another loan signing? (We've already used more loan players in six matches than we did during last season.) TBH, Dev – who has now managed an incredible 800 games in sole charge of Maidenhead United – doesn't really have much choice.
I’m 94,354th in the queue to make my joke about the Oasis ticket queue.
— Tom Jamieson (@jamiesont) August 31, 2024
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