Shots sink Chelmsford

Aldershot are just 90 minutes away from a dream Third Round tie with a Premiership giant after finally seeing off a stubborn Chelmsford City on Tuesday night.

After a first half which the visitors shaded, Aldershot broke the deadlock from the penalty spot when former Chelsea left-back Darren Barnard crashed home.

John Grant doubled the lead with ten minutes remaining to book Terry Brown's side a Second Round date with Basingstoke.

It was the visitors who shaded a first half which took a while to shake off the November cold.

Barnard did his best to raise the temperature a few degrees with a nasty lunge on Chelmsford's Fiston Manuella. The red-faced Chelmsford bench screamed for retribution and the resulting yellow card was perhaps scant punishment.

Chelmsford, decked out in sky blue, won the first corner after five minutes but neither side could assert a strangle hold on the opening exchanges which were frequently punctuated by a toot on the referee's whistle

The home fans amused themselves by playfully baiting Chelmsford boss Jeff King, but that was more in frustration at their team's rather low-key start to the game than anything else.

Marcus Gayle, whose former club Wimbledon could lay claim to the greatest Cup shock of all, looked the most likely to unlock the stubborn Chelmsford defence, but it was Chelmsford's number ten, Ricky Holmes, who had the first real chance after 14 minutes.

Having escaped the attentions of Barnard, the lively Holmes raced through and, from an acute angle, forced a smart save from Aldershot keeper Nikki Bull.

The home side responded with their first chance, the pony-tailed Mark Molesey finding space on the edge of the box before shooting low which required Richard McKinney to be alert.

Mario Noto, dangerous when arriving late in the box, had two chances to score midway through the half. The first, a free-kick, never really troubled Bull but Noto should have done better moments later, slicing wide into the empty terracing dividing the home and away fans.

Chelmsford were playing the better football and a small number of the home fans, perhaps sensing an upset, resorted to bickering amongst themselves in a scene reminiscent of Eastenders.

Those same fans thought their side had taken the lead on 32 minutes. Molesey threaded an intelligent ball through to Grant whose shot was well saved by Richard McKinney. But the keeper did not get enough on the ball which crept goalwards, only to be hacked clear by Chris Duffy.

The the danger had not subsided and, from a cross from the right, Gayle headed over from close range.

At the other end, Chelmsford fashioned the move of the half just before the interval. In a break which saw the ball shipped from end to end, Holmes fed Kezie Ibe who played in Noto. With the goal at his mercy, he shot horribly over the bar. Noto's reaction, hands on head, said it all.

The teams ran out for the second half to the tune of 'Eye of the Tiger' and Chelmsford's fans must have been hopeful of their own Rocky style upset.

However, it was Aldershot who took the lead on 52 minutes. After Steve Ward was penalised for handball in the penalty area, former Welsh international Barnard drove home from 12 yards past McKinney's despairing dive.

The former Blue, who played in the 1994 Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Luton, celebrated wildly, proving the competition is as popular as ever.

The goal buoyed Aldershot who penned Chelmsford into their half. The visitors, assured and confident in the first half, now panicked and continually gave away possession.

One of the few chances they created after going behind fell to Noto but his low shot was comfortably held by Bull.

Aldershot raced down the other end and almost doubled their lead in the 77th minute. After an adventurous run down the left flank, Ryan Williams crossed to the far post where Gayle just failed to get the vital touch.

Grant showed his more illustrious team-mate how to do it with ten minutes to go, smashing into an empty net after good work by Louis Soares.

It would have been 3-0 in the 85th minute but for the agility of McKinney. Williams' swerving effort seemed destined to bulge the net until McKinney, initially going the wrong way, acrobatically palmed the ball wide.

Aldershot: 1 Nikki Bull, 2 Dean Smith, 3 Darren Barnard, 4 Ricky Newman, 5 Rhys Day, 12 Louis Soares, 7 Mark Molesey, 8 Dave Lee, 9 John Grant, 10 Marcus Gayle (23 Joel Grant 77 mins), 11 Ryan Williams (24 Ben Harding, 90 mins).

Subs not used: 15 Ryan Scott, 18 Phil Anderson, 22 Louis Wells.

Chelmsford: 1 Richard McKinney, 2 Jay Conroy, 3 Chris Duffy, 4 Ben Chenery, 5 Steve Ward, 6 Fiston Manuella (Gavin Heeroo, 85 mins), 7 Mario Noto, 8 Jeff Minton, 9 Kezie Ibe, 10 Ricky Holmes, 11 Spencer Knight (14 Jason Hallett, 46 mins).

Subs not used: 12 Tony Battersby, 16 Liam Hopkins, 17 Ashley Harrison.

Attendance: 2,731