National League Promotion Focus On Dragons And Shots

North Wales was bathed in sunshine for much of the day and the crowd of 4,662 were treated to an enthralling game of contrasting styles.

Aldershot played some superb football, moving the ball from flank to flank in a bid to stretch a stubborn Wrexham defence. The Dragons, meanwhile, were more direct as they looked to exploit the space left by the visitors’ expansive style.

Gary Waddock’s side didn’t exactly have the best start as keeper Lewis Ward and Jim Kellermann got injured in the warm-up and were replaced by Jake Cole and Jake Gallagher.

Cole hadn’t started a game since October and it showed in the 22nd minute. The experienced stopper's attempted punch from a corner didn't come off and Scott Quigley forced the ball over the line.

What a signing Quigley could turn out to be. But just as they’ve found a steady stream of goals, the Dragons’ defence has become “sloppy” according to skipper Shaun Pearson.

Shamir Fenelon equalised just before half-time and it had been coming. But the Shots, well, shot themselves in the foot again in the 57th minute. They turned off allowing Quigley to race clear and finish well past Cole.

Aldershot skipper Callum Reynolds equalised from a corner but the result left both clubs asking questions.

For Wrexham, it was a case of some poor defending costing them the victory. It’s now four draws in a row and they’re eight points off Macclesfield.

“The result is frustrating, especially after leading twice,” Pearson told us after the game. “We struggled to get to grips with them in the first half but we changed things up and both sides could have won it.

“We’ve got ourselves ahead quite a few times recently and not been able to see the game out and that was something we were very good at earlier in the year.”

The Shots sit on the same amount of points as Wrexham but their title charge has slowed down considerably in recent weeks. They play some fantastic football and are a joy to watch. But champions need to be able to churn out results sometimes, too.

“On the possession side, we totally dominated the game but silly mistakes from us cost us the three points,” said defender Will Evans.

“We were left chasing the game twice and that’s difficult against a side like Wrexham with how much experience they have.”

It was an enjoyable Saturday afternoon at the Racecourse, especially for the neutral, but you could see why both fanbases were left frustrated.

The same issues keep cropping up for both sides and they will need to rectify them as we reach the business end of the season.

Could either side still mount a title push? We wouldn’t write anything off in this National League season but it’s going to take one almighty run. Still, nobody will relish facing either of the two clubs in the play-offs.

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