Getting to know the opposition: Aldershot Town

Looking to bounce back after the midweek defeat to Maidenhead United, the Spireites return to the Technique Stadium on Saturday when they face Aldershot Town.

Key Facts 

Founded: 1992
Manager: Mark Molesley
Nickname: The Shots
Stadium Name: Recreation Ground

In a bid to return to winning ways, Chesterfield continue their run of playing teams from the lower half of the league table with the visit of 17^th placed Aldershot. 

As for this weekend’s visitors, the Hampshire-based side are on course to continue in the same way the 2020/21 season fizzled out. Last season’s 15^th placed finished presented a lack of fear in battling it out down the bottom of the table, whilst they were also not any hopes of a play-off berth.

Despite a mundane end to the season, Shot fans did however get their money’s worth with an eight-goal thriller down in Norfolk when Aldershot drew 4-4 against King’s Lynn Town on the final day of the season. 

Aldershot started the season with five straight defeats. Starting with an opening day loss to Chesterfield, as Danny Rowe opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Kabongo Tshimanga bagged his first competitive goal for the Spireites to seal all three points whilst on the road. 

Beyond the opening day defeat, Aldershot faced losses to Boreham Wood, Yeovil Town, Notts County, and Solihull Moors. Now that we are just over the halfway mark of the season, their poor start can be forgiven as all five of the listed teams sit within the top half of the table, with only Yeovil and Solihull the only sides to be placed outside of the play-offs.

Aldershot’s first win of the season eventually came with an away trip to Southend United, a team who have been suffering for confidence since their relegation from Sky Bet League Two in May 2021. A massively important win for Aldershot as Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong scored a vital goal late on in the game to seal their first three points of the season. 

Despite picking up a vital win, Molesley’s Aldershot would only grab one win from their next eight games. A 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-league Dover Athletic would be only their second win of the season until facing Grimsby Town in November. 

In what was a major turning of the tide in November, Aldershot managed to drag themselves away from the relegation zone, after a worrying start to the season. The 2-1 win over the Mariners would – at last – kick-start their season with as wins over King’s Lynn Town, Eastleigh, and Woking soon followed. 

Player Statistics 

Although the Hampshire side have scored 28 goals so far this season, they have struggled to find a natural goalscorer to lead the charge. Currently, it is left back Lewis Kinsella who leads the way for goals scored, along with midfielder Alfy Whittingham as both have three goals to their names. 

Additionally, the club have had ten separate goalscorers this season, despite only two players having scored more than two goals so far this season. Whilst Aldershot sit comfortably away from the relegation zone at the moment, the fact that they do not have a prolific talisman could become detrimental towards the back end of the campaign. 

Head-to-Head Record

The recent history between these two has heavily favoured the Spireites. Recording three wins from the last five meetings, Chesterfield have only dropped points twice during that run. 

This season’s curtain opener extended Chesterfield’s run of 13 games undefeated against Aldershot.

By Sam Plummer