Match Report: Aylestone Park 3 HISTON 2

Goals from Dan Brown and Ryan Towner inside the opening 20 minutes put The Stutes in a commanding position but the home side overcame their shaky start to take all three points in their first ever game at Step 5. A day of celebration for Aylestone looked to be turning sour as they found their visitors just too hot to handle in the opening stages. After posing for pre-game photographs with their UCL Division One Champions trophy, the home side were brought down to earth with a bump as Histon took advantage of some slack defending and individual errors to take control of the game.

The Stutes showed attacking intent right from the start, taking the game to their hosts and denying them any chance to show the attacking flair that got them promoted with ease in April. For the first quarter of the game, it looked like Histon were the side that scored over 150 league goals last season as they powered forward, causing chaos in the home defence.

But the goal that Histon had been threatening to score finally came with 15 minutes on the clock. A flowing move lef to Danny Gould, operating on the right edge of Histon’s attack, putting in a cross which Barnes nudged into the path of Dan Brown to score from close range. Within 2 minutes the Aylestone Park defence was carved open once again. Barnes was again involved but it was Camara’s pass across the face of goal that left the unmarked Ryan Towner with a simple tap-in. On the balance of play to this point and the frequency with which The Stutes were opening up the home defence, a heavy and embarrassing defeat for the UCL Premier South newboys looked a distinct possibility as they struggled to cope with the Histon onslaught.

The 0-2 scoreline require Aylestone Park to adopt a different approach and the game now entered a more physical stage. Marcus Cole took a sore one in a 50-50 challenge and required lengthy treatment. Guy Motley, making his league debut at right back after joining The Stutes from Cambridge City went down shortly afterwards and also required medical attention. Fortunately, both were fit to continue and the stretched resources on the Histon bench were not yet required.

With 30 minutes on the clock, the home side had yet to register a shot on goal but that was about to change. A shot from distance thumped against the crossbar and rebounded invitingly to the feet of Aylestone’s Marshal Kennan who had the simple job of placing the ball into the unguarded net.

Kieran McGinty was a half-time substitute for Danny Gould as the Histon wide man continues his come back from long-term injury. The replacement resulted in a reshuffle in the Histon ranks, but it was Aylestone who started the

Histon Manger, Lance Key had moved swiftly to draft in Rushden and Diamonds goalkeeper Regan Saunt in the absence of the unavailable Sam Roach and midweek injury victim Chris Gough. After a relatively untroubled first half, the Diamonds man was soon required to make a fine save to his right, pushing the ball onto the post before gathering it in his arms. But ten minutes into the second half he was beaten when the lack of height offered by Pat Bexfield and Max York in the heart of the Histon defence was exposed. Declan Towers, whose name accurately describes his physique, rose virtually unchallenged to head home the Aylestone Park equaliser.

With bodies tiring, youth team player Jack Beasley was introduced from the bench, completing a trio of Under 18’s players on the field for the final stages of the game. But one more enforced change was required when Ryan Towner went over on his ankle and was replaced by Lee Smith for the final ten minutes. The captain confirmed after the game that there was swelling on the injured ankle and his fitness for the game against March Town United on Tuesday would be in the balance. The loss of Towner will come as a another blow to a side which was already without  experienced players in Sam Roach, Rob Ruddy, Luke Crisp, Ollie Brookes, Ed Rolph and Luke Lindsay for the trip to Aylestone Park