Report and pics of AFC Telford 0 Aldershot 2
Shot-shy AFC Telford United couldn't recover from a lifeless first-half as they were soundly beaten by Aldershot at the New Bucks Head.
Liam Watson's side were defeated by the break, after a nightmare start saw them concede with just five minutes gone, Joe Oastler breaking the deadlock.
A penalty saw them further pegged back as captain Steve Akrigg was punished for a foul on Josh Scott, Brett Williams stepping up to convert the spot kick.
Telford rarely looked like scoring and started on the back-foot, heightened when Oastler rippled the Bucks net with the game in its infancy.
He pulled the trigger from Damon Lathorpe's pass on the edge of the 18 yard box, leaving goalkeeper Jonathan Hedge beaten as the defence backed off.
Hardly the way to begin what was already expected to be a hard game and a bad situation got worse on 26 minutes, Akrigg penalised albeit for a soft challenge.
All eyes turned to referee Paul Rees as Akrigg and Scott came together for a decision that could have gone either way, the man in the middle electing to point to the spot.
Williams stepped up to try his luck with Hedge coming close to intervening, but the ball slipped him under him to his right before he could get down quick enough.
Hedge later had to act again to stop Williams netting his second, Telford were caught on the break shortly after Sam Smith had been foiled at the other end.
The home side's best chance fell to Mike Phenix on 43 minutes but he somehow missed the target in the box, after a game of head tennis saw the ball drop to him.
The Bucks huffed and puffed in their search for an equaliser after the break and did keep it much tighter at the back which, at least, kept Aldershot at bay.
Arguably their best chance of the match came just a minute after the restart, goalkeeper Phil Smith forced to parry wide at his near post.
Godfrey Poku slipped the ball into an advancing Phenix to go one-on-one with the shot-stopper, who did enough to maintain his clean sheet.
But Telford nearly conceded themselves in the 48th minute when Roberts could only head wide with the goal gaping, found unmarked by an inviting Joseph N'Guessan cross.
The hosts threw on Tony Gray, Sean Cooke and Adam Farrell as attacking options in their hunt to claw back the deficit. Jordan Deacey, Sean Clancy and Sam Smith all made way.
Farrell and Cooke nearly halved the deficit moments after their introduction on 81 minutes, with Gray later making an impact.
The former got himself on the end of the latter's cross, only for the ball to deflect off Glenn Wilson for a corner.
Their last hope of a goal back came and went in stoppage time, Phenix feeding Gray for a snap shot, Smith snuffing out the danger to hold.
