Wrexham 1, Aldershot Town 2

EARLY player-of-the-season candidate Ethan Chislett’s late missed chance against Barnet was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect Christmas record that culminated in Aldershot’s win in north Wales on Saturday.

That particular game at the EBB Stadium on December 28 ended goalless as Chislett squandered a one-on-one as the Shots picked up ten points from a possible 12 over the festive period.

And such was Chislett’s annoyance and dedication that he had a message for Shots boss Danny Searle after erasing that miss by scoring twice in a 3-1 home win over Eastleigh just four days later.

“He came up to me after he scored his second against Eastleigh and he said ‘that’s for the Barnet game, gaffer’,” said Searle.

“He’s a tremendous talent, but like so many of them he’s still got a lot to learn and he needs to keep himself grounded, and we’ve got to manage him and keep him grounded as well, but he’s a great lad.

“His application and approach to everyday work at football is spot on and he’s got a very bright future ahead of him.”

Chislett, who has scored nine goals so far this season, has arguably been Aldershot’s standout performer this season, having already been named several times in the National League team of the week, and he scored the opener again on Saturday when the Shots closed out their busy Christmas and new year period with a superb 2-1 win at Wrexham.

“I know we are just coming toward the last third of the season but he’s been very good,” admitted Searle.

“I know that results might not necessarily show it but when you look at consistency of performances we’ve got a few that have been really good, but he’s definitely one of those and you look at him and you think ‘it will be interesting to see where he is playing in four or five years time’ – hopefully still for me!”

Former Barnet striker Mo Bettamer was also on target for the third time this season as the Shots scored twice in six second-half minutes to secure a third win in four games.

“I can’t explain how much 2-1 flattered them,” said Searle, who saw JJ Hooper net nothing more than a consolation goal for Wrexham deep into stoppage time.

“With the work that we put in every day, we know that once we get into a rhythm, once we get that understanding of how we want to do things, and I don’t think we’re there yet but we’re getting there, we are capable of putting a run of results together – and not just the results, the performances as well,” said Searle, whose side are now just eight points off the play-off places.

“With the chance that we had against Barnet we could have been 12 points out of 12, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and work hard and build on the ten points that we’ve gained.”

And he added: “I still think there is more to come, I genuinely do. When you work with a group of people every day, you don’t always get to see it from the outside but you can see what the capabilities of the people are – the staff, the players, everybody – and if you keep on with the same messages, keep being consistent, keep doing the same things, and you make sure the belief’s there and you keep reassuring them how much you believe in them, then I knew that they would come good and, yes, we’ve had a good period but it’s no surprise to me, I’m not shocked. We knew it was going to come.”

Having been knocked out of the first round of the FA Trophy by Torquay United, Aldershot have a blank weekend before taking on rock-bottom Chorley at the EBB Stadium on January 18 (kick-off 3pm).