ALDERSHOT TOWN 0, LINCOLN CITY 0

FA CUP heroes and National League leaders Lincoln City have this season beaten Premier League Burnley and Championship sides Ipswich and Brighton, but over 180 minutes of rambunctious and enthralling football the Imps have failed to beat Aldershot Town.

In what manager Gary Waddock described as “a proper football match”, the Shots, who were unlucky to ‘only’ draw 3-3 at Sincil Bank in November, again gave as good as they got in extending their unbeaten record to 11 matches – their best run since Waddock won the Blue Square Premier title in 2008.

The EBB Stadium’s biggest crowd of the season witnessed a tense encounter on Saturday, full of endeavor, but low on clear chances. Yet Paul Farman was the busier goalkeeper as Lincoln failed to capitalise on several excellent opportunities with wayward finishing.

Set-pieces remained their best creative outlet, but Jake Cole was relatively under-employed, and Waddock observed: “That was two good teams going toe-to-toe and it’s a good point for us. It’s been a difficult week, after playing with ten men for an hour at Eastleigh on Tuesday, and I think we’ve done remarkably well.

“We are limited by the massive squad that we haven’t got, but everybody to a man will take credit for that and everybody is doing their job. Teams like Lincoln will have possession, but I thought we dealt with that pretty well.”

A clash of heads between Aldershot’s Will Evans and Matt Rhead early on led to a lengthy stoppage.

Thereafter, City shaded periods of pressure, but with Scott Rendell’s close-range header, Bernard Mensah’s swerving drive – spilled for a corner by Farman – and Shamir Fenelon’s 20-yard shot, it was Aldershot who found the greater accuracy in front of goal.

Rhead, Lincoln’s muscular target man, nearly smuggled a long throw past Cole, but the Shots could easily have been ahead on 56 minutes when Fenelon sliding in at the far post to meet Mensah’s perfect cross, just failed to make contact.

Luke Waterfall, City’s towering centre-back, failed to hit the target with two close-range free headers as he found space on the end of free-kicks from deep. Then Jonny Margetts – back at the club on loan after joining Scunthorpe in August – sprinted through to meet Terry Hawkridge’s deft pass, only to shoot beyond the far post.

A rare mistake by the solid and stylish home defence presented Lincoln with probably the best chance of the game. Callum Reynolds gifted a pass straight to the opposition, allowing Nathan Arnold to again face Cole one-on-one, but the goalkeeper made a superb block. Ultimately, a draw was probably a fair result.

Having already surpassed last season’s points total with virtually a quarter of the season remaining, and able to boast 16 clean sheets in a miserly defensive record, Aldershot remain on the verge of achieving something entirely unexpected.

A play-off place is easily within their grasp, but Waddock, as ever, was inscrutable. “Nine years is a long, long time, but this group are trying to do something here for themselves. There’s ten games to go and who knows what’s going to happen? But it’s quite exciting!”

Excitement for the fans, in itself, is already a fine achievement for Aldershot.

Lincoln and Aldershot have rather contrasting appointments this Saturday. The Shots travel to Yorkshire for a National League match against AFC Guiseley. Danny Cowley’s Lincoln are at the Emirates for an FA Cup quarter-final against 12-time winners Arsenal.

Aldershot: Cole; Alexander (Straker 70), Evans, Reynolds, Arnold; Gallagher, Benyu; Fenelon (Giles 78), Mensah, Kanu; Rendell (McClure 82). Subs (not used): Buckley, Smith. Booked: Arnold.

Lincoln: Farman; Wood, Waterfall, Raggett, Habergham; Nathan Arnold, Power (Knott 61), Woodyard, Hawkridge (Ginnelly 74); Rhead, Margetts (Muldoon 77). Subs (not used): Whitehouse, Howe. Booked: Waterfall.

Referee: Craig Hicks.

Attendance: 3,595 (586 away).

* Aldershot have extended the loan of midfielder Kundai Benyu from Ipswich until Saturday, April 1. The 19-year-old has made 14 appearances, including 12 starts, and won two Player of the Month awards since joining the club on a youth loan in December. He is now available for a further five games, up to and including Aldershot’s visit to Solihull Moors.