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Non-league

Aldershot set to shoot down Harriers

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Gary 'The Boz' Boswell has his sights firmly set on Aldershot, who may not be in the Champions League, or even the league cup for that matter, but still have a treble to play play for.

Results over the past few days have forced The Boz to slash his price on an Aldershot treble down to single figures. Two tight cup quarter-final victories and the unexpected bonus of Torquay dropping two crucial league points in their game in hand at home to Altrincham means that the unprecedented non-league triple header is now very much ON for Gary Waddock's warriors.

I have to confess to expecting the Shots to have bowed out of the Setanta Shield on Tuesday night. The game at Crawley was a tight call on paper - as it indeed proved with the 2-2 scoreline after ninety minutes. The four goal extra time blitz was an indication of how seriously the prospect of that historic treble must now be taken. Yet another young prospect - in the shape of 19 year old striker Danny Hylton - announced his arrival at the level and Aldershot's season continues to be a remarkable upward curve.

They are hardly recognisable now from the side that stumbled to a 3-0 home defeat against Torquay in September. As we head toward the repeat showdown Live on Setanta on Monday night, the Waddock assertion that, "this is no longer a team but a squad that wants to win everything" is being born out. It'll take a brave man to back the Gulls on Monday night in a game that they must now win.

Before that, two games on Saturday that will determine how critical a title decider the battle at Plainmoor is to be. Torquay face a tricky must win visit to Grays where Justin Edinburgh's departure has seen chairman Mick Woodward take over for his second spell as manager. Hard to read whether that is likely to trigger the calamitous spiral down that interfering chairmen are renowned for or whether the kind of upsurge in form that a manager's new broom often engenders can be expected.

Not a game to bet on methinks whereas Aldershot's hosting of the Kidderminster Harriers is a much easier one to call. Since the departure of goalscorer James Constable to Shrewsbury, Harriers have managed just one league win in six and continued their disappointing season on Tuesday night by whimpering out of the Setanta Shield at home to Rushden.

On the form they showed in the last thirty minutes against Crawley, with what the Boz would consider to be a far from full strength side, Aldershot can be confidently napped to win this one and go into Monday night's titanic showdown with Torquay as the odds on favourites to win the league. Great news of course for all those following the Boz's Blue Square portfolio (Aldershot advised at [16.0] in September).

Here are two other bets I'm considering for the weekend. First, 'Mad-Dog' Rob Smith has his AFC Telford troops top of the Blue Square North current form table and they're hot on the heels of champions elect, Kettering. They can be confidently predicted to hammer a Hinckley side I keep expecting to start the surge away from relegation. It isn't happening for the Knitters who look destined to follow their play-off heartache of last season with relegation this. Sad stuff.

The second bet is one of those stabs at the old style pools prediction. It's about this time of year that the 'neither of us have much to play for but we don't want to lose' fixtures start to occur with regularity. Rushden v Woking is one of those on Saturday.

Both teams are doing ok on current form but neither have anything to do in the league now until the end of season except make sure they keep picking up the odd point that ensures a buffer zone from the relegation fight. Both sides are also traditional Conference draw specialists and the 'outsider' odds that you get about any football game ending all square will almost certainly be a wrong price in this one. Worth a speculative punt.

Recommendations:

3pts BACK on ALDERSHOT to beat KIDDERMINSTER at [1.56] or better

2pts BACK on AFC TELFORD to beat HINCKLEY at [1.4] or better

1pt BACK on the RUSHDEN v WOKING Draw at [3.3] or better