After the disappointment of the abandoned match against AFC Dunstable on a foggy Tuesday evening, thankfully it was a bright, if breezy, day that was set fair for the game against Hadley.

Manager Jack Wells chose, not unsurprisingly, to stick with the starting XI chosen for the truncated match, but able to welcome back David Pitt from injury to take a seat on the bench, in place of David Aluko-Olukun, who was playing for Chalfont St Peter as part of his dual registration deal. Harry Jones also returned to the squad after his injury lay off, as did Sonny French.

The visitors, on a decent run of form after drawing at Cirencester and scoring four goals against Biggleswade Town in their last two matches, started well. A pass infield found Jordan Edwards, who turned and advanced towards the penalty area, before shooting from 25 yards; Jack Hopwood fumbled the initial shot, but was quick to recover, snatching the ball from the foot of the incoming Lawrence Ajong to snuff out the danger.

The Ducks responded with a fine flowing move across the pitch, with a pass finding Anthony Ball on the right. He skipped past Caoilan Mcgettigan before driving a ball across the 6 yard box, which took a touch off a defender, taking it away from Ezra Anthonio-Forde as he looked poised to tap in at the far post.

From the next attack, Finlay Aldridge did well on the left, cut inside Ball and squared to the dangerous Billy Hayes on the edge of the ‘D’. HE found space to get a shot away, but Mark Riddick did well to get in a block, which made the save for Hopwood easier than it might have been.

On 25 minutes, George Alfieri got to the by-line and pulled the ball back to Bodac Ebengo, who hit a good first time shot from 12 yards which saw Hopwood pull off an equally impressive save to keep the scoreline blank.

Four minutes before half time Jake Bewley and Lee Stobbs combined down the left to set up Riddick for a shot from 15 yards, but it was too close to keeper Luke Ward to threaten.

As half time approached, a pass down the left found Aldridge just inside the penalty area; he went past Jack Wood on the outside and fired goalwards. Hopwood could only palm the ball goalwards, but was relieved to see Bewley covering behind him, and able to clear off the goal line.

Half-time: Aylesbury 0-0 Hadley

The first opportunity of the second half fell to the visitors; a cross from Darnell-Joe Luke was headed on by Ajong to the unmarked Edwards, who could only slice his shot high and wide under challenge from Hopwood In the next attack, Aldridge outpaced Ball and pulled the ball across the 6 yard box, just out of reach of Edwards.

In the 69th minute a mazy run by Hayes saw him drift past 3 defenders, none of whom could get a tackle in, before seeing his shot deflected over the crossbar. From the corner, Ebengo met the ball well, but again Hopwood was up to the challenge, making a good save.

By now the visitors had changed their shape and switched to 3 at the back, chasing the win. As they continued to press a pass forward to left back McGettigan, now playing in an advanced role on the right, who turned and shot from 25 yards, but wide of goal.

With three minutes left on the clock, a free kick from Jack Moriarty was headed out as far as French, on the pitch as a substitute for Ben Seaton. The ball fell nicely to him, but his left foot volley sailed wide.

With clock ticking towards 90 minutes, Ed Davis played a ball through the defence to fellow substitute Peter Rosemin, but his shot from 15 yards was saved by Hopwood.

As the supporters were settling for the draw and an unlikely clean sheet given the dominance of the visitors in the attacking third, the Ducks stole the game at the death. Jack Moriarty did well on the half way line to turn away from his marker, before playing a ball down the right touchline which was collected by Anthonio-Forde; he stepped inside his defender and crossed into the penalty area, where French rose highest to glance the ball into the bottom corner of the net. 1-0 Aylesbury

Shortly afterwards, referee Tom Hood blew the final whistle to signal a true smash & grab win but a very much welcomed one. On three occasions the Duck’s hearts have been broken by a last-minute goal; perhaps that football cliché of events evening themselves out came into play today\' With results at the bottom going in our favour, the Ducks now have a 5 point buffer between themselves and the bottom three as they strive to move closer to safety from potential relegation.

Next up on Saturday, a trip to last Tuesday’s opponents, AFC Dunstable, with the Ducks hoping to build on today’s result and gather points on the road. We hope as many of you as possible can make the short trip to Creasey Park top lend your ever appreciated vocal support!