After a long-awaited return to home action, Irish secured a 2-1 victory over Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, getting back to winning ways in their first home game since November.
Irish started brightly, taking control in the early stages and creating several opportunities. Meadows and Ryan Smith both had efforts that went narrowly wide, while Boyce came close after flashing a low strike across goal, but it rolled just the wrong side of the post. Shrieves and Smith linked up well in the box, with the former managing to get a shot off from a tight angle, only to be denied by a smart reaction save from the Aylesbury keeper.
The pressure continued to mount as Shrieves pounced on a loose touch from a defender, drove towards goal, and played it wide to Boyce, whose low shot was again well saved. Despite dominating possession, Irish found themselves frustrated in front of goal as they struggled to find the breakthrough.
That moment finally arrived in the 38th minute, albeit in fortunate circumstances. Spence played a superb ball from deep, lofting it over the Aylesbury defense to find Shrieves in stride. The forward positioned himself between the ball and his marker, and as the defender stretched to clear, he inadvertently poked it past his own goalkeeper and into the net to give Irish the lead.
Before the break, Boyce had another golden opportunity, firing a driven ball across the face of goal, but with no Irish shirts close enough to convert, the chance went begging. A dominant first-half performance saw Irish head into the interval with a deserved lead, though they would have been disappointed not to have extended their advantage.
HALF-TIME: MK Irish 1-0 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Irish pushing to double their lead. Boyce picked out Shrieves inside the area, but from close range, the forward uncharacteristically fired high over the bar.
Aylesbury, having been kept quiet for much of the game, finally created their first meaningful attack. Winning the ball high up the pitch, they worked it wide to the right before firing an effort towards goal, but it sailed harmlessly over the bar.
Boyce remained heavily involved, this time teeing up Ryan Smith on the edge of the area. Smith struck the ball well, but a deflection took it just wide of the post. Moments later, Beecher and Smith combined down the right to set up Shrieves, who found space around the penalty spot and looked certain to score, only for his shot to deflect off Meadows before being cleared.
Substitute Osei-Addo nearly made an immediate impact after being played through by Spence. He just managed to get to the ball before the onrushing keeper, but couldn’t quite knock it past him as the keeper spread himself well to make the save.
With Irish continuing to press, the long-awaited second goal finally came in the 84th minute, and once again, it arrived via an own goal. Beecher sent a long ball forward, which Osei-Addo controlled on his chest while surging towards goal. As he did so, an Aylesbury defender made a last-ditch slide tackle but inadvertently directed the ball over his own goalkeeper and into the net to double Irish’s advantage.
Aylesbury responded almost immediately, pulling one back in the 88th minute. A rare attacking move saw them break down the right, cutting the ball back from the byline to their forward, who struck first-time into the bottom corner, giving Ladyman no chance.
Despite conceding late, Irish looked to put the game beyond doubt, and Osei-Addo came close to restoring their two-goal cushion with a brilliant volleyed effort towards the top corner. However, the Aylesbury keeper once again pulled off a superb save to deny him.
The final whistle soon followed, confirming a much-needed win for Irish on their long-awaited home return.
FULL-TIME: MK Irish 2-1 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos
