In their match preview on their website, Garstang alluded to the fact that the outcome of their trip south could well depend on which Euxton Villa turned up! In truth, for the first fifty minutes neither Villa side turned up, and the home support were subjected to the embarrassment of watching a defence that has been resolute of late, stand aside and allow the opposition the freedom of the park.  If there was a way of harnessing the steam coming from Mark McDonnell’s ears, you could have solved Britain’s balance of payments crisis at a stroke! 

It took the visitors less than two minutes to grab the lead when Wilson headed home unchallenged. Words like ‘static’ and  ‘rooted’ spring to mind. Thus shaken, Villa proceeded to flap and fluster their way through the next half hour, during which Garstang forced Matt Jackson into a couple of fine saves, and saw a tame effort come miraculously back off the inside of the post. (Sorry about the split infinitive for you  connoisseurs of grammar).  Then shortly after the half hour they inevitably doubled their lead when Fawcet strolled through to notch his side’s second.

Villa’s best, and indeed only, move of the half saw them grab a lifeline. Pavel Zverina timed his right wing run to perfection and delivered a perfect cross, and Matt Atherton met it on the full and volleyed past the keeper with power and accuracy. The lift to the spirits was to be short lived however, as Wilson was again able to take advantage of Villa’s generosity with yet another soft goal to restore his side’s two goal advantage before the interval.

The second half started ominously for the home side when inside five minutes Wilson headed home unchallenged from eight yards, but the off-side flag saved the home defence further misery.  Three minutes later Garstang had the ball in the net yet again, but only after Jackson had been bundled over and it was never going to be allowed.

Mark McDonnell did what he had to do and threw on all three subs, and some sympathy must go to the three lads replaced, as they were no worse than the rest, and quite frankly it could have been any three who came off. Villa’s bets hope at this stage seemed to rest with the hope that the increasingly muddy pitch might be deemed dangerous and the official might call a halt to proceedings. Had it been a boxing match though, he would probably have stopped it to avoid the loosing side taking unnecessary further punishment.

But suddenly Villa woke up. Might have been due to the changes, might just have been that Euxton decided that they better make a bit of effort if they wanted a shirt next week. Whatever the reason, they managed to find a couple of extra gears and turned the tables on their opponents. Phil Woodman provided the cutting edge, latching on to a through ball and retaining his composure to finish like a Torres.

Unfortunately for Villa and more importantly for the lad himself, debutant Chris Blundell fell awkwardly in a challenge and although he got to his feet he was afflicted by pain spasms in his lower back, bad enough for him to have to be stretchered off and an ambulance called.  Although Villa did manage to retain the momentum they now had, with all three subs already used, inevitably the numerical disadvantage meant gaps appearing, and man of the match Fawcett was able to put the game beyond doubt in stoppage time.

The phrase ‘bad day at the office’ doesn’t even begin to cover it, but at least the lads finished on a positive footing, and have a very early chance to redeem themselves, as next Saturday sees them travel to Garstang in the reverse fixture.

Villa Line-Up; Matt Jackson, Craig Chambers (Stuart Bingham 70), Darren Davies, Lee Chambers, Sam Bolton, John Salisbury (Chris Blundell 70), Phil Woodman, Gavin Cooper, Michael Clitheroe (George Craddock 70), Pavel Zverina, Matt Atherton