West Lancs Prem               9 August 08

If I may, I will paraphrase Beverly Knight, whom I understand to be a young lady proficient in the art of making gramophone records, in that the words that spring to mind are, ‘Shoulda,  Coulda, Woulda!’

Shoulda won it, coulda lost it, woulda probably have taken a point if offered at the start, and woulda definitely grabbed it with both hands after half an hour!

Despite conditions more reminiscent of December than the start of August, a very sizable crowd turned out to see what was always likely to be a close and keenly contested first outing of the new season. It was the local supporters who had most to shout about in the early minutes, with Mary’s settling quicker, looking sharper than their rivals and finding their men with slick and incisive passing. Even though Villa have already had four competitive matches and fielded a relatively settled line-up with no real surprises, they began nervously and found themselves playing most of their football in their own half. It was certainly not against the run of play then when Haslingden took the lead, but the stunning headed own goal from Darren Davies caught even them by surprise!

There was nothing lucky about their second however, and although Villa’s failure to effect a routine clearance was a contributing factor, the precision set up and exquisite volley could only be admired.

So, not halfway through the first half and already two behind, time to see what the lads were made of! And indeed the shock seemed to galvanise the Euxton side, with the playmakers starting to find a foothold and putting the home defence under pressure for the first time. Matt Atherton had hardly had a kick, but when he did get the service he sought he really made it tell, sending George Craddock in behind with a perfectly weighted pass which allowed the latter to run on and finish with trade mark composure.

Suddenly Mary’s did not look quite so comfortable, and Craddock, Phil Woodman, Gavin Cooper and man-of-the-match Eliot Dunn began to click, and the Haslingden keeper had to earn his corn with several timely blocks. But it was midfield anchorman Stuart Bingham who struck gold just before the interval, picking up the ball from a corner, he turned drove from a tight angle, and to his delight saw the ball cannon off legs into the bottom corner.

Villa finished the half with the momentum then, but still Mark McDonnell saw fit to mix things up for the restart with changes to both personnel and shape. Nevertheless Villa picked up pretty much where they left off, playing some attractive attacking football, with the home side finding Dunn in particular hard to handle. But things were far from one sided, and Haslingden were equally intent in chasing all three points and chances came and went at both ends.

The best chance fell to Craddock when Dunn squared the ball to his feet, but with the goal gaping, somehow he miscued. Sam Shone was introduced to freshen up the cutting edge, and immediately got in on the act with determined and purposeful running. Eliot Dunn benefited from a well placed cross on the end of one such run, but his header flew inches over.

Then suddenly, completely out of the blue, Haslingden were given a penalty for reasons that no-one on either side could fathom. Justice was done however, when Ross Baxter pulled off one of his speciality penalty saves to send his side back over the Grane Road with the point that was arguably the least they deserved.

Cracking opening game of the season for the healthy crowd to savour, and as previously suggested, both sides would in the end be happy not to have lost. Games come thick and fast, and Villa are at home to Stoneclough on Tuesday evening, then entertain Freckleton on Saturday.

Villa Line-up: Baxter, C.Chambers, Davies, L.Chambers, Bolton (Dickinson 45), Woodman, Bingham, (Kirkpatrick 45), Cooper, Atherton, Craddock (Shone 77), Dunn