As my wee friend from Glasgow would say, (and he has a way with words) – “a draw -- nae fitba’ each” !
In truth, this local Derby rarely produces much in the way of classy football, and this was no exception, as fear of losing seemed to be the mood that permeated the minds of all involved, resulting in a dour, hard fought but ultimately lacklustre affair.

Villa started somewhat nervously, and it was the visitors who held territorial advantage for the first twenty minutes or so.  And indeed said nervousness nearly cost Villa dear with just fifteen minutes on the clock, as a scuffed clearance by Shaun Gibbs fell at opposition feet, and the instinctive shot towards the empty goal looked net-bound, but in fact came back off the upright to his palpable relief.

At this point, Villa were forced into an early change when Ian Kirkpatrick sustained a knee injury. His replacement, Pavel Zverina, marked his return with a fine display of hold-up play, but if anyone out there knows the Czech for ‘Shoot!’, please send me an email quick!

Probably the pick of the home defenders on the day, Ross Dickinson also came closest to snatching the lead for the home side when he got his head on the end of a couple of set pieces, one in each half. The first was as a result of a floated free kick, which he powered goalwards, but it was headed off the line with Almond beaten.  The second came two minutes into the second half, when again he won the ball in the air, only to be thwarted once again with a last gasp block on the goal line by a defender strategically placed on the post.

Other than that, there was precious little worth commenting on. Stuart Bingham had a shot flash narrowly wide, and Shaun Gibbs pulled off a fine blocking save from a close range blast. In fact both keepers dealt competently with the little trouble that came their way. Gibby looks a capable replacement for Ross Baxter, who is struggling to shake off a niggling back injury, and Andy Almond, though not the tallest, takes the ball extremely well at it’s highest point.

Robert Skeath refereed the game very well, showing that even with an assessor present you don’t have to pull out the yellow card every five minutes to exert authority and control.

Villa’s next outing offers a break from the bread and butter of league business with a trip to the headquarters of Liverpool FA, where they will represent Lancashier FA in the semi final of the Association of Northern Counties Cup. 2.0pm kick-off, see Villa Forum for directions.

Villa – Shaun Gibbs, Darren Davies, Lee Chambers (George Craddock 71), Ross Dickinson, Sam Bolton, Stuart Bingham, Ian Kirkpatrick (Pavel Zverina 15), Gavin Cooper (John Salisbury 67), Elliot Dunn, Matt Atherton, David Heald.