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Middle 0f August? Looked and felt more like the middle of
December as the Villa faithful headed over The Grane Road,
with some trepidation remembering their side’s embarrassing
capitulation at Mary’s last season, but nevertheless
heartened by Villa’s much improved and battling display at
Charnock in the week.
And indeed the Euxton lads picked up where they left off on
Wednesday night with a dogged and determined performance, at
times with backs to the wall, but with a fair amount of
attractive football as well, given the conditions prevailing
on the day. For their efforts they were rewarded with three
vital points that sees their season back on track, and with
several players due back soon from injury and holiday,
suddenly things have taken on a rosier hue, though Mark
McDonnell will no doubt have a bit of soul searching to do,
as those promoted to fill the void have done everything
asked of them.
On a surface that is a credit to Mary’s ground staff, Villa
began in confident mood, and the grit and hard work of Paul
Loughlin and Stuart Bingham saw them control the midfield in
the early stages, allowing Mat Atherton and excellent
debutant Neil Davies to ask questions down either flank.
Shortly before the mid point of the first half, Atherton
floated a corner from the right, which was headed away for a
corner on the other side. Bingham quickly whipped in the
second kick, and Sam Bolton met it full on to head his side
in front.
The game ebbed and flowed for the rest of the half, and the
home side could have squared things ten minutes from the
interval when a launched offside free kick found a striker
clean through, but Ross Baxter flung his massive frame low
to his left to thwart the effort. One nil at half time
would have been good, but things got even better just before
the whistle. Neil Davies fizzed a vicious free kick from
nearly forty yards, and Smith was unable to hold the
proverbial ‘bar of soap’, and the ever alert George Craddock
latched instantly on to the loose ball and had it in the
back of the net before anyone else could react.
If Villa held sway during long periods of the first half,
then the second largely belonged to Haslingden. Taylor
adopted a more central role, and really ran the show almost
single handedly, and the cool and impressive Rispin dealt
with the visitors’now rare incursions into the danger area.
However, hard as they tried, the home side could get no
change from Villa’s resolute back line, and on the few
occasions where they did get in behind, they found Baxter,
having shaken off a recent niggling injury, back to his
commanding best.
A petulant stamp late on saw the Saints play out injury time
with ten men, and in the end Villa were worthy of their
notable victory. On a day when everyone in orange worked
tirelessly from whistle to whistle it seems churlish to
single out individuals, but Davies looks to have plenty to
bring to the party, and Danny Walker and Michael Bromham
both had their best games so far in a Villa shirt.
Haslingden will no doubt feel that they deserved something
out of the game for all their territorial advantage in the
second half, but personally I find hard to feel sympathy for
any team that chooses to play in green and white hoops!
Villa Line-up: Baxter, Walker, Dickenson, Bolton, Bromham,
N.Davies, Loughlin, Bingham, Atherton (L.Conway 89.9), Heald,
Craddock
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