With the Shield Final just two days away, Mark McDonnell shuffled his pack and gave several fringe players the opportunity to enhance their credentials for being included in the squad for forthcoming attractions. The makeshift line-up set off with purpose and panache, with Adrian Briggs, carrying on the outstanding form he showed last week for the Over 45s, grabbing two well taken goals to shoot his side into a surprisingly easy early lead. However, with less than half an hour played, the visitors were reduced to ten men, and, not for the first time, the change seemed to confuse the home side whilst forcing Charnock to step up a gear or two. They managed to pull one back before the interval, and when they had another sent off right at the start of the second half, the indignation felt inspired the nine remaining on to greater heights, and the Villa lads, instead of going on to control the shape play as they surely should, seemed devoid of any clue as to how to adjust to the new circumstances. And whilst Charnock took advantage of woeful defending at a corner to grab the equaliser and, Villa were unable to produce a meaningful effort on goal against their depleted opponents. 

So it was an unfamiliar Villa that hit the ground running and took the game to their opponents, forcing them on to the back foot and dominating possession during the first quarter of the match. Reward for their greater enterprise came in the sixteenth minute when Adrian Briggs latched on to a well weighted through ball and executed a textbook finish across the advancing keeper into the bottom corner. And almost exactly five minutes later, a fierce shot from Matt Atherton on the end of a sweeping move was well parried, but Briggs was again on hand to neatly tuck away the rebound.

So far, so good. But indeed that was as good as it got for the home side. With twenty five minutes on the clock, Charnock had Lee Clitheroe despatched for an early shower after a ‘coming together’ with Michael Bromham, and the incident seemed to act like a whiff of smelling salts to the visitors, and it was the ten men who effectively took control of proceedings, whilst their hosts seemed unsure how to exploit their advantage. Sure enough, ten minutes from half time, a mistake at the back allowed Bennett to grab one back with a powerful low drive into the corner.

Surely the interval would allow the manager to impart the needed words of wisdom, which would see Villa use their numerical superiority to good advantage? If so, we’ll never know, as Charnock caused further consternation in the Villa ranks by getting themselves reduced to nine before the second half was a minute old.  Now it is a well known truism in football that it is often difficult to adjust to playing against ten men, but there can be no excuse for not managing to get the better of nine, especially with a full forty five minutes in which to do so. Clearly the visitors felt harshly done by, and the sense of injustice, misplaced or not, spurred them on to greater efforts. Meanwhile, Villa lost any momentum they had built up, and were suddenly unable to pass the ball to each other.  And numerical advantage or not, Charnock were still allowed the time and space from a corner, to first hit the post with a free header, and then smash home the loose ball unchallenged, Bennett again.

The rest of the game was simply shocking from a Villa point of view, and what might have been a notable victory turned into an ignominious draw.   One could argue that in the greater scheme of things it hardly matters, but the chance was there for the many reserves and fringe players to catch the manager’s eye. If any did, it was probably for the wrong reasons and possibly McDonnell’s task will be the easier for it, but no doubt he would have preferred it otherwise.

Villa Line-up: Bibby, Walker, Dickenson, L.Chambers (Bolton 74), Bromham, Woodman (Whewell 57), M.Conway, Kirkpatrick, Atherton, Whittaker, Briggs