(2) (0)
Winstanley

The scoreline was not a true reflection of the overall game, in fairness on the day Eagley took their chances, and Villa didn't, but on balance of play the visitors were ahead.

During the opening phase of the game there was nothing to chose between the sides, as two well matched teams struggled for supremacy, it was fast furious football in the true tradition of a cup tie. The first chance fell to the home side on fifteen minutes when a dangerous attack down the Villa left had to be cleared for a corner by Dylan Southern. Villa responded and two minutes later Pete Ryder put a shot over the bar following a free kick.
Euxton came close again five minutes later when Danny Brown found Michael Thompson, his left foot shot flying across the face of goal.

Both sides were looking dangerous , and at this point Eagley were having their best spell of the game, they came close on twenty one minutes with a shot wide of the post, four minutes later they took the lead, a low through ball caused problems for the Villa defence, twice efforts on goal were cleared before the ball was eventually bundled in. Villa still contested well and both Michael Thompson and Sam Shone came close. On forty minutes Sam Shone broke through and hit the post, only for the effort to be ruled offside. With four minutes of the half remaining Eagley scored the best goal of the game, a ball in from the right found an Eagley forward on the left corner of the Villa box, he then curled a shot inside the far post.

With a minute of the half remaining the home must have thought they had scored a third, when a shot bound for the top corner was brilliantly tipped around the post by Shaun Gibbs. Football's a funny game Villa had played their best football in weeks and ended the half two down.

The plan for the second half was simple, keep it tight and we will get back in the game, a minute after the restart an Eagley corner was not cleared and for the second time in the match the ball was bundled home. This was the start of the Villa revival, from this point on they dominated the game, winning the midfield, and at times making their opponents look jaded, but it was a mountain to climb.

On the hour they pulled a goal back, a ball over the top fell to John Winstanley who skilfully rounded the keeper to score. The visitors went to three at the back, and took the game to the home side. On seventy minutes John Winstanley was unlucky to see a long range shot tipped over. From the corner Sean Parkin had a back heel cleared off the line, following up Guy Clarkson had a fierce drive turned against the post.

Five minutes later Ian Hislop played through Guy Clarkson, but his shot was saved. Throughout the match Craig Chambers at right back gave a faultless display and was easily Villa's man of the match. He was closely followed by Danny Brown who is growing in stature with every game. On eighty two minutes he played through Michael Thompson, whose effort was kicked off the line.
Two minutes later both Pete Ryder and Guy Clarkson had efforts blocked, and Sean Parkin shot narrowly wide.

In the end Villa's efforts were not to be enough, they will play much worse than this and win games, but good luck to Eagley in the future rounds. On a more sombre note Dylan Southern suffered a serious injury during the game, which required an operation on Saturday night. Best wishes to Dylan from everyone connected to the 2nd team for a fast and safe recovery.

Team Gibbs, C.Chambers, D.Brown, Ryder, Crombie, Winstanley, O'Loughlin, Southern, ( Clarkson ) Thompson, Bradshaw, ( Parkin ) Shone, ( Hislop )