The convoy headed north, slowly. The drizzle had dried up and the sun was starting to peep through. The pitch had seen a lot of rain or the outdoor swimming pool had some mud & grass on it, it was difficult to say which. After a thorough inspection the ref decided to allow the game to go ahead. Villa kicked off playing down hill.

1st Half
A good start by Villa however neither side really got a grip on the game for the first 5mins, but the Villa, on the strength of having two shots, seemed to be just edging it, the 1st corner was conceded by Longridge on 6mins. Much of the play was focused down the left and in the corner of Town’s half, Greg, Danny & Sam looked threatening but were being held up by the best defender, it was the pool of standing water just outside the penalty area that thwarted pass after pass and held the Villa up from pounding the Town’s goal.
When Town did push forward they looked very effective and benefited many times from a youngster with a massive long throw, each time they pushed on Villa stood firm and dealt with the attack well. Alex, Danny, Tom G & Jamie A all looking strong. Tom M & Jamie G pushed the Town’s midfield back.
All was going well until the 25th minute when on a push forward the Town scored a well taken opportunity to take the lead. 1-0.
Villa lost their shape from the re start and it was a Town for the next 3mins.Then a decision was made to give a penalty to Town after first indicating a corner. Town missed. This got Villa’s heads back up and they pushed on. After a few corners and shots Villa were chasing the equaliser and had it not been for the safe hands of a good keeper would have already secured it, instead they had to wait for Greg to step up on 32 mins to score. 1-1.
The half ran out with Villa on top.

Half Time 1-1
George & Dave were very happy with the effort and praised the boys to the high. Warned against heads dropping and sent them back out , wet , muddy but in good spirits.

2nd Half
The second half was almost a replica of the 1st, both teams pushing on battling hard & fair, each winning corners on 6 & 8 mins, Jamie A who looked invincible down at right back cleared the line on 9mins which it has to be said was against the run of play as Villa started to get on top. Villa won a corner on 12 mins and as a result of this Charlie took his first goal of the game. 1-2.
Sam & Smithy were now breaking forward at every chance and playing Greg & Charlie through with the same type of passing as the first half but with the added advantage of the ball running on instead of stopping in the water and it was no surprise when Charlie scored his second on 14mins. 1-3.
Town, to their credit had played the game fair and would not let their heads go down and with some great passing cut through Villa’s defence and scored almost straight from the off.2-3 on 15mins. It was only the great & safe hands of Ryan M that stopped them again on 17mins.
Charlie’s inevitable hat trick came on 22mins, this almost certainly taking the wind out of Town’s sails for the first time in the game.2-4.Smithy came off for a breather on 31mins and Will came on. The game looked finished off at 2-4 however a loose ball on the right was all that super-sub Will required and he finished well in the dying seconds of the game.2-5.

Full Time 2-5.
Fantastic play from the Villa in the most arduous of conditions. A proud and victorious team will look out for the Croston result to see if they are second place in the league ….a very well earned and hard fought second place. The Villa need to guard against complacency as they face the next 3 games and make sure that they show respect but no mercy. A quick word for Longridge’s management who, when a couple of their team got high spirited, were heard to reprimand the boys, refreshing and enlightening to see that other teams seek to develop their players to play the right way, not win the wrong way. Well done to them.