Euxton Villa 1  Fulwood Amateurs 1   [6 January 07]

The rain Gods contrived to try to thwart the sterling work of the ground staff (singular), and a pitch that was remarkably sound at 9.0 am was only just about playable by kick-off. And although it did not cut up as much as expected, it is to the credit of both sets of players that they were able to serve up such an enjoyable and indeed skilful contest in the tricky conditions. Villa started brightly, netted early and controlled the match during most of the first half, but they failed to add to their lead, and the visitors fought their way back into it and had their share of the ascendancy overall, in a thrilling encounter that could have finished five apiece.

Villa stated their intentions right from kick-off, and several forays into the Fulwood box resulted in Ryan Lilley finding success when a shot on the turn spun off an outstretched foot and looped over the stranded keeper who could only look on helplessly.

Lilley went on to have an outstanding match, and ably supported by David Heald, Tom Whittaker and Alf Gutteridge carved out several openings which could have seen the home side take a more comfortable lead in at half time.

Heald flashed a low drive fractionally wide after Whitteker and Lilley had combined down the left to put him through. Two minutes later, Lilley clipped the top of the bar with another shot on the turn from thirty yards. In another sweeping move instigated by the excellent Sam Bolton, Heald and Whittaker set up Gutteridge for a shot which only just failed to find the mark.  Shortly before the break, Heald produced a carbon copy of his earlier near miss when Whittaker’s pace allowed a chance from nothing, this time it needed the keepers outstretched hand to help it round the post.

Fulwood began the second half in a more determined mood, and Justin Johnston was called into action with a fine save with feet inside three minutes. Although the visitors now had more of the play, Villa were far from out of it, and Gutteridge nearly capitalised on a fortuitous break of the ball, drawing yet another fine save, and moments later Stuart Bingham fired a rasper just over after yet more good work from Lilley.

 Down the other end, the Fulwood pressure was starting to tell, forcing a series of corners and free kicks, and a couple of efforts which hit woodwork.  From one of the corners, Heald elected to add to his already considerable height by using an outstretched hand to clear the danger. Fortunately for the perpetrator, none of the officials appeared to notice, and indeed there was very little protest from the opposition. Perhaps allowances were made because, in all fairness, he did only use the one hand.

Villa’s back four had been outstanding in the first half, and were coping well with the increased workload during the second. However, injuries to both Daz Davies and Jamie Pennington necessitated a defensive reshuffle, and almost inevitably Fulwood were able to capitalise when Andy Taylor fired them level ten minutes from the end. Neither side seemed content with the point, and both pressed for the final breakthrough. It was the Euxton side who came closest seconds before the end, when a fine passing move saw the ball fed into Gutteridge six yards out. However a desperate lunge by a defender did enough to force him to snatch the effort over.

In the end, both sides would probably consider a draw a fair result. Referee Young had a very assured afternoon and contributed to a free flowing match which saw neither physio called into action. If Villa can repeat this level of commitment in the big game at Victory Park on Wednesday evening, then we should be in for a cracker.

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