Fleetwood Hesketh 0  Euxton Villa 1

For the first ten minutes spectators could be forgiven for thinking that the delay to the start had sent the players into a torpor, as both side struggled to get out of second gear. Then suddenly Fleetwood got in behind the Villa line and a clever cut-back invited a well struck shot from Ross Lawson, which Shaun Gibbs had to be at his very best to turn round the post. This seemed to kick the match into life, and minutes later Alf Gutteridge, seeing the keeper well off his line, produced a forty yard lob which only just beat the crossbar. Back down the other end, a thunderbolt from thirty five yards looked net-bound, but again Gibbs rose to the occasion.

Then, in the nineteenth minute, Jamie Pennington combined down the right with Gutteridge to carve out a shooting chance for Ryan Lilley, and he dully notched his third in three games.

Whilst not exactly ‘end to end stuff’, both sides had further chances before the interval. Lawson again called Gibbs into action from distance, then for Villa, Paul Loughlin cleared the bar from the edge of the box. Damien Stewart saw a shot deflected onto the outside of the post, and in a later move, the same player drew the keeper, rounded him, but by the time a shooting angle opened up defenders had got back to cover. Loughlin again tried his luck, this time with a cheeky lob from the half way, which actually skimmed the bar.

The ball did find the net again from the head of Sam Bolton after David Heald had worked an opening for Gutteridge to float an inch perfect cross, but he rashly pushed a defender out of the way in his determination to get on the end of it. Down the other end, a couple of efforts from distance, one of which hit the post, kept Gibbs on his toes.

The second half produced more of the same, with both sides having a go, but with the visitors shading it on actual chances. The keeper was nearly caught out by a rasper from Stuart Bingham from all of forty five yards which he only just got fingers to, substitute David Mason nearly found success with virtually his first touch, managing a testing lob even although he was stumbling under a challenge at the time., and Gutteridge hit a scorcher after a solo run which again the keeper had to be at his best to tip over. The home side’s bets chance drew another superb diving save from Gibbs low to his right.

No more goals were forthcoming in what turned out to be a very watchable encounter in the gathering dusk.  The Euxton defence and keeper were once again in outstanding form, and Bingham sitting just in front was immense. Pity he can’t organise his holidays the way he organises the players around him!

Referee Michael Salisbury had a fine game with a show of authority and presence whilst allowing the players to get on with it as much as possible.

Viklla Line-Up: Gibbs, Pennington (Marquis57) Davies, L.Chambers, Bolton, Heald, Loughlin, Bingham, Stewart, Gutteridge, Lilley (Mason 70)

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