On what was a beautiful and mild afternoon for the last day of October, the turn-out to watch this always gritty local derby was somewhat disappointing. As the afternoon unfolded however, it soon became clear that those who had chosen to be elsewhere were the lucky ones, as two sides struggling to find their best form served up a dour and lack-lustre affair, shorn even of the usual niggley edge which normally pervades through this fixture. Villa were once again architects of their own downfall with some woeful indecision at the back, though at the other end Almond was never seriously tested. The one goal the home side managed was courtesy of, to say the least, a very dubious penalty, but even after being thrown this lifeline, Villa were still unable to capitalise and allowed a very ordinary opposition the opportunity to grab a late winner to further compound the current misery.

It was fully mid way through the first half before any real goalmouth action was forthcoming, when the visitors nearly latched on to a loose ball in the box after Shaun Gibbs failed to gather safely. Gibbs made amends just a couple of minutes later however with a splendid one handed save when a free kick was headed towards his top corner. This inspired Villa’s best move of the match, with Adam McAlister and Phil Woodman combining down the right and the latter delivering a fine cross to Matt Atherton. Executing a text-book chest trap, he turned to volley, but it just wouldn’t come down quick enough for him, and a defender was able to block. Five minutes later, Sam Bolton floated a deep diagonal which Almond got a strong punch to, but although the ball fell kindly for Elliot Dunn, his snap shot was always rising too high.

Coppull should have opened their account within five minutes of the restart, but the raiding forward who found himself clean through dragged his low drive wide if the mark. And so on we went, with little to get enthused about and no sign of a breakthrough at either end. However, that was soon to change when Gibbs and Ross Dickinson’s lines of communication became crossed, presenting their opponents with a simple goal out of nothing.

One would like to say that this stung Villa into an onslaught on the visitors’ goal in an effort to redress the ignominy, but that was hardly the case. Then, with fifteen minutes remaining on the watch, a loose ball in the box spun up off a foot and struck a defender on the arm, which was in all fairness down at his side, but to the amazement of everyone in the ground the referee pointed to the spot. With regular taker Bolton having been substituted, there seemed a remarkable reluctance on the part of anyone else to step forward. Eventually, by default Atherton was given the responsibility, and to his credit made absolutely no mistake.

Having been the recipients of this early Christmas present, could Villa use it as a springboard to better things going forward whilst shoring up at the back? Well, neither as it happens. Five minutes before the end a nothing attack resulted in a tame shot which deflected into the back of the Villa net, allowing the visitors to leave with the three easiest points they’ll get all season.

There is no doubt that individually the players are better than their league position suggests, but collectively it just isn’t happening just now, fostering a vicious circle of low confidence that is difficult to break. But at the end of the day, the table doesn’t lie, and somehow a run will have to be put together soon.

Villa Line-up: Shaun Gibbs, Adam McAlistair (Rhenden Pillay 61), Darren Davies, Lee Chambers, Sam Bolton (Mark Swift 72), Ross Dickinson, Phil Woodman (Matt Plano 55), Elliot Dunn, David Heald, Ryan Lilley, Matt Atherton,