When Mark McDonnell was targeting points to be gained on the run-in, I doubt if he had ‘Garstang Away’ down as a three pointer. But regardless of the outcome, and I concede that my view may well be coloured by the result, this was the best game of football the Villa faithful have been treated to, probably all season, because of the effort and skill displayed by both sides.  Garstang were boosted in their desire to secure a possible second place by a good win at The Villa the previous week, but, still not mathematically certain of Prem football next season, Euxton were equally determined show their hosts that they had more to offer than they were able to find in their previous meeting. 

From the off it was clear that both sides were ‘well up for it’, and within the first ten minutes Gavin Cooper had rattled the crossbar with a curling shot after Louis Mayers set him up with a cute lay-off, whilst at the other end, Ross Baxter had to be at his best with a fine stop to prevent the home side drawing first blood.  

On twelve minutes, Villa were rewarded for their early endeavour. David Warburton, looking sharp and threatening in a more central role, beat his man with clever skill on the turn and fired an accurate shot on the volley, which  Beesley did well to turn over. From the resultant corner, Cooper’s inswinger was flicked on by Kenny Mayers, and Sam Bolton, as he often is, was on hand to head home from close range.  

If anything the already frenetic pace was stepped up, and it was not long before Garstang had pulled things level. Adam Brookes quite deliberately curled a low shot round a clutch of defenders into the bottom corner past the unsighted Baxter – quality finish. 

The game continued in the same ‘end to end’ fashion. Garstang had a good chance to pull in front on the half hour, but the lobbed volley bent just beyond the far post, but it was the visitors finished the half on the front foot, with Warbrton in particular causing the home defence problems. Ten minutes before the interval, he rattled the bar once again with a brilliant piece of skill, controlling, turning and volleying in one movement. A couple of minutes later he was at it again, again showing quick feet to get his shot away, but Beesley equal to it.

Five minutes into the second half, a clever piece of skill saw Louis Mayers set up Danial Hogg, but it was really only a half chance and the effort flew over. A few minutes later, Hogg got on the end of a long clearance and found himself one-on-one with Beesley, but the keeper did well to foil the opportunity.  Bolton very nearly executes a reprise of his first half counter when Warburton combined with Mayers to win a corner, but this time he headed just wide.

Gavin Cooper, who only declared himself fit at the eleventh hour, was vying with Adam Roskell to control the midfield, and whilst Roskell was the home side’s best player on the night, it was Cooper who had the most influence on the outcome.  Mark Swift put him in for a shot which found the wrong side of the post, and with fifteen minutes left on the watch, he placed an inch perfect free kick on to the head of Louis Mayers, but Beesley reacted brilliantly to claw the ball way as he was about to apply the finish. 

Then, five minutes from time, a killer ball from Cooper found the ever willing Hogg breaking through the inside right channel, and although he had two defenders and the keeper bearing down on him, he was able to dink the ball past all three before squeezing it in from a tight angle, fitting reward for a night of tireless endeavour.

Garstang redoubled their efforts in the few minutes that remained, but marshalled by the outstanding Daz Davies, the Villa defence were not about to let things slip at this stage.  The home side were very unfortunate to loose a winger to a second yellow in stoppage time. In fact there was an unreasonable number of yellow cards in a match played throughout in excellent spirit without a bad tackle to be seen. 

Both sides began the night with much to play for, and in the end it proved a massive result for Villa, who are now mathematically ‘safe’, and indeed could go on to secure a mid table finish that seemed unlikely in the midst of the ongoing injury situation. 

Villa Line-up: Ross Baxter, James Barrow (James O’Loughlin 60), Darren Davies, Sam Bolton, Michael Clitheroe (Mark Swift 60), Matt Plano, Kenny Mayers, Gavin Cooper, David Warburton (John Salisbury 81), Louis Mayers, Danial Hogg.