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Goldline trophy Gp3 – 28 July 09
‘How on earth have
we not won that?’, qouth an exasperated Mark McDonnell at
the end of this Goldline group match, during which his
charges pretty much outplayed the visitors for 92 minutes,
only to concede an equaliser in the 93rd, which
is always the risk when you don’t kill the game off when the
opportunity to do so is there.
It started raining
mid morning, and hasn’t stopped since. The pitch held up
well however, but the sodden surface did result in one or
two ‘interesting’ challenges early on. More in need of the
win than their opponents, Villa began the more positive,
though judging the pace of passes was proving difficult, and
there was always the danger that an interception would spell
disaster. Sixteen minutes in, Tom Whittaker dribbled across
the box , could possible have pulled the trigger earlier,
but was felled by the keeper before he could do so. Clear
penalty, and one has to say, at the risk of sounding
unsporting, a more confident referee would have applied the
law and walked the perpetrator. Sam Bolton stepped up , but
only succeeded in passing the ball into the grateful arms of
Murphy.
Ten minutes later,
the unfortunate Whittaker, having missed all of last season
with cruciate damage sustained in last year’s Goldline,
limped off clutching a hamstring, we all fervently hope it
turns out to be minor damage. Villa continued to hold sway
throughout the half. Chris Farrer went close when he drove
past everybody, but Murphy got down well to his low shot.
Phil Woodman had the ball in the net when he sprinted on to
an Elliot Dunn through ball, but clearly started from an
off-side position. Then, right on half time, Stuart Bingham
picked the ball on the edge of the centre circle, and
sensing that the ref was about to blow, fired an absolute
thunderbolt, which crashed back of the upright. Had that
gone in, it wouldn’t just have been goal of the season, it
would have been goal of any season!
The second half saw
more of the same, Villa pressing and Prestwich looking for
opportunities on the break. Farrer and David Heald were
making life difficult for the defence at every turn, with
Elliot Dunn instrumental in much of the set up play. The
corner count was heavily weighted in Villa’s favour, and
although for once Villas attackers were physically equal to
their opponents, strangely nearly all of the corners were
delivered at knee height, nevertheless, it was from one of
those that the breakthrough finally came in the seventy
first minute, Stuart Bingham stooping very low to head in at
the near post.
Seemingly robbed of
the draw they came for, the visitors shoved a couple of the
big men up front, and although the Euxton side still looked
the more likely, one could sense a certain nervousness
creeping into the defending as the final whistle drew nigh.
Sure enough, a tame shot from the corner of the box was
turned round by Shaun Gibbs, and from the resultant corner,
deep in stoppage time, the ball broke to O’Shaughnessy,
who’s downward header crept over the line. Despite
vociferous claims for a blatant push and the ball swerving
out of play from the kick, the goal stoodfrom what proved to
be virtually the last touch of the game.
Could really have
done with winning this one, but at least Villa still have it
in their own hands, knowing that if they get a win at
Stoneclough on Monday night (3rd August) they
will go through to the knockout stages, though it will not
be an easy task.
Villa Line-up: Shaun
Gibbs, Craig Chambers, Darren Davies, Lee Chambers, (Ross
Dickinson 45), Stuart Bingham (Matt Conway 73) Phil Woodman
(John Salisbury 81), Elliot Dunn, Matt Atherton, Tom
Whittaker (Chris Farrer 26) David Heald (George Craddock
82),
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