Serious traffic problems meant that the playing of this match was thrown into doubt due to the late arrival of several of the visiting players, but eventually we got under way fully an hour late, and just in time for the start of the heaviest cloudburst of the summer so far.  The torrential rain lasted about twenty minutes, but did little to dampen the spirit of either side, with Stoneclough buoyed by their recent success over Villa, and the latter equally determined to have their revenge. 

However, the first half, although entertaining enough fare, produced little in the way of goalmouth excitement, as both sides found it difficult to master the slick surface, and the final ball was never quite telling enough. The second half saw Villa take control and put their opponents under increasing pressure, but it took till fully eighty eight minutes before substitutes Kirkpatrick and Pillay combined to grab the three points.

Villa’s first real opportunity came an hour in, when Chris Farrer set up Matt Atherton, but keeper Craig Tebay blocked well. A couple of minutes later, David Heald was brought down driving into the box. Somewhat lame appeals for a penalty were quickly dismissed by the ref, and in truth if it had been at the other end one would have felt hard done by had the decision been otherwise. 

Atherton went very close mid way through the half with a stunning drive which shaved the upright with Tebay rooted, followed quickly by Stoneclough’s best opportunity of the afternoon when Swailes and Dean carved an opening, but Shaun Gibbs, growing in confidence with every appearance, and back to his pre-injury best, was not about to be denied his clean sheet. 

Fifteen minutes from time, the home side looked to have capitalised on their territorial advantage. Elliot Dunn, chasing down a lost cause, found substitute Phil Hill not yet up to speed, and nicked the ball of him inside the box, but crashed the resultant shot against the bar, and Atherton , first to react to the rebound, saw his header fly inches over. 

Mark McDonnell made full use of his strong bench, and when the breakthrough finally came the substitutions played a big part. Rhenden Pillay used his strength o win a free kick on the right edge of the box. Atherton floated a tester into the mix, Tebay got hands to it, but his clearance only found Ian Kirkpatrick, who headed back across goal, and again found Pillay in the right place to head into the roof of the net. 

Too late for the visitors to do a lot about it, and in fairness Villa did enough over the ninety minutes to warrant the victory. Must give a special mention to referee Billy King who handled the game with a low profile, common sense approach, and a welcome lack of histrionics - in fact all three officials had a very good game.