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17th December 2005
Barnoldswick Town 2 Euxton Villa 1
If you don’t want to know how bad this was,
look away now - though I wish someone had spoken thus before
we subjected ourselves to this embarrassing debacle. On second
thoughts, I’m sure the players (I use the term loosely you
understand) know themselves how monumentally inept they were,
and no doubt were told so in no uncertain terms in the
confines of the dressing room afterwards, so they don’t really
need me to rub it in. However I feel I have a duty to vent the
collective frustration of the travelling faithful who find it
bemusing that the same team can go to Wyre and allow
themselves to be mugged, make amends the following week by
easily reversing that capitulation, next travel to Fleetwood
Hesketh and play them off the park, then go the bottom of the
league club and perform with all the professionalism and
cohesion of a nursery school nativity play!
So I will not offer any criticism, merely
catalogue a few facts. In the 12th minute,
Barnoldswick won a corner on the Villa left. Now I’m not
allowed to say that Villa can’t defend corners from their
left, so I won’t. But a goal was scored anyway, with defence
and keeper adopting the ‘after you Claude’ method of
defending.
In the 30th minute Villa
actually had a shot on goal, Ian Curwen volleying over a Jon
Salisbury cross. Right on half time David Heald thought he had
scored, but the home keeper blocked his close range effort.
Dire.
The second half was equally dire. In the 80th
minute, David Heald showed how easy it could have been,
scoring easily with a low shot after a persistent run.
Everyone, probably including the home
spectators, assumed Villa would go on to win it, but five
minutes later Barnoldswick were handed victory. Those of us
who had taken up position down the other end in the vain hope
that something might happen there, actually thought the ref
had stopped play for some kind on infringement - nothing else
could explain why defenders and goalkeeper stood around and
watched as the ball was casually stroked into the net. But no,
a goal it was! Perhaps netball rules have been introduced
whilst I wasn’t looking, where you are not allowed to impede a
player in the act of shooting? I hope so, coz the Villa
defence will come into their own if that’s the case.
With Villa all at sea, Barnoldswick nearly
grabbed a third deep into stoppage time, but were content to
celebrate their deserved victory as though they had won the
league.
Spectators can be forgiven for wondering
which Villa side will turn up for the next outing. The break
for the festive season negates the opportunity to bounce back
quickly, but it does mean that several players will be back to
fitness and available for selection. If Mark McDonnell was
wondering about who leave out, eleven lads did their best to
help him with the decision.
Villa Line-up: Nobody came.
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