Villa went into the fixture against CFC Shalford at a wet and windy Wethersfield with a number of players missing due to varying reasons and those missing players will now be concerned as to whether they will force their way back into the squad after an excellent performance secured another 3 point haul.
Kicking up a steep slope and against a strong wind Villa came out of the blocks quickly with wide men Parsley and Webb pushing the oppositions full backs at every opportunity and delivering good balls into the box which evaded oncoming team mates on a few occasions. As usual Woolfenden and Cracknell provided the main goal threat with Scott Collins pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Woolfenden went close on two occasions with long range efforts just missing the target and was also close to turning home a cross cum shot when Webb got in on goal but a moment of indecision should have seen the latter hit the net.
Playing with the wind, Shalford resorted to long ball tactics which played into the hands of Pike and Colley at the back who won countless headers. With Agar Hutton and Loosely either side of the centre half pairing, Woolfenden in the Terling goal had little to be concerned with. At the other end it was only a matter of time until Villa opened the scoring with their dominance of the opening proceedings and that goal came just before the half hour mark.
Collins played a wonderful ball into Woolfenden who wriggled free of his marker and shot across Lipscombe in the Shalford goal only to see the ball connect with the far post. Cracknell was the quickest to react though and from 6 yards out slammed the ball home.
The managers words before the game emphasised the importance of not giving cheap free kicks away with the wind and slope playing a part and although Colley’s challenge from 30 yards out seemed a fair one the referee thought otherwise.
Danny Saffer hit a powerful effort which Woolfenden failed to hold and with the ball bouncing back into the danger area Jon Halls reacted quicker than the Terling bodies and it was 1-1.
The half time team talk was simple, keep playing exactly the same way and the result would come and so it proved.
Villa really turned up the tempo in this half and with Webb and Parsley pushing forward at every opportunity giving Cracknell and Woolfenden more space, chances were coming thick and fast. It has to be said though that some of these chances should have been taken to put Shalford out of the game before Cracknell put Terling ahead for the second time.
Parsley did well down the left and after combining with Woolfenden the ball was worked into the box which Webb did well in challenging a defender, the ball wasn’t cleared however and as it rolled back into the path of the Villa nos 11 he struck a sweet shot into the corner of the net for his second goal.
Villa extended their lead further in a similar move involving the same players shortly after when Cracknell appeared to finish from close range, although desperate defending and goalkeeping looked to have kept the ball out, Shalfords hopes were shortlived as Webb was on hand to smash the ball high into the net. The linesman however raised his flag deeming Webb to have been in an offside position which the referee over ruled stating that Cracknells effort had already crossed the line, sealing his hat-trick.
At this point changes were made in the Villa backline with AJ Samuels getting off of his Thai sunbed to replace Loosely on the right, Colley switching to the left after Agar Hutton was replaced by Douglas. Gavin Taylor also replaced the excellent Scott Collins who had been suffering from a groin injury prior to the game, (not that you would have known it), for precautionary measures only.
Shalford reduced the arrears with 3 minutes to go with their only second half effort on goal, a powerful effort into a crowded box hitting Lee Glynn and with the ball falling kindly at this feet he made no mistake from 8 yards out with an equally well hit shot.
It looked as though Villa could be in for a difficult final couple of minutes but Parsley decided differently when the 2 goal cushion was restored with a minute left to play.
With the ball heading to the left hand corner flag, shouts of take it into the corner seemed to be the best and correct option. The covering defender certainly seemed to think this is what the impressive Parsley was going to do but seeing the smallest of gaps on the byline and an excellent piece of trickery later an exquisite pass across the goal saw Webb sliding in at the far post. Although Webb couldn’t force the ball home his presence was enough to see Shalfords backline panic and a clearance saw the ball rebound off of a Shalford man and back into his own net.
With the whistle sounding immediately an excellent performance in tough conditions saw the 3 points achieved and the manager with a selection headache for the visit of Bocking Social in 7 days time. A selection headache that many Sunday morning managers could only dream of, such was the impressive display by the 14 on show today.
