Villa contrived to let a 4-1 lead slip away with 30 minutes remaining to crash out of the Coward Cup at the hands of Division 2 leaders Hanningfield.
In truth Villa were easier the better side during this period but in Glen Auvache, Hanningfield had the best player on the pitch whose sheer size and presence caused Villa problems all morning. Those problems however were dealt with by the impressive Dave Cornwell and when he pulled up with a strained hamstring and had to be withdrawn from the action the game swung in the favour of the hosts. Doubled with the withdrawal of Campbell Thompson at the same time with the same injury, Villas dominance fell to pieces.
Villa had started brightly enough on a foggy morning and were rewarded on 3 minutes when a Scott Collins cross was met at the far post by Alex Milne who volleyed in from just inside the 6 yard box. The lead was doubled on 12 mins through the combination of the Woolfenden brothers when Tristan spun his marker superbly in the box before rifling high into the net from Gavins long goal kick forward.
Hanningfield reduced the arrears in fortuitous circumstances when a lucky ricochet fell their way and an ambitious hook forward caught Woolfenden off of his line and just out of his reach to hit the net.
The managers words at half time were to continue in a similar veign as only they could lose the match if they didn’t continue the work ethic of the first half. Those words were to ring true at the end of the match, but you wouldn’t have put money on it as Villa stretched their lead further within 4 minutes of the restart.
Scott Collins took a quick free kick and with an expertly placed cross finding Jay Cracknell his first touch was equally as good, his second found the far corner with the aid of the post. Cracknell was soon to be provider for Terlings fourth when dispossessing the full back out on the touchline. Cracknell surged forward and with Woolfenden bursting into the box Cracknells cross was turned into his own net by a Hanningfield defender. Minutes later the match turned on its head when Cornwell and Thompson pulled up lame.
Hanningfield pulled a goal back virtually straight away and although they pushed forward at every opportunity it looked as though Villa were going to see out the game with 10 minutes to go. Villa were now looking vulnerable especially on the right hand side and Hanningfield attacked this area at will and it was no surprise when a cross from this area found Auvache 3 yards out and despite the best efforts of Agar Hutton, there was only ever going to be one winner through sheer size and it was 4-3.
The referee had found 6 minutes injury time through the constant breaks in play, mostly caused by his own inconsistencies and poor decision making but in fairness it was equally shared between both teams. It was in the last two of these that the scores were level. Once again Hanningfield got in behind Terlings backline on the right hand side and the cross was turned in again at the far post.
There was only going to be one winner now and it wasn’t to be Terling, a total contrast to the previous weeks encounter. Hanningfield scored halfway through both periods of extra time to secure an excellent turnaround and send Villa home licking their wounds.
