Villa maintained their 100% start to the season with a hard fought win against a very impressive Southminster side who at the start of proceedings also had the same 100% record. However it would be a day of two stories for both goalkeepers, one with a good tale to tell, the other not so.
Villa arrived at the ground already knowing that regular keeper Gavin Woolfenden was not available due to having his ball and chain being pulled in the direction of Rome and with the planned stand in doing a no show, manager Purser had his straws and scissors out. Not wanting to change the winning line up from the last outing there was no need to cut a short straw for his subs to choose from as centre half Sam Colley gamely put his hand up and volunteered to debut between the sticks. A decision that he wouldn’t regret.
The league table showed that there may not be a lot between the two teams and the early exchanges proved so. Villa created the first clear cut chance of the game when Woolfenden and Cracknell combined to set the latter free on goal however from a tight angle Cracknell was unable to get his shot on target and although it beat Edwards in the home goal it scraped the paintwork off of the wrong side of the post.
This missed chance seemed to kick start Southminster into the game and they started to carve out a few chances of their own but a combination of poor finishing and safe hands from Colley kept the scores level. One save in particular would have been labelledworld class if Messrs Neville and Carragher had been summarising the game when a low drive to Colleys right saw him flick out a strong right hand to tip the ball wide when it had looked all ends up destined for the net.
The net would soon be bulging though when a swift counter caught Villa cold and a far post header beat Colley and headed for the net.. Inexplicably though, and only he will know why, a minster forward decided to steal the goal and help it across the line whilst standing in an offside position on the goal line. The assistants flag went up and referee Reilly correctly disallowed the goal, despite protestations from the home side who obviously haven’t learnt the new changes to the offside rule.
Villa had their own cause for complain minutes before half time when a well worked through ball found Tris Woolfenden through on goal and just as he was about to pull the trigger a lunging challenge from behind saw the Villa striker crash to the ground. There was no doubting that the challenge was outside of the area to those watching but to everyone’s amazement the referee deemed the challenge to be fair whereas a free kick and yellow card seemed more appropriate. Directly from this incident Southminster counter attacked and Villa were fortunate of more woeful finishing as the home side blazed high and wayward over Colleys goal.
A few words were said at halftime along the lines of the first half performance had fell short of that of recent weeks with Purser making a change of Alex Milne replacing Scott Winning who was feeling the after effects of a long Saturday session on the Becks Blue ! Milne took his place in behind the front two with the defensive formation of 352 in the first half changing to a more attacking 343.
It took a while for the change to have any effect as Minster continued to take the game towards their visitors but more woeful finishing couldn’t see them break down the strong rearguard of Pike, Cornwell and Douglas who with a combined age of 160 years between them kept the home sides youngsters at bay. On the occasion that a breach occurred Colley stood firm although Minster were to have yet another goal disallowed with the referee seeing a foul in the penalty box, his whistle being blown before the ball hitting the net which Colley knowing the offence had been called let the ball sail in freely.
Villa captain Collins decided to try and show the minster forwards how to score soon after, albeit in his own net when he connected with a dangerous cross and diverted the ball towards his own net. Colley however saved his skippers blushes blocking the goal bound effort with his feet before being cleared to safety.
One goalkeeper was about have his day crash around him though as he single handedly gift wrapped the game on a plate for Villa.
On 60 minutes Villa were awarded a corner kick on the right and when Tris Woolfenden sent it in under the cross bar a simple catch was spilt by Edwards in the home goal and a short scramble saw Cracknell back heel the ball into the net. Protestations were once again ignored by the referee and in particular those of the goalkeeper who in trying to save his blushes only gave referee Reilly reason to take the name of the keeper.
Southminster then had real reason to be upset with a decision by the man in black when a clumsy lunge made by substitute Campbell Thompson made contact with Minsters Adam Murphy in the penalty area. The referee waved away the protests as the minster man gamely stayed on his feet when in hindsight he should have gone down. A clear penalty hadn’t been given and Villa awarded a let off which they were not to let happen again.
As Minster battled vainly they were now becoming frustrated and running out of ideas. Colley was now becoming a spectator as the back 3 held firm and with 5 minutes remaining the home side were to be punished for their mornings lack of finishing prowess.
Ben Agar-Hutton who is starting to revel in his left wing back role threw and outrageous dummy which totally bamboozled his marker before clipping the ball towards Tris Woolfenden down the left.. The leagues top goalscorer had in truth been well marshalled by the home sides centre halves and looked to be no danger to the home side where he picked up the ball. Instead of running the clock down in the corner the Villa man run at the minster men before unleashing an unstoppable shot that dipped over Edwards into the back of his net from fully 20 yards.
Terling had gained rich dessert for staying with their opponents and proving that possession will not win you a game if you haven’t taken your chances. The game was now won and the clock just had to be ticked down before another mistake from Edwards gifted Villa third in the last minute.
Chasing a through ball down Cracknell was unable to reach the ball before Edwards and the home stopper happily picked up the ball. Feeling that his side still had a chance to gain something from the game he attempted a quick throw out to start another attack. However the ball slipped from his grasp and his throw fell short to Cracknell who without a single glance turned to hook the ball back over the keeper and into the net.. 3-0
The referee blew for time and Villa had kept their record intact. Southminster will feel rightly aggrieved at the 3-0 score line as it was never a performance from them reflecting what will look to other teams like an easy win. However it goes to prove that possession will not win you a football match if you don’t take chances and mistakes will be punished the higher up the football ladder you go..
