Terling Villa played host to a Valley Green side who remained unbeaten in the 2012/13 season and having only conceded 2 goals this league season, it was understandable that Villa should go into this game as underdogs, with 6/1 odds at best for a home win!
Any brave punter who dared to have a flutter will this morning be waking up rather better off than they could have hoped. Terling took an early lead following a slick passing move which was finished with a neat lay off by Alliston to the in form striker Tristan Woolfenden, who duly slotted the ball past the home keeper to give the hosts the early advantage. The lead however didn't last long as Terling struggled to find any rhythm to their play, often failing to clear the ball, and after 15 mins the scored were level as Tyler Wilsher crashed home from 25 yards to the despair of home keeper Gavin Woolfenden.
It was soon to be 2-1 in an almost carbon copy move, Terling failing to clear the ball, Wilsher picking it up on the edge of the area and striking the ball through a crowd of players to leave keeper Woolfenden unsighted.
It would have been easy at this point for the home side to crumble, and in previous months this may well have been the case, but testament to the hard work of the current squad who dug in deep and continued to create chances as they held on til half time.
Manager Tristan Woolfenden plugged in the hair dryer at half time and issued a battle cry to his players for the second half to reinstall belief that three points could be theirs, and introduction of Cridland and Creane to the midfield certainly added a bit more spice to the centre of the park. Valley Green wasted a guilt edged chance on the hour mark to extend their lead, with the centre forward failing to follow up on keeper Woolfendens parry, and the away fans sensed this could prove costly.
On 72 minutes, Terling we level. A neat back heel from striker Woolfenden sent Chris Collins racing through on goal, and his hard work at Slimming World is certainly paying off as a quick burst of pace left the Valley Green defence for dead before he casually tripped over the ball, somehow slotting home the equiliser to the adulation of the home crowd, who sensed a shock could well be on the cards. Midfielder Tom Creane found himself fortunate in the 75th minute escaping only with a yellow card following a late tackle on the Valley Green midfielder, although he still protests even now that he "won the ball" despite replays showing that the ball left the Valley players foot approximately 5 minutes prior! This re-ignited Terlings spark however and on 81 minutes, striker Woolfenden raced clear before striking the post, only for joint top-scorer James Alliston to follow up and give the home side the lead.
Terling dug deep, special praise was reserved for the back four of Loosley, Douglas, Gardiner and Ryan for their resiliant display in the final moments to keep the Valley Green attacking threat at bay, but in the 91st minute Terling made it safe. Cridland taking the ball down in midfield before playing Woolfenden clear. The home side held their breath as Woolfenden slotted the ball through the keepers legs to give Terling a two goal margin.
Full time soon followed, and Terling had regained joint top spot in the league following one of their most hard fought victories to date.
Manager Tristan Woolfenden said "I am so proud of these players, every single one of them gave everything out there today, and today shows how far we have come as a team in recent weeks. We closed down superbly in the second half, we fought hard in the tackle, and our finishing was sublime today. We fully deserved the win".
Keeper Gavin Woolfenden said "I was the difference yet again, without me, we would have lost". He later added on Facebook "my rating is a joke....I picked the ball out of the net twice today and still I only get a 7.0 rating! This is a joke, I quit, I'm going to Shalford!!"
Meanwhile midfielder Tom Creane was unavailable for comment following his arrest on suspicion of GBH during the game. Terling Villa Football Club later released a statement that said "we will not comment on this matter any further until we received the results of the ongoing enquiry. We shall support out player in any way possible".
Terlings next game is away on Sunday 25th November to Kelvedon FC, where they shall be looking to build on this excellent result and extend their lead from the chasing promotion pack.
