Villa lined up for the game against Brinscall with Aaron, Luke, Malachy, Liam G, Jack(c), Joe and Alex O up front with Jake, Alex R and James starting as substitutes.
Rain through the night had left Brinscall's flat pitch a little heavy and as the wind swept over the hills, there was a gentle reminder that summer is still a few months away.
The boys kicked off and the first five minutes saw Villa dominate possession. Looking strong at the back with Luke and Liam and Malachy pushing into midfield, Jack and Joe were getting forward well to support Alex. A good move down the left saw Jack put a great ball across the box that Alex latched on to but his first time shot was well saved by the Brinscall keeper. Villa then forced a number of corners from the right hand side but the Brinscall defence held firm with the keeper jumping on a number of loose balls that Villa were just a whisker away from connecting with. Villa continued to attack and were playing some tidy football. Alex went on a strong run down the right and, looking up, picked out Jack with a good pass but again the Brinscall defence managed to clear the ball. Down the right Joe was making space for himself with some dangerous runs and again forced a number of corners, but with 10 minutes gone the score remained 0-0. Brinscall then hit Villa on the counter attack and the Brinscall attacker was through on goal only for Aaron to make an excellent save to his right and then pounce and hold onto the loose ball. Villa then took the lead with a well worked goal. Malachy broke up play in midfield and sent a ball to the left side which Jack controlled well. Jack took a couple of touches before playing a great ball across the face of goal. Joe made a great run from midfield, controlled the ball as it came from left to right before cooly slotting home into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. Soon after Villa were 2-0 up. This time Joe was the provider as he twisted and turned in the area before cutting a ball back onto the edge of the box. Liam had got forward from defence and ran onto the ball, hitting it first time. The ball flew into the left hand side of the goal giving the keeper absolutely no chance. It was a great finish from Liam and especially pleasing as we'd told the boys to be more confident with their shooting and to not be afraid to have a go with loose balls just outside the area. The boys continued to attack, won more corners but Brinscall defended well, with their number 7and 4 making some great tackles to keep the score at 2-0. The half time whistle came with Villa looking good and in control of the game.
Luke, who had defended well, came off at half time and James moved to the left hand side of midfield with Malachy dropping back to partner Liam in defence. Villa started the second half again looking to attack Brinscall and were playing some nice football. Joe then made another great run down the right hand side, beat his man and played a fantastic ball right across the Brinscall defence. Jack had followed play from midfield and arrived at the back post where he took a touch before hitting a powerful shot at goal. The Brinscall keeper got down well but the power in the shot took the ball just over the line and Villa were 3-0 up. With 10 minutes to go, Jake replaced Mal in defence and Alex R replaced Alex O up front. Brinscall battled well for the last ten minutes and never gave up. They won a number of corners and looked to get themselves back into the game but Villa were defending well with Liam and Jake standing strong. James had a couple of good runs down the left and made some good tackles to set Villa on the attack and get Alex through on goal but the Brinscall defence were equal to anything that came at it. A clash of heads the saw Jack injured so Mal came back on in centre midfield for the last few minutes but that was the end of the action and the score ended Brinscall 0 - Euxton Villa 3.
After our back to back defeats it was nice to get back to winning ways against a well organised, strong Brinscall side. Brinscall certainly have a number of talented boys and they can count themselves unlucky not to get on the scoresheet today. Thanks to Cameron and all at Brinscall for making us so welcome. Villa deserved their win today though. Defensively we were strong and it was good to see Mal, Liam and Luke talking to each other right through the game. Jack had a good game in midfield and scored another goal which was a result of him working hard, getting forward to support attacks. Alex worked hard all game and was unlucky not to grab a goal. One moment in the first half when he looked up after a good run to find Jack breaking from midfield was great to see and he was unlucky with his pass. James, Alex R and Jake all did well when they came on to and contributed to a good win. Man of the match this week though has to be Joe. Joe set two goals up and scored the other but from the first whistle to the last he worked so hard for the team, tracking back to put in tackles and break up play and driving forward to set up attacks and grabbed a well deserved goal as well as creating the other two. Well done Joe and well done to all of the boys.
Both Gary and I won't be at training this Monday so Steve and Dave will be taking the session so remember boys to listen to what they tell you and to train hard and enjoy it.
Hope you all have a great Easter, they'll be a weigh in for the training session after Easter to make sure you haven't eaten to many eggs
