Browse Sections

• Local football
• Local cricket

Cardinal Villa 1 VASA 3

George Dodds
20/ 3/2008

VASA put their disappointing league form behind them to book progress in the HPS Challenge Cup thanks to a hard-fought victory at Parkfield on Sunday.

Two goals from David Burtenshaw were instrumental in their success, but it still took a contender for save of the season from goalkeeper Craig Taylor to stop Villa from dragging themselves back into the game.

Taylor, resplendent in a woolly hat to keep out the biting Middleton wind, showed magnificent reflexes as he dived full length to save Danny Walsh’s wickedly deflected shot early in the second-half.

At that point VASA were 2-1 ahead and under intense pressure. Not long after William Mayo had the ball in the back of the net after a mix-up in the VASA penalty area only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

Having ridden their luck VASA swept upfield. A neat backheel from John Mulcahy found Burtenshaw in space and he slotted home a low drive.

Burtenshaw had been hobbling around the field for some time after taking a knock, and the goal was his last involvement in the game, as he was substituted as soon as the celebrations had died down.

Villa’s Steve Hill also had a goal chalked off for offside in the closing stages, and the home side was unable to retrieve a game which had slipped away from them, largely due to their own first-half mistakes.

Playing into the strong wind meant Villa had to be alert to the danger posed by the pace of VASA forwards Burtenshaw and Paul Harris.

Goalkeeper Anthony Sutherland was quickly off his line to deny Harris early on, and the central defensive pairing of John Boal and Ryan Starkey looked to have matters under control.

At the other end Mayo was denied by a timely intervention from Ryan Butt, while an Andrew Rowbotham shot fizzed across the face of the goal, but Taylor was not kept overly busy.

Then, after 25 minutes, Villa were undone by a long ball out of defence and Harris arrived, unmarked, to open the scoring for the visitors.

Six minutes later a weak clearance saw Boal surrounded by three VASA players, and it was Burtenshaw who came away with the ball, coolly rounding Sutherland to score VASA's second.

Butt produced two blocks in quick succession to deny first Mayo and then Hill as Villa pressed, while Taylor was down quickly to save at his near post from Hill after good work out wide by Walsh.

A minute before the interval Villa dragged themselves back into the game when Gordon Howcroft held up a long pass out of defence and put Hill away, the tall striker scoring with a low, angled drive across Taylor while VASA appealed in vain for offside.

It set up a good second half, with both sides committing themselves fully to the cause.

But with Simon Rother an influential figure in defence it was VASA who always looked the most likely to score. Even so, without the athletic intervention of Taylor it could have been a much different story.

VASA have now drawn with Villa in the league and beaten them in the cup in their last two outings. Club officials say that their one point return in the league does not reflect the talent in the side when all players are available.

Their cause has not been helped by the weather which has seen them play only three games since October – two of them in the past fortnight.

For Villa manager Gary Rowbotham the task is to get his side focussed on the final five matches of the season. They need to turn pressure into goals – and cut out the mistakes – if they are to pull clear of the relegation zone.

Cardinal Villa: Anthony Sutherland, Andrew Rowbotham, William Mayo, John Rowbotham, John McIntosh, Ryan Sharkey, John Boal, Daniel Walsh, Gordon Howcroft, Steven Hill, Steven Thomas. Subs John Hill, Gary Rowbotham, Aaron Simpson.

VASA: Craig Taylor, Lee Jones, Simon Rother, Leigh Heil, Matthew Edwards, Ryan Butt, Jon Crossfield, Paul Harris, David Burtenshaw, John Mulcahy, Michael Harris. Subs Kieron Chapel, Karl Harris.