Isthmian South Central 14 Jan 2025
Hanworth Villa 3
- George Wells (18’)
- Rayan Djouadj (47’, 83’)
Badshot Lea 1
- Kareem Akinnibi (45’)
Match Report
An all-rounder performance from Rayan Djouadj, who notched a brace, gave Hanworth Villa a much-needed 3-1 win over bottom-dwellers Badshot Lea.
Returning in defensive midfield, Djouadj’s jersey was fully covered in mud by full-time as he not only halted opponents with bruising tackles but also converted chances from set pieces.
Although numerous key players were still ruled out, Villa produced a dominant home performance with Mark Smith rarely troubled in goal.
It was a much needed victory for Villa at Rectory Meadow, as we snapped our five-match winless run and moved to seventh, within a point of the promotion play-off spots.
Haughney said: “I am delighted because it has been a tough time, with all the suspensions and injuries, but I think the boys did really well.
“You need everyone to stick together when you’re on a bad run and you really need to dig in. And that’s most certainly what we did.
“Rayan, he’s such a good lad. He’s so humble and calm, and he’s one of the quietest ones in the changing room. But when you put him on the pitch, he’s a ferocious lion, isn’t he?
“The supporters love him and when he keeps playing like that he keeps starting.”
There were two new faces in the starting lineup as Louis Collins returned from a spell at South Park (Reigate) while Aston Nunn came back from a lengthy injury lay-off.
Playing at home for the first time in 2025, Villa got off to the brighter start as Sam Merson and Collins both had early efforts saved by Harry Cawdron.
We made our early dominance count with an 18th-minute opener courtesy of Merson’s trademark long throw.
Launched with venom towards the penalty box, Djouadj flicked it on before George Wells applied the finishing touch past a hapless Cawdron.
Collins, playing in an attacking midfield role, then had a low effort roll narrowly wide.
In the 41st minute, Merson miscued a point-blank chance over the bar from an Abdullah Javaid cut back which proved costly.
Badshot Lea equalised right on the stroke of half time with their first real chance of the game.
Charlie George’s low cross from the left flank found its way to Kareem Akinnibi, who dove forward to send a looping header past Mark Smith.
It was a cruel blow for Villa having been on top for majority of the first half.
Haughney said: “They scored with their first shot on target right before half time. When you’ve had a run like we’ve had, you can see the nerves straight away after the goal.
“We had a chat at half time and said, you know what, if they’re gonna score it’s better they score now than the 90thminute.”
Buoyed by the words of our manager, it did not take long for us to regain the lead.
Two minutes after the restart, Josh Casey’s whipped corner bounced up perfectly in the six-yard box for Djouadj to head home from close range.
Villa pressed for a third, and nearly got one before the hour mark but Javaid, still searching for his first Villa goal, took too long to get his shot away after beating his man on the left flank.
Merson then had a glorious chance to put the game to bed in the 78th minute but fired straight at Cawdron.
Five minutes later, Villa finally converted another opportunity as Djouadj notched his second from close range.
After Wells’ strike from distance was blocked, Manny Parry picked up the rebound and squared it for Djouadj to score from inside the six yard box.
While Villa are back to winning ways, Haughney maintained his focus is still on taking every game as it comes.
He said: “We’ve still got 18 games to go. There’s a long way and we’ve got to make sure we just stay composed. We were third at one time but it doesn’t really matter.
“We’ve got to go game by game and take the highs with the lows, teams will all struggle this season. If this team (Badshot Lea) are bottom of the division it shows how strong the division is.”
Next up for Villa is a trip to high-flying Ascot United, sitting in third place and are unbeaten in their last 12 league games, before we welcome league leaders Farnham Town.
Haughney added: “I think if you look at the teams above us, the top six, we’ve won four and lost two. That’s 12 out of 18 points so I feel we perform better against the stronger sides.
“Like I said, it’s marginal but we just got to be a little bit more consistent with the others.”
