Isthmian South Central 1 March 2025
Hanworth Villa 1
- Louis Collins 84′
Sutton Common Rovers 0
Match report
Attendance 230
In a highly competitive game against relegation threatened Sutton Common Rovers on a glorious spring afternoon Villa did just enough to gain all three points and consolidate our position on the fringes of the play-off zone.
In a game which saw both teams performing well, but without really taking advantage of goal scoring opportunities, in the end it was a solitary hit from super-sub Louis Collins that won it.
Collins came on at the 73 minute mark and he immediately took the play to the visitors, sweeping up the pitch and starting an attack with his first piece of possession. Minutes later it looked like Collins was out of the match as he fell to the ground in an off the ball incident. Thankfully he ran the injury off and on the 84th minute he was on the end of a ball into the box to snatch the winner.
There had been chances throughout the game with both teams forcing saves from the respective keepers but neither keeper looked troubled by any of the shots (aside from the goal) and made the saves you’d expect them to make.
The best save of the game however was by our keeper Mark Smith as he dealt with a back-pass header from Guy Ansah-Palmer which soared over our outward-rushing number one and towards the empty net. Smith readjusted mercurially and plucked the ball from the air.
The pitch was problematic and saw several players, including both keepers losing their footing at different points of the game. The most spectacular again involved Mark Smith who stumbled as he rushed to clear a shot and ending up effectively on all fours heading the ball away to prevent a goal scoring opportunity for the visitors.
Simon Haughney was full of praise for his team who showed character, determination and patience in their attempts to break down a resolute and stubborn Sutton Common Rovers team. Smith in goal was solid and positionally sound and never looked like conceding. He was of course helped by the excellent defensive work throughout the team.
Sutton Common Rovers battled and right to the last minute of the additional three minutes (on top of the additional three minutes that had already been played – where’d they come from ref?) but to no avail. The final whistle was met with cheers from the home crowd as Villa took their winning run to three games in a row. That’s five wins out of the last six which sees the club move up to seventh and two points behind Hartley Wintney in fifth place with a game in hand.
Next up though is a tricky home tie on Tuesday night against runaway leaders Farnham Town who we beat earlier in the season on their home patch.